Classic Shortbread Cookies

4.6(29)

Just three ingredients make amazingly buttery, rich shortbread cookies for your Christmas cookie tins.

·published 2014-12-14

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AmericanScottishCookie

Servings

['16', '16 cookies']

Total time

40 min

prep 5 min

Calories / serving

—

Ingredients (3)

serves

2 cups sifted flourflour
1 cup room temperature salted butterbutter
1/2 cup white sugarsugar

Instructions (9 steps)

01Preheat oven to 325°F.
02In a large bowl, beat 1 cup butter until it begins to turn lighter yellow. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat together until well combined.
03Half a cup at a time, add the sifted flour to the creamed butter and sugar.
04After all of the flour is mixed in, the mixture will look like a coarse grain, crumbly sand or breadcrumbs. Do not expect this to form a classic "dough". Put the mixture in an ungreased 8 by 8 pan. ( I used my trusty old square Pyrex dish. )
05Press the mixture down into the pan. I used a large metal spatula place over sections of the pan, and pressed on top of that to make sure I got a more even bar.
06Using a skewer, lightly score (1/8th of an inch deep or so ) the top of the pressed dough to make 16 servings, then poke one row of holes down each scored bar. Make sure you poke straight through the dough and hit the bottom of the pan for each hole.

07Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The bars will most likely be done around the 30 minute mark, but I saw that mine weren't browning yet by then, so I gave them 5 minutes extra. All of the butter makes these a fairly forgiving cookie, so unlike most cookies, don't be scared that 1 minute or 2 difference will ruin them.

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Not rich — missing servings, total time, or calories.