View source for Shortbread

{{Short description|Scottish Cookie }}
{{Distinguish|Shortcake|Shortcrust pastry}}
{{Infobox prepared food
|name            = Shortbread
|image           = File:Shortbread House round biscuit .jpg
|image_size      = 250px
|caption         = A shortbread round
|alternate_name  = 
|country         = [[Scotland]]
|region          = 
|creator         = 
|course          = 
|type            = [[Biscuit]]
|served          = 
|main_ingredient = [[Flour]], [[butter]], [[sugar|white sugar]]
|variations      = 
|calories        = 
}}

'''Shortbread''' or '''shortie'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/short|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: short|quote= 5. ... shortbread,... Also in reduced form shortie}}</ref> is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part [[sugar|white sugar]], two parts [[butter]] and three to four parts [[plain flour|plain wheat flour]]. Shortbread does not contain [[leavening]], such as [[baking powder]] or [[baking soda]]. Shortbread is widely associated with [[Christmas]] and [[Hogmanay]] festivities in Scotland, and some Scottish brands are exported around the world.

== History ==

Shortbread originated in [[Scotland]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKelvie |first1=Jenny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vWIEAAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+%22originated+in%22&pg=PT36 |title=Scotland |last2=McKelvie |first2=Robin |date=2022-09-13 |publisher=Edizioni WhiteStar |isbn=978-88-544-1930-8 |language=en |quote=Another staple, is, of course, shortbread.  This sweet buttery treat originated in Scotland...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rinsky |first=Glenn |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/173182689 |title=The pastry chef's companion : a comprehensive resource guide for the baking and pastry professional |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |others=Laura Halpin Rinsky |isbn=978-0-470-00955-0 |location=Hoboken, N.J. |pages=257 |oclc=173182689}}</ref> Although it was prepared during much of the 12th century, and probably benefited from cultural exchange with French pastry chefs during the [[Auld Alliance]] between France and Scotland,<ref name="Brown 2015">{{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Catherine|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPNgBwAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+shortcake+encyclopedia&pg=PT1093|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|date=2015-04-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931362-4|language=en|chapter=Shortbread}}</ref> the refinement of shortbread is popularly credited to [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Shortbread|url=http://www.englishteastore.com/shortbread-history.html|publisher=English Tea Store|access-date=10 February 2015}}</ref> Despite the enduring popular association, evidence for any connection between Mary and shortbread's origin is sparse.<ref name=":2">Emma Kay, ''A History of British Baking: From Blood Bread to Bake-Off'' (Pen & Sword, 2020) pp. 113–114. "Despite the endless citations linking Mary Queen of Scots with 'Petticoat tails', I cannot find any legitimate or authentic links with shortbread and its conception in Scotland.&nbsp; Admittedly, during the 1700s it was the predominant country of manufacture, but not solely and certainly not the first to."</ref>   

Triangular wedges of shortbread became known as "petticoat tails", and this form of shortbread has become particularly associated with Mary, Queen of Scots.<ref>Timothy G. Roufs & Kathleen Smyth Roufs, ''Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture'' (Santa Barbara, 2014), p. 290.</ref> It has been suggested that a French term for the wedges of shortbread was ''petits gâteaux'' or ''petites gatelles'' – little cakes, and this became "petticoat tails". It is now thought the Scots term derives from the decorated round edge of the segments which resemble [[Petticoat|petticoats]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/petticoat|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: petticoat}}</ref>

The first printed recipe, in 1736, was from a Scotswoman named Mrs McLintock.<ref name="Telegtaph">{{cite news|last1=Hyslop|first1=Leah|title=Potted histories: shortbread|newspaper=The Telegraph|issue=6 October 2013|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10363464/Potted-histories-shortbread.html|access-date=18 February 2014}}</ref>

Shortbread was expensive and reserved as a luxury for special occasions such as Christmas, [[Hogmanay]] (Scottish New Year's Eve), and weddings.  In Scotland, it was traditional to break a decorated shortbread cake (infar-cake or dreaming bread) over the head of a new bride on the entrance of her new house.<ref>{{cite web|author=Historic UK - heritage of Britain accommodation guide |url=http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Scotland-History/ScottishShortbread.htm |title=Scottish Shortbread |publisher=Historic-uk.com |access-date=2010-11-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishteastore.com/shortbread-history.html |title=History of Shortbread & Shortbread Recipes |publisher=Englishteastore.com |access-date=2010-11-24}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite book |last1=McNeill |first1=F. Marian |title=The Scots Kitchen |date=1929 |publisher=Blackie & Son Ltd |isbn=978-1-84183-070-4 |pages=193–5 |edition=2006}}</ref>  Shortbread was also given as a gift.<ref name="Brown 2015" />

