Although I love sweet desserts, I also LOVE a not so sweet shortbread! Buttery, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread has always been hard for me to resist. When I was in high school, my mom started buying the shortbread in the tins that were all different shapes, and all dipped in chocolate.
Oh MY! I was in heaven, and couldn’t stay out of them! Needless to say, they quickly became one of my all-time favorite cookies!
So knowing St. Patricks Day is right around the corner, I decided to make some St. Patty’s Day Shortbread. I just got this beautiful shamrock clover cookie mold not too long ago, and thought, “how perfect!”
I also have a clover cookie cutter, so I decided it would make a super cute cookie tray to include both. And of course…to top it off, let’s complete the yumminess and dip them all in chocolate! YES!
I have a love for cookies that have a long history, and Shortbread is one of those. Shortbread dates back to probably around the 12th or 13th century, and actually started out as something called Rusk, or Biscuit Bread.
“Biscuit” back then meant “twice cooked”, and bakers would take leftover bread dough and dry it out cooking it at a low temperature until it hardened. Eventually, the yeast in the bread was replaced with butter, and it became shortbread, because “Short” back then meant “something crispy and crumbly.” Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotts loved Shortbread and her love for it really gave it recognition.
Today, most classic shortbread recipes only include 3 ingredients, butter, sugar and flour. This recipe is a classic Scottish shortbread, but also includes a bit of cornstarch.
Adding this in does two things. It makes them a bit crispy on the outside, and also helps the cookies retain moisture while baking, to make a wonderful, tender melt-in-your mouth cookie!
On the butter, I prefer to use unsalted. Some recipes and bakers use salted butter, and that’s ok too, it’s just a personal preference. I’ve also seen and had recipes that include a half teaspoon of vanilla, and it’s good, but I still think I like it without, as it really lets the butter flavor shine.
On the pistachio’s, I use raw unsalted, and chop and roast them. Oh my, roasting them makes the cookies so good! I’ve tried lightly salted in this recipe, and to me, it’s not near as good! I found the raw unsalted ones on Amazon. You can find them HERE.
The mold I have is a House On The Hill Shamrock Mold. It has a 3 leaf clover and a beautiful edging. No cutter is necessary, as I just cut around the edging with my bench scraper, but you could use a knife as well. You can find the mold in my store HERE. The Clover Cookie Cutter you can find HERE.
This dough is very simple and comes together in no time, however there are some mistakes you can make with shortbread that you will want to avoid. Over working the dough, not scoring, or docking your cookies before baking, and not chilling before baking are a few of these.
Another is handling the dough too much so that the butter gets too warm by the heat of your hand. I do mix with my hand at the end to bring it together, but I keep it to a minimum, and then of course, chill for a while before baking.
Over working the dough just means mixing it together for too long. This can cause gluten to form and produces a chewier tougher cookie. We don’t want that. Another mistake is not scoring, or docking your cookies before baking. I’ll talk about that a little bit further down.
I use powdered sugar instead of flour to dust my rolling pin, cookie mold and board in making these. Too much flour can make them dry and crumbly, so the powdered sugar eliminates the risk of drying them out and also adds a bit more sweetness, which I LOVE!
Once your cookies are molded or cut out, be sure to chill your cookies again before baking. I like to chill them for an hour, just to make sure my butter is very cold. But a lot of recipes call for only about 20 minutes of chilling. You can decide, but if you decide to err on the side of caution, go with an hour.
Most of the time you will see shortbread with fork holes in the top. Scoring them helps to allow steam to release during the baking process, which in turn minimizes puffing and cracking. Since I am using a cookie mold with this recipe, I don’t really want the docking to be on top, so I do it on the bottom of the cookie.
If you would rather do it on top, you can incorporate the holes in the design, or just work them around the background of the design. Either way, they are shortbread and everyone expects those holes, so whether you do it on top or on bottom is up to you.
Usually a fork is used to score/dock, but since these can easily break when we score after they are chilled, I use a small knife. Please be careful and hold them so they don’t break, and you don’t slip and cut yourself.
After chilling, bake at 325 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are perfect in my oven at 12 minutes.
After they are baked and cooled completely, you can dip them in chocolate. I use Bittersweet chocolate because the cacao is 66%, and it tastes better than chocolate with a smaller percent of cacao. I would like to try a higher percent, but that’s what I had in my pantry. If you try a higher one, please let me know what you think!
