Highlander Shortbreads

Notes

Four ingredients—butter, sugar, flour, and salt—make this classic Scottish shortbread sing. The magic is in the butter. Thick rounds rolled in Demerara sugar so their edges glitter and crunch, they were popularized by Walker's Shortbread in Aberlour, Scotland since 1898. The ratio is easy to keep in your head: one part sugar, two parts butter, three parts flour (plus salt). "Short" in baking means a dough so richly saturated with fat that gluten strands never get a chance to toughen—the crumb stays tender and a bit sandy. Bake low and slow until pale gold at the edges; pull before browning all over. Warm shortbread with a neat whisky on the side is particularly good.

Ingredients

• 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 oz (¼ cup) sugar
• 6 oz (1⅓ cups) all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• Demerara sugar for rolling (generous amount)

Instructions

1. Cream:
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or electric beaters, cream the butter, sugar and salt until smooth, 1 to 3 minutes (colder butter will take longer)
3. Do not overbeat; you want the ingredients blended without incorporating a lot of air into the mixture

4. You can also use a wooden spoon and elbow grease

5. Mix dough:

6. Add the flour and beat until the dough just comes together in large clumps, 30 seconds to 1 minute more

7. Chill:

8. Form the dough into 2 fat logs about 1½-inches in diameter
9. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap

10. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days

11. Prep:

12. Heat the oven to 325°F
13. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

14. Put a couple of tablespoons of Demerara sugar into a small rimmed pan

15. Roll & slice:

16. Unwrap the dough
17. Roll the logs in the Demerara sugar, adding more sugar as needed so they are well coated
18. Slice logs about ⅜-inch thick

19. Arrange on parchment-lined cookie sheets

20. Bake & cool:

21. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown at the edges (pale gold, not brown all over)
22. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
23. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week

Nutrition (per shortbread, estimated)

• Calories: ~71
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 4g
• Carbs: 8g

Solid estimate from the listed amounts.

Variations & Adaptations

• Rosemary Shortbread: Add 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (finely chopped) to the dough
• Toasted Coconut: Add ½ cup toasted coconut to the dough before chilling
• Brown Sugar-Pecan: Swap 1 oz of the sugar for brown sugar; add ¼ cup chopped pecans
• Cultured Butter: Use high-fat cultured butter (preferably with a faint tang) for deeper flavor