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Homemade shortbread recipe

Published: Updated:

24 Reviews

Total Time
1h 5m
Prep Time
20m
Bake Time
45m
Serves 16
Serves 16
easy
Easy

About our shortbread recipe:

What could be more perfect that a few bites of buttery homemade shortbread?

This easy shortbread recipe can be made with just four ingredients, and it's the ideal snack for your mid-afternoon tea break.

We also love making these shortbread rounds for friends and family - they're a thoughtful gift idea and if you package them up securely, they travel well, too.

Should I make shortbread with cold or room temperature butter?

When you're making our shortbread recipe, start with butter that's refrigerator-cold to prevent the biscuit dough from warming up too fast, which can make it greasy and difficult to roll.

If the dough does get soft or sticky as you're rolling or cutting it, just put it in the refrigerator for 10 or 15 minutes to chill the butter.

4 ingredients6 steps

    Method

    1. Step 1

      Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4) and line an 8" round tin.

    2. Step 2

      Sift flour into a bowl with the sugar. Chop the butter into cubes and then add to the other ingredients.

      Ingredients for this step

      • 300gAllinson's Plain White Flour
      • 200gUnsalted butter (softened)
      • 100gBillington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
      • 1 1/2 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
    3. Step 3

      Rub the butter into the flour and sugar with your finger tips. When the dough begin to form shape, add a few drops of vanilla extract.

    4. Step 4

      Shape the dough into a round and then press into the tin, ensuring that all of the tin is evenly covered. 

    5. Step 5

      Chill the dough in the tin in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.

    6. Step 6

      Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until the shortbread begins to brown on the top. When golden, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack before cutting into triangles.

    Ingredients

      • 300gAllinson's Plain White Flour 
      • 200gUnsalted butter (softened) 
      • 100gBillington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar 
      • 1 1/2 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract 

    Utensils

    • 8in round tin
    • Baking sheet

    Nutritional information per 32g serving

    • Energy 184cal
    • Fat 10g
    • of which Saturates 6.5g
    • Carbohydrates 20g
    • of which Sugars 6.4g
    • Protein 1.9g
    • Salt 0g

    24 Baker Ratings

    Even better if you use 1/2 plain flour and 1/2 Rice flour.

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