Jamieson, John (1841). An etymological dictionary of the Scottish language (2nded.). Edinburgh: Andrew Shortrede. p.191 . Retrieved 10 May 2018. In British English, shortbread and shortcake were synonyms for several centuries, starting in the 1400s; both referred to the crisp, crumbly cookie-type baked good, rather than a softer cake. [16] The "short-cake" mentioned in Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor, first published in 1602, was a reference to the cookie-style of shortbread. [16] a b c d e Mariani, John F. (2014-02-04). Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p.1034. ISBN 978-1-62040-161-3.

From our family vacation to Scotland last summer: View of Eilean Donan Castle from our vacation cottage.

6 comments on “4-in-1 Shortbread Cookies”

There are two theories regarding the name of these biscuits. It has been suggested that the name “petticoat tail” may be a corruption of the French petites gatelles (“little cakes”). Hyslop, Leah. "Potted histories: shortbread". The Telegraph. No.6 October 2013 . Retrieved 18 February 2014.

Vanilla Extract & Salt - Vanilla extract and salt are not part of the core ingredients needed to make shortbread. If you're a purist then by all means leave them out. But I love the additional flavour and balance these two ingredients bring. Vanilla bean paste or the scraped beans from ½ a vanilla bean is a good substitute for vanilla extract. And use fine salt rather than flaked salt for an even distribution of salt throughout the dough. Triangular wedges of shortbread became known as "petticoat tails", and this form of shortbread has become particularly associated with Mary, Queen of Scots. [6] It has been suggested that a French term for the wedges of shortbread was petits gâteaux or petites gatelles – little cakes, and this became "petticoat tails". It is now thought the Scots term derives from the decorated round edge of the segments which resemble petticoats. [7] No, though if you don’t want to soften your butter, you should rub the butter into the other ingredients instead of mixing it into the sugar.

Introduction

Place the caster sugar, flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it’s combined and looks like coarse breadcrumbs but is soft and pliable and comes together in a dough when you press it together between your fingers. If it’s too dry and crumbly it needs to be pulsed a bit longer. While I usually agree that you shouldn’t mess with a good thing, I don’t think that applies to shortbread. And you’re going to love these 4 flavor combinations— dark chocolate espresso, nutty cinnamon, white chocolate and toasted coconut, and cranberry orange.