Bake
Bien Cuit Shortbread
Popular on Food52
138 Reviews
Linda D.
December 19, 2024
Absolutely delicious, thank you! And thanks to all for sharing helpful hints. I removed the shortbread while still on the parchment paper to the cutting board, let it cool for 5 miinutes, cut into squares and let them cool on a cooling rack. I did sprinkle sea salt rather than sugar, fabulous! Next time I will use a higher grade salted butter.
Lorraine H.
September 19, 2024
My grandmother , who was born in Scotland, gave me her recipe. First and foremost, she said never use unsalted butter for shortbread. The salt is very difficult to completely incorporate. Second, only use Caster sugar or pulse granulated sugar in the food processor. Powdered sugar contains cornstarch. Third, add a very small amount of rice flour. Mix only with your hands, no machine. I use a true jellyroll pan, not a quarter sheet. It’s perfect every time.
sophsonary
December 13, 2024
Just wondering - why worry about the fraction of cornstarch in powdered sugar when you add rice flour, another difficult to hydrate starch?
QuantumDelight
September 18, 2024
Outstanding!
Grate your butter then keep everything in the freezer.
I like to add vanilla pastel
Grate your butter then keep everything in the freezer.
I like to add vanilla pastel
manitouanne
September 8, 2024
How does one turn out shortbread from a 13” x 9” pan onto a board? This seems drought with hazards and will end up with a mess. How about cutting the shortbread while a little warm and lifting out?
sophsonary
December 13, 2024
You line the sheet with parchment and then slide it, using the parchment, onto the cutting board.
Jennifer
March 20, 2024
Okay - I put my parchment paper in my baking dish. How are you able to smooth the dough? I used fingers and left finger prints. Tried rolling a glass across it, left tire tracks. My rolling pin is too long for my 13 x 9 pan. Guess I should have used a cookie sheet?
EMaley
May 13, 2024
I put latex gloves on and push it in with my hands and then smooth with a big spoon once it’s covered in Saran.
Lesley
September 10, 2024
I put the dough between 2 sheets of parchment and rolled it to roughly 9x13, then moved it to the pan, then pushed the dough into the corners with my fingers. Worked perfectly!
cine
September 20, 2024
Nine years ago, my ex ran off with a prosperous-looking rich person, with all the money, my offset spatula and all my incandescent light bulbs. Guess which one I needed, not wanted, the most since then.
roseann S.
October 28, 2023
I measured grams and mixed with paddle then placed the dough as describe with a chilling. When baked and removed from pan I could not cut the bars as each cut broke the bar. Though really delicious I had nothing but small pieces to eat. What went wrong???
yona
October 30, 2023
Maybe baked them too long? Or try cutting them before they cool completely, even almost right out of the oven. You might also try scoring the sheet of dough before placing it in the oven. Ashley V's comment below might be helpful. I agree with using a good, high-fat butter.
EMaley
May 13, 2024
Could chilling for more than overnight cause this?
It’s just a waste of good ingredients at this point.
It’s just a waste of good ingredients at this point.
Kate R.
October 17, 2023
Love this recipe, used the food processor and pulsed until just combined, assembled the dough at lunchtime and chilled for about 5 hours before baking, came out fantastic, will make again!
Catherine P.
October 9, 2023
Love love love this recipe. I just piled it all into the processor, blitzed until it came together, and followed the rest of the recipe after that. Unfortunately for my waistline , very delicious!
Ma_Faldine
September 24, 2023
I never made this shortbread simply because the recipe is metric and I didn't feel like converting it. Ins read, I made Ted Lasso's Shortbread. It's easy and the delicious!
lissness
September 24, 2023
I adore these biscuits, as many of my unwitting guinea pigs do, but I do agree the recipe needs minor adjustments. I used a non-stick 13x9 tin and 45 minutes is ample time at the temperature provided. A dough scraper is your best friend here, it makes for a perfectly spread tin. I followed the advice of previous commenters and combined a sprinkle of both Maldon salt and turbinado sugar for extra deliciousness. Walker's could never.
