Shortbread is a tender, almost crumbly cookie made from just sugar, flour, and butter. The fact that few ingredients can result in perfection is a testament to simplicity. Shortbread is my favorite cookie in the world.

The “short” stands for a dough that has a high proportion of fat to flour. Baked goods made from this kind of dough are usually tender, rich, crumbly, and crunchy. Shortbread is Scottish in origin and was traditionally made in round cakes. Nowadays, shortbread comes in a whole collection of shapes — drop cookies to square molds or even rolled out and cut out. Because shortbread is such a back-to-basics cookie, it’s a palette waiting to be flavored, but I like it best plain.

I’ve tried a multitude of different shortbread recipes. Because I like this kind of cookie so much, I can never leave a good thing alone. I honestly think that I’ll end up trying each and every shortbread recipe I come across!

Speaking of recipes, here’s one that intrigued me — Buckingham Palace Shortbread. Apparently, a chef who used to work for British royalty released to the public the Queen’s recipe for this teatime treat. The story smacks of an urban legend, but whether it is or isn’t, I tried it, and it’s worth making. This cookie has a delightfully crumbly texture because of the cake flour and cornstarch. It’s so crumbly in fact, that it almost immediately melts in the mouth with little pressure.

my little princess