All-butter shortbread
Crisp, melt-in-the-mouth Scottish shortbread made with butter, sugar and flour, with a little cornflour for extra tenderness.
- Prep
- 20 mins
- Cook
- 40 mins
- Total
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 16
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Cost
- Budget
Recipe: All-butter shortbread
All-butter shortbread
Ingredients
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 250g plain flour
- 75g cornflour, or rice flour
- 1 pinch salt
Kitchen kit
- 20cm round or square shallow tin Search Amazon for 20cm loose bottom tin
- Wire cooling rack Search Amazon for wire cooling rack
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Method
-
Step 1: Prepare
Heat the oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / gas 3. Line a 20cm round or square tin with baking parchment.
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Step 2: Cream
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.
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Step 3: Add the flours
Sift in the flour, cornflour and salt and work together, first with a spoon then briefly with your hand, until it just comes together into a smooth dough.
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Step 4: Press and mark
Press evenly into the tin and smooth the top. Mark into 8 or 16 portions with a knife and prick all over with a fork. Chill for 15 minutes if your kitchen is warm.
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Step 5: Bake
Bake for 35–40 minutes until pale golden – it shouldn't brown much.
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Step 6: Finish
Sprinkle with caster sugar while hot and cut through the markings. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift onto a rack to cool completely.
Tips
- Low and slow is the key: shortbread should be pale and sandy, not brown.
- Overworking the dough makes it tough – stop as soon as it comes together.
Storing & reheating
Keep in an airtight tin for up to 1 week.
Freezing
Freeze the raw dough, wrapped, for up to 3 months, or the baked shortbread for up to 1 month.
Variations
- Lavender or orange: add 1 tsp dried culinary lavender or the zest of 1 orange with the sugar.
- Millionaire's: top cooled shortbread with caramel and melted chocolate.
Allergies: Always check the labels of the ingredients you buy for allergens — our dietary tags are a guide, not a guarantee.
From feeed.co.uk/recipes/all-butter-shortbread/ · Checked 17 October 2026
Questions people ask
Why use cornflour?
It lowers the gluten content, making the biscuit shorter and more crumbly. Rice flour does the same job with a slightly grittier crunch.
Can I use salted butter?
Yes – leave out the pinch of salt.
Sources & inspiration
Checked 17 October 2026. Written in our own words; we checked proportions, technique and food safety against:
See other recipes that use the same kit on our kitchen kit pages.