Dana
July 19, 2023
Turned out lovely, though I put chopped crystallized ginger in one half of dough and mini semi sweet chips and chopped tart cherries ( dried) in the other half. Next time I might try tart cherries with dried apricot and almonds as I have when making biscotti.
ChristineSoto
May 20, 2023
update on my post of May 17, 2023. When first out of the oven and cooled a bit, they were a bit chewy. After they cooled completely, they hardened up to the extent that they were impossible to bite into. I thought i followed the recipe exactly, and I'm a pretty good home baker, but what i did wrong eludes me. Any thoughts?
Catherine P.
October 9, 2023
Oh… mine didnt harden up like that at all, in fact I was worried they were going to be too crumbly, but it was perfect. The best I have eaten actually. Not sure what happened to you. Because I put everything into the processor and blitzed, I thought I was going to overwork the dough. But it was perfect.
ChristineSoto
May 17, 2023
i made these for the first time today. The dough buckled a bit as it cooked, leaving a bumpy top, not the smooth looking tops of the photos with the recipe. So i wondered, after i turned it out onto a board, was i supposed to sprinkle the sugar on the bottom of the dough? Otherwise, i found the shortbread a bit chewy, with a delightful flavor.
yona
April 25, 2023
THESE. ARE. AWESOME! But I must say, I got a bit scared after I put the butter in to the mixer. I'm a good cook, but a novice baker, so I'm not familiar yet with the way things work...the chemistry of baking. I followed the instructions to a "t," only I didn't have any unsalted butter, so I just used less salt. I mixed the dry ingredients, then began to add the cubed butter. I stood there and waited for it all to form a dough...and waited...and waited. It blended nicely, but never went beyond the "breadcrumb" stage. So I logged in and began to write a question to get some help; perhaps I got the measurements wrong. I have a scale, so the unit wasn't a problem. About halfway through my post, I heard the mixer begin to "work" harder (like it does when a dough begins to form). It went from "breadcrumbs" to a doughball in literally seconds! I was so startled, but also very pleased! My lesson? Have some patience. YouTube shorts are called "shorts" for a reason; they're deceptive!
Next time I make them, I'm going to add a little anise seed and sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon, like biscochitos!
Next time I make them, I'm going to add a little anise seed and sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon, like biscochitos!
LisaD
March 26, 2023
I made these and they are delicious! Although, it is difficult to push the dough into a 13 x 9 sheet pan, so I rolled it out to make it easier and more even. It took around 45 minutes to bake, and I let it cool for at least 15 minutes. Even though I was very gentle and cautious about removing it from the pan, the bars did crack. Cutting them was also a bit of a challenge. I feel like when I make them again, I would cool them in the fridge, and then cut them. I think they would be less crumbly, and it would be easier all around. The finished product is absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I chose to finish them with Fleur de sel, and that to me, was the perfect choice.
Ashley V.
March 16, 2023
Oh. My. STARS this recipe is amazing. I’ve made 4 batches in 3 weeks, and here’s what I’ve discovered:
1) DO use Kerrygold or similar (one of the gatherings I brought these to dubbed them “butter sticks” because you can TELL when the good stuff is used.). Unless you’re watching your salt intake, DO use salted butter
2) another comment suggested using a second piece of parchment to press the dough into the pan. Yes. Do this.
3) no need to dock the dough, I have yet to have it puff up while baking, even when I forgot, 2 batches in a row. Now I skip it.
4) DO give the cookies 5-7 minutes to cool in the pan before transferring, they are very delicate while warm
5) transfer from pan to cutting surface like it’s an upside down cake - cutting board over pan, and invert. Carefully remove pan, and voila!
6) DO add flaky salt once transferred to cutting surface and while still as warm as possible. The salt puts them over the top in the most mysteriously delicate way possible
7) DO slice while still warm. But be delicate.
8) DO NOT let the batch size dissuade you from making them, even if you’re a party of one. The recipe halves beautifully (yet another reason to use metric!), and the biscuits keep for a week - if they last that long.
