How to Make Walker's Scottish Shortbread Recipe at Home (2023)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in Walker's Shortbread? ›

As it always has been, our shortbread is made using only four ingredients: flour, pure creamery butter, sugar and salt. We are proud to say that our products contain absolutely no artificial flavorings, colorings or preservatives.

The World's Finest…

Today, Walkers Shortbread only ever uses fine creamery butter from grass fed cows, and never compromises by baking its shortbread with anything else.

Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda.

What is the difference between English shortbread and Scottish shortbread? Scottish shortbread cookies are made simply with sugar, butter, and flour. Other shortbread styles incorporate leavening like baking powder and baking soda, making them crisp instead of crumbly like a traditional Scottish shortbread.

Unlike Walkers shortbread cookies where the main ingredient is butter, Scottish cookies may contain vegetable shortening or a blend of butter and vegetable shortening. Therefore, the Scottish cookies have a distinctly different texture (crisper, firmer and crunchier) and flavor.

It's not without reason that Walkers is known as The World's Finest Shortbread. Our traditional pure butter shortbread fingers are baked to perfection, and the sweet, delicious buttery taste is unlike any other. And why not enjoy The World's Finest Shortbread with the world's finest views?

If the butter is too hard, it won't easily incorporate into the shortbread mixture and that will result in overworked dough. Dough that has been overworked is a surefire way to get tough shortbread - something no shortbread should ever be.

what type of flour is best for shortbread? I recommend pastry flour. If you want light and flaky shortbread cookies you need to use pastry flour. Pastry flour is a lower-protein flour that produces lighter and flakier cookies than all-purpose flour.

Should butter be cold or soft for shortbread? ›

Fine Cooking explains that the butter should be at refrigerator temperature. While many cookie recipes call for softened butter or at room temperature, if your butter isn't cold when making shortbread, it's likely to turn out greasy or be difficult to roll out.

Butter – You'll need salted butter that's at room temperature. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to bring the butter to room temperature, so make sure you give yourself enough time. If you don't have salted butter, unsalted butter will also work, simply add about ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough.

Walker's Shortbread is a Scottish manufacturer of shortbread, biscuits, cookies and crackers. The company's well-known shortbread is baked in the Moray village of Aberlour, following a recipe developed by Joseph Walker in 1898.

Nothing else is needed, no fancy ingredients, no flavor enhancers. The key to a good Scottish shortbread is the quality of the butter. That is what flavors the shortbread and the shortbread is only as good as the butter.

Aberlour, in the North East of Scotland has been the home of Walkers Shortbread for over 100 years. Nestled in the valley of the river Spey famous for its fishing, hunting and whisky, the Walker family have been making shortbread here from an unchanged recipe since 1898.

A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much. Also, it helps concentrate those flavors for your best ever shortbread.

Shortbread relies on really good-quality unsalted butter for its flavour, so don't skimp on this and never use margarine! The high butter (or shortening ) content helps to keep the gluten in the flour short and soft.

Do you have to poke holes in shortbread cookies? Yes! Poking holes in the cookies helps the moisture escape and the heat distribute evenly throughout the cookie. It is key to getting their perfect dense, crumbly texture.

Shortbread is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: one large circle divided into segments (“Petticoat Tails”); individual round biscuits (“Shortbread Rounds”); or a thick rectangular slab cut into “fingers.”

Should shortbread be crunchy or soft? ›

Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it. It should not generally be damp or wet underneath. A classic shortbread recipe will also only have flour, butter and sugar as the ingredients (in a 3:2:1 ratio) and not egg, which could lead to excess moisture.

Immediately cut the shortbread, while it's warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily. Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges. If you've baked squares, cut each square into four smaller squares, then cut each of those into thirds to make a total of 24 strips (12 per pan).

Summarizing butter

Using too much butter will: Cause your cookie to spread out way too much during baking. Cause your cookie to brown.

It's important to avoid over-mixing shortbread dough, which will develop gluten and make the finished product tough, not tender. To make sure that the flour mixes completely with little effort, sift the flour first to get out all of the lumps.

Although shortbread is made in many countries it is perhaps most synonymous with Scotland and is often seen as the flagship of Scottish food. This is perhaps because whilst cakes and other butter biscuits are made around the world, the Scottish examples were judged to be the world's finest.

Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread is perhaps the most popular store-bought brand—a title it certainly has merited. It is reliably crumbly and buttery, without being cloyingly sweet. The simplicity of these biscuits allows for tea-dunking, jam pairings, or even enjoying the biscuit on its own.

The cornstarch is used to give these buttery treats a crispy, melt-in-the-mouth texture. It also helps prevent the cookies from becoming too crumbly and breaking apart.

Simply form the dough until it creates a ball, making sure not to over-knead or work it to much. Otherwise the shortbread will become tough and dense.

It can be difficult to consistently make good Shortbread, even using the same recipe. That's because shortbread's texture depends on your mood and the kitchen temperature. This very Sensitive Dough doesn't like to be handled too much.

