Sue me if it's in a cookbook someplace

Grandma Brown's Scottish Shortbread
Tastes like Lorna Doone's

3/4 c. butter (do not use margarine)
4 c. flour, sifted
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Blend salt into flour. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and
sugar. Gradually stir in flour until you have a stiff dough. Pat out onto
a greased 6X9 inch baking pan, pressing with a glass to smooth the dough.
Prick all over with a fork. Bake at 275F for 50-60 minutes or until lightly
browned.

Jill

On 2007-01-24, jmcquown > wrote:

> 3/4 c. butter (do not use margarine)
> 4 c. flour, sifted

Yikes! Looks kinda short on the butter. Any less and it'd be
hardtack. I think I'll try this one instead:

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/cookies/fbc16.asp

nb

On Jan 24, 5:32 am, "jmcquown" > wrote:
> Sue me if it's in a cookbook someplace
>
> Grandma Brown's Scottish Shortbread
> Tastes like Lorna Doone's
>
> 3/4 c. butter (do not use margarine)
> 4 c. flour, sifted
> 1 c. sugar
> 1/4 tsp. salt
>
> Blend salt into flour. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and
> sugar. Gradually stir in flour until you have a stiff dough. Pat out onto
> a greased 6X9 inch baking pan, pressing with a glass to smooth the dough.
> Prick all over with a fork. Bake at 275F for 50-60 minutes or until lightly
> browned.
>
> Jill
Don't forget to use unsalted butter- plugra is perfect for this

Hello, merryb!
You wrote on 24 Jan 2007 09:21:56 -0800:


m> On Jan 24, 5:32 am, "jmcquown" >
wrote:
??>> Sue me if it's in a cookbook someplace
??>>
??>> Grandma Brown's Scottish Shortbread
??>> Tastes like Lorna Doone's
??>>
??>> 3/4 c. butter (do not use margarine)
??>> 4 c. flour, sifted
??>> 1 c. sugar
??>> 1/4 tsp. salt
??>>
??>> Blend salt into flour. In a large mixing bowl, cream
??>> together butter and sugar. Gradually stir in flour until
??>> you have a stiff dough. Pat out onto a greased 6X9 inch
??>> baking pan, pressing with a glass to smooth the
??>> dough. Prick all over with a fork. Bake at 275F for 50-60
??>> minutes or until lightly browned.
??>>
??>> Jill
m> Don't forget to use unsalted butter- plugra is perfect for
m> this

Scottish kitchens used to be much cooler than American ones and
it is essential that the butter not melt. To many people's
dismay, some can make shortbread and some can't, at least in
America. A friend is quite a good cook but the only one in the
family who can make good shortbread is one of her sons!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

"James Silverton" <not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> writes:

>Hello, merryb!
>You wrote on 24 Jan 2007 09:21:56 -0800:


> m> On Jan 24, 5:32 am, "jmcquown" >
>wrote:
> ??>> Sue me if it's in a cookbook someplace
> ??>>
> ??>> Grandma Brown's Scottish Shortbread
> ??>> Tastes like Lorna Doone's

>Scottish kitchens used to be much cooler than American ones and
>it is essential that the butter not melt. To many people's
>dismay, some can make shortbread and some can't, at least in
>America. A friend is quite a good cook but the only one in the
>family who can make good shortbread is one of her sons!

Some recipes also have ground rice to add an extra crunch I do use it
but I'm not convinced! Also I usually get the butter really soft and dump it in
the bowl with the sugar and flour sifted together and bring them
together with my fingertips. So you either get a bowl of breadcrunb
looking mixture or with really soft butter a ball of dough which is
better if you want to roll it out and make indivial cookie/biscuit sized
shortbread shapes.

The softer one is also good pressed into a tin/dish to make a base for
desserts like millionaire's shortbread or a Bakewell tart, or really
most recipes that require a sweet shortcrust pastry base. This I should
add is just how I do it.

Graham

In article >,
"jmcquown" > wrote:

> Sue me if it's in a cookbook someplace
>
> Grandma Brown's Scottish Shortbread
> Tastes like Lorna Doone's
>
> 3/4 c. butter (do not use margarine)
> 4 c. flour, sifted
> 1 c. sugar
> 1/4 tsp. salt
>
> Blend salt into flour. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and
> sugar. Gradually stir in flour until you have a stiff dough. Pat out onto
> a greased 6X9 inch baking pan, pressing with a glass to smooth the dough.
> Prick all over with a fork. Bake at 275F for 50-60 minutes or until lightly
> browned.
>
> Jill

Cut the salt and use unsalted butter for mom's recipe......:-)

She used to whack my fingers for snitching the dough, raw.

I've not made any since mom died...... <sigh>

Oh, and the best sugar for this is confectioners sugar.

Gods those cookies contain a lot of memories. I don't think I could eat
them without crying.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

One time on Usenet, "jmcquown" > said:

> Sue me if it's in a cookbook someplace
>
> Grandma Brown's Scottish Shortbread
> Tastes like Lorna Doone's
>
> 3/4 c. butter (do not use margarine)
> 4 c. flour, sifted
> 1 c. sugar
> 1/4 tsp. salt
>
> Blend salt into flour. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and
> sugar. Gradually stir in flour until you have a stiff dough. Pat out onto
> a greased 6X9 inch baking pan, pressing with a glass to smooth the dough.
> Prick all over with a fork. Bake at 275F for 50-60 minutes or until lightly
> browned.

