Homemade Shortbread Cookies

How many of you out in Internet-land like Walkers shortbread? Raise your hands. Oh, a lot of you. It’s no wonder, cause Walkers is THE BEST. This recipe, I kid you not, is *the* Walkers recipe! It tastes just like those oh-so delicious cookies wrapped in the cute red plaid packaging.

Now, just a bit of warning. If you’ve never made shortbread before, it can be tricky. There are only four ingredients, but it’s a finicky process to make it. So if your first or second batch don’t turn out, don’t get discouraged! It took me about 4 tries to get this recipe RIGHT. I don’t say this to scare anyone away from trying this, but I’m being honest. Baking should always be about learning and making mistakes every now and then, so don’t give up if your first foray into shortbread-making isn’t a raving success. :)

OK, on with the recipe!!

“Walkers” Shortbread
Recipe credit: Amber Bracegirdle from Bluebonnets & Brownies
Print Recipe

3 c flour
1/2 c + 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (at room temperature) — I used salted.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Thoroughly mix dry ingredients. (I used a whisk to ensure good mixing)
3. Using a food processor, mix the dry ingredients with the butter – pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

4. Gently, and with as little handling as possible, transfer the dough into a bowl and refrigerate this for about 30 minutes to re-chill the butter. The “dough” will look more like crumbs than a unified mixture. This is okay.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Pat or roll gently onto a baking sheet until you have a flat round or rectangular “cookie,” about 1/4 inch thick. Score this into pieces about 1×2 inches.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until edges of shortbread are browning, but not too dark. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on baking sheet. Cut along scored lines into individual cookies.

*Note: A shortbread mold is INCREDIBLY helpful for this. Molds can be found on Amazon.com. I like to use a mold because I think it helps the shortbread to bake more evenly. This is the one that I currently use: Nordic Ware Cast-Iron Aluminum 9×9 English Shortbread Pan.

**Regardless of what method you use to bake the shortbread, make sure to poke the dough with a fork before you bake to allow ventilation.