Recipes

Mrs. Murdoch’s Shortbread

Mrs. Murdoch is the Cook at Clewes House and Lockhart would have been very upset with his employer if he had been deprived of her baking prowess. Borstal is also a big fan of this particular cookie. Shortbread is simple to make and ingredients are always on hand. For every family, there is a recipe and here’s a favorite version. It has a depth of flavor with a couple swaps from the bog standard version, but is super crumbly and delicious.

That’s it! Here’s the trick, use the good stuff, European style butter with more fat and it should be golden yellow not sad bland barely colored if you want buttery goodness on your tongue. You can omit the vanilla, but I think it brings out the creamy notes of the butter. The cornstarch keeps the gluten from forming and helps keep the dough short. Short just means crumbly instead of forming gluten and a more structured dough. The brown sugar is for the same reason as vanilla, but you can play with the ratio of brown to white including all white. A dash of malt is also fun, but that is not always in the pantry when the mood for shortbread strikes.

1. Cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Now it will be a much lighter color and lots of air.
2. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
3. Add the corn starch and stir to combine.
4. Stir in half the flour and add remaining flour. Your dough will be very crumbly but should be well coated.
5. Dump into a 13 by 9 dish and press into a smooth layer with back of measuring cup.
6. Score the dough into strips and prick with a fork.
7. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes
8. Lower the oven to 250 and then bake until edges are golden, 60-90 minutes
9. Rescore the lines after taking from oven
10. Wait until cools and then enjoy!