Shortbread
Shortbread is a baking staple we keep on Scoops & Dishes because it rewards a clear metric method: grams and millilitres, Australian cups (250 ml), and steps you can follow without scrolling past a novel. Serves 24 pieces with about 5 min prep and 30 min cook time (around 35 min (+ cool) total). That is a home estimate — ovens and pans vary, so use colour and texture as well as the clock. Oven cue in the method is 160°C. Preheat fully; a cold start throws off the 35 min (+ cool) timing and can leave centres underdone while edges race ahead. Use it for weekend baking sessions and school-lunch tin fillers, then cool on a rack, then slice or pack once firm. One tray or tin as written — freeze extras in airtight bags. Metric spoons here mean a 20 ml tablespoon and a 5 ml teaspoon. Everything on this page is metric-first for Australia. If you are converting from cups on an old card, weigh flour, sugar, and butter whenever the ingredient line shows grams.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 160°C (150°C fan). Butter and line a 31.5 × 23.5 cm pan.
- Beat butter smooth; beat in icing sugar, then flour in two lots. Bring together with hands.
- Press into pan; smooth top lightly.
- Bake 20 minutes until edges very light golden.
- Cut into bars and prick with a fork. Bake 8 minutes more until light golden.
- Turn oven off, crack door ajar, cool in oven at least 1 hour.
Tip: Cutting halfway through baking gives clean edges.
Notes
- Method rhythm: step one is “Heat oven to 160°C (150°C fan). Butter and line a 31.5 × 23.5 cm pan.”. Do not skip resting, cooling, or draining steps if they appear later — they are usually there for texture. The finish is “Turn oven off, crack door ajar, cool in oven at least 1 hour.”. Taste before you plate; salt at the end often needs a final pinch.
- Before the heat goes on, line up salted butter, icing sugar and plain flour and anything perishable from the list. Soften butter, bring eggs off the fridge if the method needs them room-temp, and preheat so you are not waiting mid-recipe. For a baking cook of this size (24 pieces), a clear bench saves more time than any gadget.
- Texture check for baking: colour is a better guide than the timer alone. Edges should look set and golden; centres can finish on the residual heat. Cool on the tray briefly if the recipe says so — Shortbread often firms as it cools. Store airtight once fully cold so humidity does not soften the crust.
- Putting it together for Shortbread: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.