==Name==
Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly [[Texture (food)|texture]] (from an old meaning of the word "short", as opposed to "long", or stretchy).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/schort_breid|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: DOST :: schort breid}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/schort_adj|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: DOST :: schort adj}}</ref><ref>"Of edible substances: Friable, easily crumbled." ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> The cause of this texture is its high [[fat]] content, provided by the butter. The short or crumbly texture is a result of the fat inhibiting the formation of long [[protein]] ([[gluten]]) strands.  The related word "[[shortening]]" refers to any fat that may be added to produce a "short" (crumbly) texture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=shortening|access-date=2007-01-25|title=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref>

In British English, ''shortbread'' and ''shortcake'' have been synonyms for several centuries, starting in the 1400s; both referred to the crisp, crumbly cookie-type baked good, rather than a softer cake.<ref name="Mariani 2014">{{Cite book|last=Mariani|first=John F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5taAgAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+shortcake&pg=PT1034|title=Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink|date=2014-02-04|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=978-1-62040-161-3|pages=1034|language=en}}</ref>  The "short-cake" mentioned in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] play ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'', first published in 1602, was a reference to the cookie-style of shortbread.<ref name="Mariani 2014" />

In American English, shortbread is different from [[shortcake]].<ref name="Mariani 2014" />  Shortcake usually has a chemical [[leavening agent]] such as [[baking powder]], which gives it a different, softer texture, and it was normally split and filled with fruit.<ref name="Mariani 2014" />  The most popular example of this difference is [[Strawberry shortcake (dessert)|strawberry shortcake]].<ref name="Mariani 2014" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Clarkson|first=Janet|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPNgBwAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+shortcake+encyclopedia&pg=PT1093|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|date=2015-04-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931362-4|pages=1093|language=en|chapter=Shortcake}}</ref>

== Ingredients ==
Other ingredients are often substituted for part of the flour to alter the texture.  [[Rice flour]] or [[semolina]] makes it grittier, and cornflour makes it tenderer.<ref name="Brown 2015" />  [[Bere (grain)|Bere]] or [[Oat|oat flour]] may be added for flavour.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Catherine|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPNgBwAAQBAJ&dq=shortbread+shortcake+encyclopedia&pg=PT1093|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|date=2015-04-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931362-4|language=en|chapter=Shortbread|quote=...not all shortbread is made with white flour.  On Orkney, where a tasty Neolithic barley known as "bere" is still grown and milled, bakers add a little of this flour to their shortbread.  Others add rolled oats to provide more flavour and texture.}}</ref>

Modern recipes also often deviate from the original by splitting the sugar into equal parts [[sugar|granulated]] and [[powdered sugar|icing sugar]] and many add a portion of [[salt]]. 

Spices and ingredients such as almonds may be added.<ref name="Brown 2015" />

== Shapes ==
[[File:Malcolms Scottish shortbread (7519979640).jpg|thumb|Shortbread fingers and petticoat tails]]
Shortbread is commonly formed into one of three shapes: 

* one large circle, which is divided into segments as soon as it is taken out of the oven (''petticoat tails'', which may have been named from the [[French language|French]] ''petits cotés'', a pointed biscuit eaten with wine, or ''petites galettes,'' the old French term for little cakes.  This term may also reference the shape of a [[petticoat]]<ref name="Brown 2015" />); 
* individual round biscuits (''shortbread rounds''); or 
* a thick (¾" or 2 cm) oblong slab cut into ''fingers''.

Shortbread may also be made in quadrant-shaped [[farl]]s.

In one of the oldest shapes, bakers pinched the edges of a shortbread round to suggest the rays of the sun.<ref name="Brown 2015" />

The stiff dough retains its shape well during cooking.  The biscuits are often patterned before cooking, usually with the tines of a fork or with a [[springerle]]-type mold.  Shortbread is sometimes shaped into hearts and other shapes for special occasions.

