A Perfect Scottish Recipe for Basic Shortbread

Although we're describing this recipe as "basic" this is the style of shortbread that most people would now think of as "traditional" and would be sold to tourists in tins decorated with various tartans.

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Shortbread Ingredients

12 ounces of white flour
4 ounces of rice flour
8 ounces of butter at room temperature
4 ounces of castor sugar

Shortbread Method

Sieve the flour to allow plenty of air into it.

Thoroughly mix the white and rice flours.

Thoroughly combine the butter and castor sugar by hand then add the flour mixture gradually until the dough is well mixed.

The less the dough is worked, the crisper the shortbread will be.

Press by hand into two rough circles around three-quarters of an inch (2 cm) thick onto greaseproof paper.

Pinch the cakes neatly at the edges, and mark them on the top a fork.

Bake at 300 ^OF (150 ^OC) on greaseproof paper for around 50 minutes or until the shortbread is light brown.

To protect the edges of the cake from burning, you may wish to protect with extra greaseproof paper.

Allow to cool on a wire tray.