Powdered Sugar: I recommend using powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar in the dough, as it is less dense than granulated sugar and produces a lighter cookie.

Should you sift flour when making shortbread cookies? ›

However, sifting flour isn't a must for desserts that are chewy or crisp, like cookies. Sifting flour through a sieve or sifter helps break up clumps and aerates the ingredients. In the past, sifted flour also allowed for more accurate measuring results.

When it comes to Martha Stewart's cooking, she has one go-to brand that she "always" uses when she needs flour. According to the Chicago Tribune, Stewart is partial to King Arthur flour for all her baking needs, which is unbleached and all-natural. She even included it on her list of "12 favorite things."

Shortbread biscuits vary in thickness and shape, and here I've made quite thin ones - about ½cm thick. If you want to go for the traditional finger shape, you will need to roll them a bit thicker - about 1cm.

Add vegetable oil or melted butter to combat a lack of fat.

This is a great option if you have shortbread cookie dough that's too dry. Add more liquid ingredients in small amounts. Milk, egg yolks or egg whites, vanilla extract or even a teaspoon of water can help moisten the dough to give you less crumbly cookies.

It is imperative to store shortbread in a relatively oxygen-free environment and, ideally, in the refrigerator for optimal freshness. Always allow shortbread to fully cool before placing in storage, as the heat will create steam that results in a soggy biscuit.

Shortbread can be made with or without the egg yolks. In this recipe the egg yolks add flavor and give the cookie a more tender texture.

Baking recipes typically call for unsalted butter because the amount of salt in salted butter varies depending on the brand – there is no “industry standard.” For example, if you use one brand of salted butter in a recipe, and we use another, our baked goods could end up tasting very different from one other.

You may end up with a slightly saltier taste, but it's usually not going to ruin a batch. Secondly, if you're not wanting to throw your baking caution to the wind but do want to use salted butter, simply decrease the amount of extra salt you add by about 1/4 of a teaspoon.

The World's Finest…

Today, Walkers Shortbread only ever uses fine creamery butter from grass fed cows, and never compromises by baking its shortbread with anything else.

Walker's Shortbread Rounds, adorned with the Scottish thistle and packaged in our signature red tartan box, are baked in the heart of the Scottish Highlands to our founder's pure butter shortbread recipe which is 125 years old.

Why is it called Scottish shortbread? ›

The famous Scottish Queen Mary is often credited with the invention, or at least refinement of modern shortbread, as it was the cooks at her court who further improved it by taking influences from French cooking that developed at the court, and refining the biscuit using butter, flour and sugar as the main ingredients.

One of these items is shortbread. Breaking the biscuit over a bride's head is another old tradition that's still followed in some parts of Scotland today. Another is to eat the biscuit with cheese, especially during new year celebrations.

Irish shortbread, replaces some of the flour, with cornstarch and adds vanilla. It's slightly less grainy, than Scottish shortbread. I found this recipe at David Lebovitz site. His recipe called for sea salt, but I used table salt, and halved the amount.

As it always has been, our shortbread is made using only four ingredients: flour, pure creamery butter, sugar and salt. We are proud to say that our products contain absolutely no artificial flavorings, colorings or preservatives.

The best-before date listed on the tin of shortbread is about ten months from when it was purchased and the shortbread should be stored in a cool, dry place.

Walker's Vanilla Shortbread is a crumbly, melt in the mouth shortbread with an added hint of sweetness. Baked with natural vanilla flavouring, they smell as good as they taste.

It's not without reason that Walkers is known as The World's Finest Shortbread. Our traditional pure butter shortbread fingers are baked to perfection, and the sweet, delicious buttery taste is unlike any other.

"Shortbread is a biscuit traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. Other ingredients like ground rice or corn flour are sometimes added to alter the texture." That's right, there's a recipe ratio for shortbread!

100% vegetarian; no animal fats are used in any of Walker's recipes.

What can I use instead of vanilla extract for shortbread? ›

It's an easy swap: Use vanilla powder as a 1:1 substitute for vanilla extract in any recipe (incorporate it with the rest of the dry ingredients).

Are all the products made in Scotland? Yes, everything is baked in the Scottish Highlands, either in our home village of Aberlour, or 16 miles away in a small town called Elgin.

To most of the rest of the English-speaking world, a biscuit is what Americans would refer to as either a cookie or a cracker. Biscuits can be sweet (shortbread) or savory. They're baked in the oven, and they're crisp, not chewy.

A Taste of Scotland

We pride ourselves in baking the highest quality products to original family recipes, using only the finest ingredients possible to obtain, and take pride in situating ourselves in the beautiful landscape of Speyside in the Scottish Highlands.

Walker's restarted production on Monday 20 April, which has been met with overwhelming support from our staff. We had made the decision in March to close down Walker's production temporarily in order to review the Covid-19 situation and its safety implications for our employees.

The company also operates a distribution subsidiary in the United States. Walkers remains 100 percent owned by the founding Walker family; James and Joseph Walker, grandsons of the founder, serve as co-managing directors.