This lovely shortbread recipe, from the first Tartine cookbook, is gentle and peaceful to make and delicious to eat.
It’s made entirely by hand without the use of a mixer or food processor (although I do soften the butter in the microwave), which makes it an ideal “early morning while everyone is asleep” bake.
The unsalted butter needs to be really soft (but not melted) before beginning – I do this by heating the cold chunks of butter in the microwave on a very low power setting (3 out of 10) in 20-30 second bursts. Squish and stir the butter with a fork as it softens. It starts out like this…
…and after a minute or so, looks like this…
I’ve rounded off the metric weights to make it easier and baked the dough in a 31 x 14cm/12 x 5½” biscotti pan, lined with parchment paper. A 20cm/8″ square pan should also work, and the original recipe suggests a 6″ x 10″ glass baking pan.
Be light-handed and resist the urge to beat the dough, which I suspect would toughen the texture of the finished shortbread.
- 250g unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon fine sea salt*
- 250g plain (AP) flour
- 75g cornflour (cornstarch)
- 70g white sugar
- caster sugar (superfine sugar) – for topping
Note: Pete prefers the shortbread with more salt (the original recipe specifies ½ teaspoon), whereas Big Boy prefers it with less. Sigh.
1. Preheat oven to 160C with fan. Scrape the softened butter into a large mixing bowl and stir in the salt. In a separate bowl, sift together the plain flour and cornflour (don’t skip this step).
2. Stir the white sugar into the butter and mix only until combined. Then add the flours and mix again until just combined – treat the mixture gently and don’t overwork it…
3. Scrape the dough into the prepared tray and spread it out evenly (you might need to use your hands). Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until lightly browned. Photo below shows the pan ready to go into the oven…
4. Let the shortbread cool briefly on a wire rack and, while it’s still warm, generously sprinkle over a couple of large spoonfuls of caster sugar. Shake the baking tray gently to spread the sugar coating, then carefully tip off the excess. Also, while the shortbread is still warm, cut it into slices, then leave it in the pan to cool completely before serving.
I find the texture and flavour improves with a day’s rest…
This recipe produces a very tender shortbread compared to the crunchier rice flour versions. It’s also quite rich – one small finger with a cup of tea is very satisfying!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
lovely thanks for sharing
Most welcome. :)
as have flour now will try tomorrow the short bread and send a photo of how it goes
Hungry again. You always do this to me! That looks like a lovely recipe – and I understand the ‘gentle and peaceful’ comment although I would rarely be the one up early to make this while everyone else was sleeping!
Sorry Kim! :) I’m always up before the crack of dawn these days – wish I could still sleep in! :)
Wow! Yum! :D
Thanks! :)
I don’t see any fork marks in this. It doesn’t need to be scored so that it doesn’t bubble? I like this recipe and I like a softer shortbread. I will make this when I finally get home to my own kitchen.
Heidi, no fork marks! This book is another lovely one for the Kindle, if you’re interested! :)
That looks and sounds great Celia, I don’t think one small finger would do me.
Glenda, it’s pretty good – my three men demolished two batches in a blink, so I’m not making it for a little while now.. :D
Delicious.
Thanks Deb! xx
I love the simplicity of this recipe. I’m definitely going to try it soon!
Thank you! It really is easy, and it seems so much gentler than whizzing shortbread together in the food processor! :)
I really like the idea of a ‘gentle’ recipe. I definitely need it these days! Thank you for sharing it.
I wish you many gentle days.. :)
Lovely shortbread. I do like a tender shortbread Celia. It’s almost like a tender Italian……oh where are you Enriqo?
He’s here and waiting for you, darls. Just say the word.. hahahaha
I love how specific your family’s tastebuds are! I have a great shortbread biscuit recipe but the most memorable shortbread I’ve ever eaten was in a slab like yours and I’ve been looking for a recipe ever since. Bingo for me!
Jo, we’ve settled on making it with the greater amount of salt – Pete was adamant that it was necessary. Hope you like this one! :)
I think every cook needs a buttery shortbread recipe in their repetoire. This is a beauty Celia
Thanks Sandra! As you would understand, we all have so many tried and tested recipes that sometimes it’s hard to find a new one to add to the collection. But this one is definitely a keeper! :)
What an excellent breakfast on those early baking days!
Hahaha…I don’t let them have it for breakfast! :D
Sounds like a wonderful recipe, Celia… and I love your clear instructions… wish I liked shortbread! Would make a lovely gift for my Peter’s mum.
Liz, my boys are big fans. I like it a lot, but don’t feel a need to obsessively consume it, which makes it the perfect thing for me to bake! :D
Looks so good Celia, love that early morning baking time x
Jane, you’re my early morning baking kindred spirit.. :)
that looks great – I have a traditional shortbread recipe in my drafts so it is interesting to see this recipe – at times like these I want a baking laboratory where I make a batch of the traditional one (from a mid twentieth century cookbook) and this one and do some taste testing – it is partly because I am curious about taste but also it is a great way to understand how ingredients work in baking
Johanna, it’s great fun to experiment, isn’t it? This one isn’t as crunchy and crumbly like some shortbreads are – made a nice change.
