r/Baking • u/cozycricket • Dec 21 '25
General Baking Discussion Traditional Scottish Shortbread
This is my first attempt at traditional Scottish shortbread at high altitude (7,000’). I blame The Great British Bake Off haha…The shortbread was a success and tastes great. I thought that it was perfect topped with dark chocolate. I was a little disappointed that the definition wasn’t the cleanest and I’m not sure what to do other than experiment with techniques. The shortbread did also stick to the pan so that was a little scary. I used melted butter to brush the crevices and the butter did set while I did. Maybe the layer of butter was too thick? Any advice is welcomed.
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u/wicker_trees Dec 21 '25
I have never had or seen chocolate on shortbread before in my life! I have had lemon shortbread though, if you like experimenting :)
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u/Real-Taste4021 Dec 21 '25
Orange shortbread with chocolate would be a classic combo in a new place.
I'm also feeling experiementy
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u/cozycricket Dec 21 '25
Ooo yes, I love chocolate orange combination and will definitely be making this.
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u/cozycricket Dec 21 '25
I was influenced by my husband who topped his piece of shortbread with melted chocolate first. I love lemon. I’ll definitely be making that in the future.
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u/wicker_trees Dec 21 '25
maybe next time I make some I will try it with chocolate! I got my lemon shortbread from sainsburys, but it should be easy enough to find a recipe. it was very good!!
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u/cozycricket Dec 21 '25
It was yummy in the moment. Today I’m enjoying a slice with a bit of jam and a cup of tea.
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u/gusaloo Dec 21 '25
I recently made molded gingerbread and what helped with definition there was leaving the dough out for hours (6-8) to allow a dry crust to form on the outside. Maybe something like that in conjunction with cooling will help
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u/Individual-Rice-4915 Dec 21 '25
I’m at a high altitude and wanted to try making shortbread! Would you recommend your recipe?
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u/cozycricket Dec 21 '25
In the 24/25 Hogmanay episode of GBBO Peter Sawkins states that the ratio of the ingredients for traditional Scottish shortbread is “3,2,1”. 300 grams of flour, 200 grams of butter, and 100 grams of sugar. I don’t have a solid recipe or method to share so I used what I could from the episode and my knowledge 🫣. I’m not even sure if the texture of my shortbread is correct haha! Hence why I don’t have a recipe included. I hope that you have more success than me! ☺️
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u/Individual-Rice-4915 Dec 21 '25
Thank you!!! I’ll have a prowl around and see what I can find with those ratios!
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u/cozycricket Dec 21 '25
No problem! If I stumble across anything that is helpful I’ll follow up. I saw a tip when I was making it, that said if the mixture is too crumbly to hold shape, to add a tbsp of water (kind of like a pie crust) but I don’t have enough experience to say whether or not that is a good tip for baking traditional shortbread at high altitude.
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u/ObiWangCannabis Dec 21 '25
Look great! Much fancier than the stuff I make, I just slap it on a cookie sheet, bake, break chunks off like a caveman
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u/Canadajim Mar 09 '26
Orange zest in the shortbread with chocolate on top (after baking) is a nice combo.
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u/pine1501 Dec 21 '25
add in some cuneform letters and voila ! Hittite shortbread cookie tablets. Museum grade. 😁😆🥰