This one came from a friend, who sent me the recipe their mom has used for years. Her one rule, and she made a big deal about it: cut a round out of the center so it cooks evenly.

It turns out that is the whole trick. A thick round of shortbread browns at the edges long before the middle is done, so taking the middle out means every wedge bakes the same. The recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated, “Rediscovering Shortbread” by Kay Rentschler, November 2001, written out here in my own words with the weights.

Recipe by Garrett (Bear)

Prep: 20 min
Bake: 1 hr
Rest: 3 hr
Total: 4 hr 20 min
Makes: 16 wedges
Level: medium

Recipe originally written in US cups. These are the original measures.

Ingredients

1¾ cups (248 g) all-purpose flour, unbleached, ideally a softer one like Gold Medal or Pillsbury (10.5% protein or less)
¼ cup (37 g) white rice flour
⅔ cup (136 g) caster (superfine) sugar, keep back 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
¼ tsp table salt
2 sticks (227 g) unsalted butter, cold

Equipment

Stand mixer with the paddle attachment
9-inch (23 cm) round cake pan
Parchment paper
2-inch (5 cm) plain round biscuit cutter (not fluted)
Baking sheet
Wire rack

Method

Heat the oven. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it. Line the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment. Oven: 425°F / 220°C (200°C fan)
Mix the dry ingredients. In the mixer bowl with the paddle, mix both flours, the sugar (minus the tablespoon you are saving) and the salt on low for about 5 seconds, just to combine.
Cube the butter, quickly. Scoop a little of the flour mixture onto a sheet of parchment and cut the cold butter into ½-inch cubes on top of it, tossing so the cubes stay coated and do not stick. Work fast so the butter stays cold.
Mix to damp crumbs. Tip the butter and any flour left on the parchment into the bowl. Mix on low until the dough turns pale yellow and looks like damp crumbs, about 4 minutes.
Fluff it. Take the bowl off the mixer and toss the crumbs with your fingers to loosen them, rubbing in any bits of butter that are still whole.
Shape the round and cut out the center. Press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the lined pan. Press the plain round cutter into the very center and take out the dough inside it, leaving the cutter in place. Unmold the round, cutter and all, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Do all of this without stopping, while the butter is cold. The hole in the middle is what makes it bake evenly.
Bake low and slow. Put the shortbread in the oven and immediately turn the oven down. Bake for 20 minutes. Oven: 300°F / 150°C (130°C fan)
Score and prick. Take the sheet out and score the round into 16 wedges with a knife, then prick each wedge a few times with a skewer. Return it to the oven and bake until pale golden, about 40 minutes more.
Sprinkle, cut, cool. Slide the parchment onto a cutting board, lift out the cutter, sprinkle the round with the sugar you saved, and cut along the scored lines. Slide it onto a wire rack and let it cool completely, at least 3 hours.

Baker's notes

Use a plain round cutter for the center, not a fluted one. The butter has to stay cold from cubing to oven, so have everything ready before you start.

Storage + make ahead

Wrapped well, it keeps at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Substitutions

No rice flour: use the same amount of cornstarch. The shortbread tastes faintly chalky while warm, and that fades as it cools and sits.

ricottabear.com/buttery-shortbread · US measures, metric in brackets

Reviews + questions

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I have not made this one myself yet, so amounts and timings may change once I have. Something not right? Tell me above and I will fix it.

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Buttery Shortbread