Hey, a real shortbread recipe! Too many times I see cookie recipes
that claim to be shortbread, but have extraneous ingredients -- real
shortbread just has the basics (flour, butter, salt, sugar).

We discussed this in RFC last Fall, IIRC, and some wondered: why do
some shortbread recipes call for corn starch? Well, according to a
box of Argo that I bought recently, it makes "softer" shortbread. No
thanks -- if you do it right, that's not necessary, IMNSHO. Here's
the recipe I use; it has a lower butter to flour ratio than Jill's,
but is still just the basics:

Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar, granulated or powdered
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups flour

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter. Add sugar gradually and mix well.
Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture. Shape into 2 rolls, 1
1/2 inch in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least 4
hours. Cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place on greased cookie sheet or
baking parchment. Bake at 300° F for 20 minutes or until slightly
browned on edges. Cool for 5 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool
completely.

Some nice ways to make shortbread:

* Knead some miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips into the dough
before making a log and slicing.
* Roll log in coarse sugar before baking.
* Press a pecan or walnut half into the cookie before baking.


--
Jani in WA

On 2007-01-26, Little Malice > wrote:
>
> 1 cup butter, softened
> 3/4 cup sugar, granulated or powdered
> 1/4 tsp. salt
> 2 cups flour

Now that's a keeper, Lil'. Simple and buttery. I may try that
tonight. First, let me check the flyers and see if someone has butter
on sale before I use up my stash.

nb

One time on Usenet, notbob > said:
> On 2007-01-26, Little Malice > wrote:
> >
> > 1 cup butter, softened
> > 3/4 cup sugar, granulated or powdered
> > 1/4 tsp. salt
> > 2 cups flour
>
> Now that's a keeper, Lil'. Simple and buttery. I may try that
> tonight. First, let me check the flyers and see if someone has butter
> on sale before I use up my stash.

Did you try it? How was it? I love the stuff, which is why I haven't
made if for a year or so... ;-)

--
Jani in WA

"Little Malice" > wrote in message
...
> One time on Usenet, notbob > said:
>> On 2007-01-26, Little Malice > wrote:
>> >
>> > 1 cup butter, softened
>> > 3/4 cup sugar, granulated or powdered
>> > 1/4 tsp. salt
>> > 2 cups flour
>>
>> Now that's a keeper, Lil'. Simple and buttery. I may try that
>> tonight. First, let me check the flyers and see if someone has butter
>> on sale before I use up my stash.
>
> Did you try it? How was it? I love the stuff, which is why I haven't
> made if for a year or so... ;-)
>
> --
> Jani in WA

Saved for next week! If I can last that long!

Sarah

One time on Usenet, "Sarah" > said:
> "Little Malice" > wrote in message
> ...
> > One time on Usenet, notbob > said:
> >> On 2007-01-26, Little Malice > wrote:

> >> > 1 cup butter, softened
> >> > 3/4 cup sugar, granulated or powdered
> >> > 1/4 tsp. salt
> >> > 2 cups flour

> >> Now that's a keeper, Lil'. Simple and buttery. I may try that
> >> tonight. First, let me check the flyers and see if someone has butter
> >> on sale before I use up my stash.

> > Did you try it? How was it? I love the stuff, which is why I haven't
> > made if for a year or so... ;-)

> Saved for next week! If I can last that long!

I hope you like it -- my best friend (since Kindergarten!) is
just crazy about it. She bakes all the time, but had never made
shortbread, so I made a double batch last Christmas, formed it
into two rolls, and gave her one. I wish I could make some now,
but it's not conducive to my low-cal diet. Maybe after I've
lost some more weight... :-)

--
Jani in WA

Little Malice wrote:

> We discussed this in RFC last Fall, IIRC, and some wondered: why do
> some shortbread recipes call for corn starch? Well, according to a
> box of Argo that I bought recently, it makes "softer" shortbread. No
> thanks -- if you do it right, that's not necessary,


I'd venture to guess that the helpfullness of the corn starch is related
to the protein content of the flour. If you're using cake flour or
pastry flour, more starch would be overkill. The shortbread will have
that soft, crumbly texture anyway. But all purpose flour tends to be
closer to bread flour, that is, more protein. I'll bet the added starch
helps in that instance.


I'm sure technique helps too, but the best technique won't overcome the
wrong ingredients. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with
all purpose flour. (I use it all the time.) Only these old shortbread
recipes were probably geared to the flour that the housewife had
available, and she probably didn't know the starch/protein properties of
the flour.


I guess I'm saying that I'm not knocking the cornstarch suggestion. It
probably gives a better texture to the shortbread. I may try it.


--Lia

Traditional Scottish Shortbread (thanks to my husband's grandmother)

½ lb plain flour - 8 oz
pinch salt
2-3 oz castor sugar (superfine sugar)
4-6 oz pure butter*

Preheat oven to 350DegF
Sieve flour and salt.
Add sugar and mix well.
Rub in the butter with fingertips (endeavouring to keep butter and
mixture as cool as possible)
Knead gently to form a dough.
Shape into a round or square approximately 6x7 inches
Place onto a floured baking sheet and scallop the edge
Prick the centre area well using the tynes of a fork
Cook slowly for 30 minutes. (shortbread should not be 'brown' )

The amount of butter you need will vary depending on the quality and
moisture retention of the flour, humidity on day of making dough and
the ambient temperature while making it.

This is a wonderful shortbread... make several batches each Christmas!

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"
or one who uses margarine when baking!!