

When you make a recipe with so few ingredients, the quality of your ingredients is even more important than usual. If cornstarch is included the cookies will have a denser texture. If you add rice flour the shortbread will be more grainy and crumbly. The truest version contains only butter, flour and sugar, but occasionally additional ingredients are added which change the consistency of the cookies. But as butter, flour, and sugar became more readily available, these delicious morsels became an every day treat. It can be formed in a circle and cut into wedges, rolled into a rectangle and then cut into thin pieces called “fingers,” or made into individual rounds.īecause of the expense of the ingredients, it was originally reserved for special occasions such as weddings, or served during the holidays. Often said to be the favorite of Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century, shortbread has been around since the 12th century. Over time butter replaced the yeast and the shortbread we know today was born.

The pride of Scotland, shortbread evolved from a medieval type of bread that was baked twice, dusted with sugar, and formed into a disc. Whenever I see brightly colored sugar cookies, I smile with the wonderful memories of my childhood. When we were done my hands, arms, and face were all stained with food coloring from eating the frosting, and my mom would put me in the tub and scrub me clean. For special occasions she would make colorful frostings and we would cover them with all kinds of decorations. I could barely stand to wait the 10 minutes it took for them to bake. She would roll out the dough and let me cut out the cookies. When I was a little girl, my mother and I would bake cookies together. These are now officially my favorite cookies in the world! But I wanted to jazz them up just a bit and decided to add a lemon glaze. If you want to make them in the most traditional method, press into a circle, use a fork to define the wedges, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. I love cookies, any kind of cookies, but the more buttery and sweet they are, the better! If you add citrus I am even happier, so when I saw this recipe for Lemon Zest Shortbread I knew I would love them.