==Varieties==
{{main|List of shortbread biscuits and cookies}}
[[File:Handmade_shortbread_at_the_bakery.jpg|thumb|Shortbread rounds being cut at a bakery.  This dough has been flavoured, docked (poked with holes), and rolled to the correct thickness before being cut.]]

Variations in ingredients for some recipes include the optional addition of caraway seeds to petticoat tails,<ref name="auto1"/> coriander and caraway in [[Goosnargh]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/cookies-and-biscuits/goosnargh-cakes|title=Goosnargh cakes recipe|website=Sainsbury`s Magazine}}</ref> egg yolk and cream in [[Ayrshire]], [[citrus peel]] and almonds in [[Pitcaithly]] bannock,<ref name="auto1"/> and [[demerara sugar]] in [[Dorset]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |date=2014-08-21 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-104072-6 |pages= 740 |language=en|quote= There are many variations.  The thick Pitcaithly bannock has peel and almonds in the mixture.  Queen Victoria's Balmoral recipe for shortbread was seasoned with a little salt; egg yolk and a little cream are added for extra richness in Ayrshire shortbread, and demerara sugar in Dorset shortbread.  Goosnargh cakes, named for the village in Lancashire where they achieved great popularitly in the 19th century, contain ground coriander and whole caraway seeds.}}</ref>

[[Millionaire's shortbread]], also called ''caramel squares'', is a modern variation, in which shortbread is topped with caramel and chocolate.<ref name=":1" /><!-- "...the layered combination of soft caramel and chocolate topping set upon a shortbread base, known as caramel squares, or sometimes as millionaire's shortbread." -->

== Cultural associations ==
In ancient Scottish folklore, sun-shaped cakes, such as shortbread, had magical powers over the Sun during the [[Hogmanay|Scottish New Year's Eve.]]<ref name="Brown 2015" />

Shortbread originated in and is generally associated with Scotland, but due to its popularity it is also made in the rest of the [[United Kingdom]] and similar biscuits are also made in [[Denmark]], [[Ireland]] and [[Sweden]].  The Scottish version is the best-known and is widely exported.

Scottish chef John Quigley, of Glasgow's Red Onion, describes shortbread as "the jewel in the crown" of Scottish baking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=Food%20Recipes&vxClipId=1380_SMG1564&vxBitrate=300 |title=Chef John Quigley discusses and bakes Scottish Shortbread |publisher=Scotlandontv.tv |date=2006-10-24 |access-date=2009-05-29}}</ref>

An early variety of shortbread, using ginger, was reportedly eaten during sittings of the [[Parliament of Scotland]], and therefore the variety was sometimes called "Parliament cake" or "Parlies" into the 19th century.<ref name="jamieson-parliament-cake">{{cite book |last1=Jamieson |first1=John |title=An etymological dictionary of the Scottish language|date=1841|publisher=Andrew Shortrede |location=Edinburgh |page=191 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4VHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA191 |access-date=10 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&dq=%22parliament+cake%22+scotland&pg=PA349 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |date=2014-08-21 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-104072-6 |pages=349 |language=en}}</ref> The biscuits were sold in Mrs Flockhart's tavern and shop in Bristo Street in [[Edinburgh]]'s [[Potterrow]]. Known as ''Luckie Fykie'', the landlady was thought to be the inspiration for Mrs Flockhart in [[Walter Scott]]'s [[Waverley (novel)|Waverley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vIQBAAAAYAAJ&q=Luckie+Fykie&pg=PA290|title=Traditions of Edinburgh|first=Robert|last=Chambers|date=October 27, 1825|publisher=W. & C. Tait|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_parlie.htm |title=Traditional Scottish Recipes - "Parlies" |publisher=Rampantscotland.com |access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref>

In the UK tax code, shortbread is taxed as a [[Flour confections|flour confection]] (baked good) rather than as a common biscuit.<ref name="Brown 2015" />

==See also==
* [[Butter cookie]]
* [[Nankhatai]]
* [[Shortcake]], a soft cake with a similar name
* [[Sugar cookie]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Scottish cuisine}}
{{Foods featuring butter}}

[[Category:Shortbread| ]]
[[Category:Biscuits]]
[[Category:British cuisine]]
[[Category:Danish cuisine]]
[[Category:Foods featuring butter]]
[[Category:Irish cuisine]]
[[Category:Scottish cuisine]]
[[Category:Scottish inventions]]
[[Category:Scottish desserts]]
[[Category:New Zealand cuisine]]
[[Category:Swedish cuisine]]