History you can eat. This weekend we celebrate National Shortbread Day, on January 6. The history of shortbread is a long one: shortbread evolved from medieval “biscuit bread,” a twice-baked bread roll dusted with sugar and spices. Eventually, the yeast from the original bread-roll recipe was supplanted by butter (yum), which was becoming more of a staple in Britain and Ireland.
Although shortbread was prepared in Scotland as far back as the 12th century, the refinement of shortbread to its modern sugar+butter+flour form is credited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. (Queen Mary liked her shortbread savory, seasoned with a bit of caraway seed).
In the “olden days,” shortbread was expensive to make, and was reserved as a luxury for special occasions such as Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and for weddings. In some parts of GB, shortbread is still a treat served on important days; in Shetland, it is traditional to break a shortbread cake over the head of a new bride as she enters her new house.
Easy as 1:2:3. The recipe for shortbread is perhaps the simplest cookie recipe you’ve ever made: 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, and 3 parts flour.
That’s it: sugar, butter, flour. What could be easier?
But oh, the fun things you can add to or do with a basic shortbread recipe, to make this delicious buttery cookie into a fancy treat!