I hope you enjoy these delightful cookies!
Blessings and Happy Baking to you! Teesa
Roasted Pistachio Shortbread
Equipment
- 1 Cookie Mold Optional
- 1 Cookie Cutter Optional
Ingredients
- 228 grams Unalted Butter (Room Temp) 1 Cup
- 70 grams Powdered Sugar 2/3 Cup
- 20 grams Cornstarch 2 Tablespoons
- 250 grams AP Flour 2 Cups minus 2 Tablespoons
- ¼ to ⅓ Cup Finely Chopped Raw Pistachio Nuts (Roasted) Unsalted
- 4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate Bar 66% Cacao
Instructions
Shortbread
- Preheat Oven to 350℉
- Roast Pistachios: Chop and roast Pistachios on parchment paper at 350℉ for approx 8 minutes. Remove and cool. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch and set aside.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter approx 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Mix in powdered sugar, and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
- Take bowl off of the stand mixer if you are using one, and add the flour and cornstarch mixture all at once, using a spoon to combine. When the flour mixture is almost combined, add in the the pistachio's. Work together to bring to a solid ball of dough, being careful not to over mix. Over mixed shortbread dough will develop gluten and make the finished product tough, not tender. (If the dough doesn't come together, you can add up to a tablespoon of water)
- Divide dough into 2 disks and wrap in cling wrap. I chill in the fridge for at least 20 min.
- Dust surface with powdered sugar and roll out dough to about 1/2 inch.
If using a Cookie Mold
- Dust your cookie mold and rolling pin with powdered sugar, then turn upside down and press into your dough. With your index fingers on both sides, slowly rock the mold a bit, side by side on the edges while pressing down. Slowly pull up to release the mold. (This can take a bit of practice, so no worries if you don't get it on the first try).
- Take a knife or bench scraper, and cut around your cookies. Transfer them to a parchment lined cookie sheet. I like to chill my cookies for 1 hour before baking, but chill for at least 20 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 325℉
- Take the cookies from the refrigerator, and before baking, score them on the bottom. To do this, I usually don't use a fork, because they can break. I CAREFULLY use a small knife! Turn them over in your palm, and with the knife, score them a few times on the bottom. Them put them right side up again on your cookie sheet. Scoring them helps to allow steam to release during the baking process, which in turn minimizes puffing and cracking.
If using a Cookie Cutter
- Dust your cookie cutter with powdered sugar, and cut your cookie shapes out. In between re-roll outs, handle the dough as less as possible, because your hands will warm up the butter in the dough. Transfer them to a parchment lined cookie sheet. (You can score them on the bottom now or after chilling. Use a fork if you do it before chilling. Use a small knife if doing it afterward, being careful not to break them while doing it. I like to chill my cookies for 1 hour before baking, but chill for at least 20 minutes before cooking.
Baking
- Bake at 325℉ for 10- 12 minutes. Mine are perfect at 12.
- Allow them to cool for a good 15 minutes.
Dipping in Chocolate
- Chop your bar of bittersweet chocolate into small slivers. Try and keep them approx the same size. Microwave in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring between each time until all melted. Don't over heat it. This can burn your chocolate and burnt chocolate has a terrible flavor. (Be sure you use a bowl that will be big enough to dip your cookies into).
- Dip each cookie into the chocolate, lowering them just so you cover the bottom with chocolate. Once dipped I use a small silicone spatula to make sure it’s covered and to remove access chocolate, and it works GREAT!
- After dipping, lay the cookies, chocolate side down, on clean parchment paper. Leave them until the chocolate dries.
- These cookies can be put in the fridge to solidify the chocolate, but make sure the cookies are completely cooled from baking. The heat can create a bit of steam and they might get a bit soggy!
Video
Notes
- Don’t over work the dough. Over mixed shortbread dough will develop gluten and make the finished product tough, not tender.
- Incorporating too much flour. That’s why I use Powdered sugar when dusting. I use just what I need, and not an excess. The powdered sugar will be dissolved into the cookies.
- You can sub any nuts you want, or leave them out. Recipe will be the same, just omit the nuts.
- You can leave the chocolate off if you want to cut calories, or simply just want shortbread.
- I score the bottom of the cookies with a small sharp knife. Just be careful not to break them, as they will be cold and not flex much from being chilled.
