
If there is one cookie/dessert I wish I had grown up with because I now love it so much, it is shortbread. I’m actually surprised that Mom never made it, nor did I have it at family reunions or church potlucks. It is one of the easiest and quickest treats I’ve ever made. Just a handful of ingredients and a short baking time and you have a scrumptious snack!
Shortbread is not a typical cookie. It is not made with baking powder or baking soda, hence it does not rise or get puffy in any way, hence the name Shortbread.
At least that is what I thought initially.
According to Wikipedia, shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture. This is because of its high fat content provided by the butter (I told you it was good).
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts wheat flour. Shortbread is widely associated with Christmas. This is understandable, again, because this is a quick, delicious treat that could fit in with busy schedules. But I’m not waiting another eight months to make this– I can pretend it is Christmas in April!
I tried shortbread for the first time a few months ago as part of this Vintage Eats adventure. What a great, easy, delicious discovery! The Scotch Shortbread (1964) I featured on this blog is just as flaky, buttery and scrumptious as Butterscotch Shortbread but made with slightly different ingredients.

I found today’s recipe for Butterscotch Shortbread in the Betty Crocker Cooky Book (1977). It is a hard-cover, 3-ring spiral copy with 156 pages and published by Golden Press. It contains dozens of recipes for cookies that sound delicious, including Brownie Date Bars, Joe Froggers (what are these, I wonder?) and Salted Peanut Crisps from the ‘Historical Highlights’ section. Since this is America’s 250th birthday, I will continue to share recipes from our heritage because they sound intriguing. So be on the lookout for some of these in the near future!
The book also contains full-color photos of prepared cookies, which is inspiring, as well as dozens of drawings. If you come across this cookbook at an estate sale or online auction, snap it up! It will be a treasure in your baking endeavors.
The kitchen towel in the photo with a Bible text is a Christmas gift from my kids at my request. I love it! Find similar products on Amazon searching under ‘Bible quote hand towels.’
As for today’s recipe, here are a few tips:
- As the recipe suggests, I used ½ cup shortening and ½ cup butter
- An old-fashioned pastry blender to mix the shortening/butter into the sugars and flour was fun to use but hard to clean. Next time I’ll use my hands.
- Rather than pull out my plastic baking sheet to roll out the dough and then transfer it to a cookie sheet as the recipe suggests, I pressed out the dough on the cookie sheet which was covered with parchment paper. This dough does not spread so one sheet was all that was needed.
- The recipe says it makes 7 dozen—that depends on how you cut them. I chose long rectangles and got approximately 3 dozen.
- Powdered sugar sprinkled on top provides a light, decorative effect.
Enjoy making your Butterscotch Shortbread. Let me know how it turns out and who will enjoy it!
**
1977 Butterscotch Shortbread

1 cup shortening (part butter)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 300 degrees.
Mix shortening and sugar thoroughly.
Mix flour and salt.

Stir this in with shortening and sugar and mix thoroughly.
Roll out ¼” thick on flour cloth-covered board.

Cut in desired shapes.
Place on large baking sheet.
Bake 20-25 minutes
Yield: 7 dozen
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