I’m on a three-day juice fast! I’d love some shortbread and I wouldn’t care if it had more or less salt. I love how this is made in a block and then you just cut it into fingers – looks great. And I love how this is made the old-fashioned way without the use of gadgets xx
I saw! You’re brave – I don’t think I could do a juice fast! :)
Shortbread does go so well with a cuppa! Lovely recipe Celia, and I also like shortbread fingers as they are much easier to eat- and dunk!- than cookie shapes xox
Hello love, hope you’re feeling better! I don’t know that these would be good dunkers, they’re pretty tender! :)
This is exactly the sort of thing I never make at home but when I’m presented with a plate of shortbread I can’t stop at just one piece. Which explains why I can’t have it in the kitchen!!
Hahaha…more running, Nancy! And you could keep them in your bag to feed to that lovely fella of yours next time he’s starving and queued up for yum cha! :D
Ohh yummmmm
Thanks dear man xx
Yum!
Thanks Gail! :)
All-time favorite sweet? Possibly, especially with a classic recipe like this. :D
Ooh lovely new pic, Kathryn! :)
Well, now you’ve knocked the shortbread out of first place as my favorite sweet! Thank you. ;)
xo
Maybe you can reduce the salt and then sprinkle some on top of one half for Pete, using flaked salt?
Thanks Tandy, we’ve decided to default to the greater quantity of salt. Pete’s opinion holds great sway here! :D
I feel the same way Nancy does. It’s really not difficult to make but I rarely make shortbread. I love it. This has to be on my table this week.
Maureen, you deserve a treat! xx
It’s weird that I thought it actually smelled of shortbread while I was craving just by reading your article. Maybe it’s a sign. I should print your recipe and make on tomorrow!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie! :) I hope you like making it (and eating it) as much as I did! :)
I do love a good shortbread and with this one being gentle and peaceful to make and delicious to eat is definitely on my ever growing pile of to make recipes.
I have always been worried about melting butter in the microwave for baking. Somebody told me somewhere that it changes something or another in the butter even in short low bursts. I think it is a load of nonsense now that I see you doing it. :-D Yay, no more grating hard butter to try and get it soft on a cold winters day.
Have a super week Celia.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, maybe there is some reason you shouldn’t melt butter in the microwave. Lots of people don’t like the microwave, but it’s so efficient at doing things – melting butter, chocolate, making custard – that I just don’t worry too much about it. :D
One of your shortbreads would be perfect with me tea this morning. I would just have to be careful not to get crumbs in my computer. :)
Karen, I wish I could share some with you! :)
This looks so wonderful. I haven’t made shortbread in ages!
I hope you enjoy it! :)
Like you, I use cornflour as it makes a more melt in the mouth shortbread but unlike you, I don’t sift it into the bowl with the plain flour. I shall have to do that next time to see if it makes a difference. At least it’s a dry mixture so I can bang the sieve to clean it instead of having to wash it up. So lazy, I know.
Anne, I have a sieve with big holes which makes it much easier these days – the fine sieve used to drive me bonkers. I sieve in this case because I want to stir as little as possible to incorporate the dried ingredients – so it helps a bit if they’re already mixed up a bit before I start.
What a great recipe if you don’t have a machine. When I was first starting out cooking I’d look for recipes like this that didn’t require machinery :)
Lorraine, I remember making cookie dough by hand before I had a machine – just squishing it all together between my fingers! :)
Just right for morning tea Celia:)
Thanks Jody! :)
Buttery loveliness :) How good to have recipes that you can make silently without disturbing the peace that also soothe at the same time xx
Thanks love, it was one of those recipes that was just nice to make – I made it three times in a row.. :)
these shortbread fingers look irresistable, right? Yummm! That sounds like a lovely book! :)
Sophie, it’s a gorgeous book! :)
That looks absolutely delicious, I think I will try making this for my father. He loves shortbread but is diabetic, I’m thinking I could reduce the sugar. Yummy I wish I had a piece now to have with my tea!
Stefanie, it really doesn’t use a lot of sugar, which is good. Hope your dad likes it! :)
Made this yesterday and added a squeeze of lemon juice, delicious, kids & hubby loved it. Too easy!
That’s great to know, thanks for the feedback! :)
I’ll have to try this once the chocolate cake is finished! I love shortbread and this one sounds very easy, although we have a new mixmaster so I do quite enjoy mixing things at the moment :-)
A new mixer! That’s exciting! My one is starting to make funny noises at high speed.. :)
Oh WOW, that looks amazing! Your blog is not great for my waistline! I will have to try this one. thanks x
Hahaha…sorry about that! :D
Thanks for the recipe – woke up Sunday morning, threw everything into a bowl, quick mix with the beaters, cooked it and just sliced it – beautiful!
Perfect afternoon tea!
I so admire you for being able to get up early in the morning and start cooking. Not being a morning person, I’m afraid of what I might do in the kitchen until at least late morning. But I can imagine how relaxing a brand new, quiet morning could be for cooking and this shortbread is a great thing to wake up to.