1) DO use Kerrygold or similar (one of the gatherings I brought these to dubbed them “butter sticks” because you can TELL when the good stuff is used.). Unless you’re watching your salt intake, DO use salted butter
2) another comment suggested using a second piece of parchment to press the dough into the pan. Yes. Do this.
3) no need to dock the dough, I have yet to have it puff up while baking, even when I forgot, 2 batches in a row. Now I skip it.
4) DO give the cookies 5-7 minutes to cool in the pan before transferring, they are very delicate while warm
5) transfer from pan to cutting surface like it’s an upside down cake - cutting board over pan, and invert. Carefully remove pan, and voila!
6) DO add flaky salt once transferred to cutting surface and while still as warm as possible. The salt puts them over the top in the most mysteriously delicate way possible
7) DO slice while still warm. But be delicate.
8) DO NOT let the batch size dissuade you from making them, even if you’re a party of one. The recipe halves beautifully (yet another reason to use metric!), and the biscuits keep for a week - if they last that long.
[email protected]
March 12, 2023
Thank-you for the metric weight measurements! I have shifted my baking and bread making to weighing out the flour and butter (much more consistent than archaic imperial or cups) but there are maddeningly few recipes that come in weights. I also love the King Arthur flour recipes for this reason.
anniette
April 3, 2023
I seek out the British versions of cookbooks for this reason: they always include easy metric measurements.
Robert F.
March 12, 2023
Why or why can you not include measurements that do not require the cook to run to the nearest Sur La Table and buy a weighing scale? They are called "cups" and "tablespoons" and so on, and have been used in every cook book since Adam asked Eve to write down her recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Big disappointment, and egotistical to boot
Ashley V.
March 16, 2023
Talk about egotistical, when it’s widely accepted that metric measurements are much more accurate than cups, tablespoons, etc. You can get an inexpensive scale on Amazon, and it’s not as if they take up much space.
Sara G.
April 14, 2023
Baking is best done by weight. An inexpensive little digital scale is so handy to have in the kitchen. Not sure why you think only upscale shops sell these - our local supermarket chain sells one for under $20
Baker23
April 25, 2023
I bought a great small scale on Amazon for $11. My last scale (Oxo- cost about $25) lasted for over 20 years.
kerryn
April 25, 2023
I live near the water (more humidity) and since I’ve started using metric to weigh my dry ingredients, everything turns out better. I didn’t believe it until I tried it!
stevesmycat
June 15, 2023
Food scales are $10 on Amazon and worth the minimal investment. Imperial measurements don't work as well when baking.
courtrussell
July 19, 2023
🤦🏻♀️ Talk about egotistical assuming that the American way of doing it is the “right” way when it’s definitely an inferior way.
Rachel R.
November 4, 2023
There are so many things wrong with this comment that I am not sure where to begin. Buy a damn scale.
Dana
December 20, 2024
Gee, do you realize no one in the world [other than US Americans] uses the imperial system of cups and tablespoons? It's outdated and less accurate. Everyone uses metric, even the other Americas. If you want best results for any baking outside of the basic Betty Crocker cake recipe, an electronic scale yields BY FAR the greatest accuracy and best results in a recipe like this. Plus, you don't have use measuring utensils, you simply 'tare' out the weight and just dump it in the bowl, and voila! 💙 Respectfully, from a fellow American.
Lora S.
March 9, 2023
Not what I expected, nor my favorite style of shortbread. Made as written plus added 1 t vanilla. In my opinion, the texture is too flaky, and too dry despite the butter residue on my fingers. I had expected more of a melt-away style shortbread. I was dubious about the application of turbinado AFTER baking and was right, it just falls off. IMO, would be better sprinkled on top before baking, and just lift out the shortbread with the parchment sling, rather than turn out onto a board. I can certainly understand why this would appeal to many, it's just not for me. I'm glad the bakery was kind enough to share their recipe, and glad I tried it.
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