Butter, sugar, flour. That is the whole recipe, and it is enough.
The “baking therapy” discussed on this blog refers to my personal experience using baking as a self-help and relaxation tool.”
Hey everybirdy! Robby here. Welcome back to the nest, and to the plainest, oldest, most argued about cookie in this whole series.
This is day six of Briella’s Winterfest Baking from 2019, Scotch Shortbread from the 1979 Betty Crocker Cooky Book, the same vintage cookbook that gave us the thumbprint cookies earlier in the story. I read old cookbooks the way other people read fiction, and this is the book that started that habit. Its recipes are simple and straightforward, no complicated methods, no special equipment, and this one might be the simplest in the book: butter or margarine, sugar, flour. That is the entire ingredient list, and it is enough.
It is also, with the receipts to prove it, the cheapest batch in the whole Winterfest series. A batch of 24 costs $0.79 at Walmart, $1.07 at Costco, and $0.58 the food bank way, when the flour was given to me. When life is loud or money is tight, a recipe that asks for three things you probably already have is a small, calm gift. The Costco number runs higher than Walmart here for a familiar reason: Costco does not sell margarine, so the Costco sheet uses butter, and butter is the whole flavor of this cookie. Margarine at Walmart is how the batch gets under a dollar. With butter at Walmart it runs about $1.78, still cheap, just not record breaking.
One note I always keep: when I say baking therapy, I mean my own way of finding calm in the kitchen. I am not a professional therapist. I am just a baker who knows that working dough with your hands can make a hard day feel smaller, and this recipe is almost entirely hands.
Meet Briella Ponder
Sul Sul, Gerbits! I found this recipe in Betty Crocker’s 1979 Version of the Cooky Book. I honestly don’t know if I have ever eaten Scotch Shortbread cookies, but I thought that I would give it a try because it is really basic, and it is easy to make.
The first thing you are going to do is get your ingredients together. Which are: butter, sugar and all purpose flour. It is a very basic recipe, so if you want to put a flavor into it, you could.
smirks at the camera Having said that though, you are going to make sure that you are doing some exercising, or a lot of walking because butter and sugar are not good for you. So, I would suggest that you make these cookies very rarely.
What You Will Need
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened to room temperature for smooth mixing
- 1/4 cup sugar, just enough for a subtle sweetness that lets the butter flavor stand out
- 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted or measured carefully so the texture stays tender
Makes 24 cookies. That is the whole list, exactly as Briella printed it in 2019 and exactly as it sits on my recipe card, from the 1979 Betty Crocker Cooky Book. Two honest additions from the two kitchens. Briella chopped a small peppermint candy into her dough to make it look festive, and my real post offers the same idea as a twist: 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. And both versions finish the cookies the same optional way, with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and a little milk, which is not in the priced batch above.
Let’s Get Baking
Gerbits, mix the butter and sugar thoroughly, measure flour sifting, and you are going to work the flour in with your hands. It’s kind of fun.
Robby’s notes from my real post, because she is right and it is: the dough will look crumbly at first, and that crumbly stage is normal, not a failure. Shortbread has no eggs and no liquid to hold it together. Keep working it gently and it comes together. Then give it the rest the recipe asks for: chill the dough 15 to 20 minutes, and take the short break it offers you. That pause is part of the recipe in my kitchen.
Your oven should be on at 350 degrees F. Roll dough, and cut them into fancy shapes. Place the dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until set. Do not brown.
These cookies are rather flavorless, so I decided to put some icing on it. In order to make the icing, you are just going to get some powdered sugar, and a tiny bit of milk. Then, you are going to put that on the cookies, but be careful, the icing will run.
These cookies are going to be very messy. But overall these cookies are good.
I called over my parents to have them try these cookies. And my dad said that these were his favorite out of all the cookies that were in the refrigerator. Mom looked at him and said, “Are you really saying that?”
I will be going to Selvadorada; tomorrow. That does not mean that I am going to stop uploading. The rest of my Winterfest Baking series will just be pre-recorded. So, look out for the rest of the series. Enjoy your Winterfest, and happy cooking! Take care, Gerbits! Bye!
And Briella’s honest review, from her own follow up note: “Let me be honest for a second, I don’t care much for shortbread cookies. I know that the reason they don’t have much flavor is because they are traditionally supposed to be served with tea. It doesn’t really help in my case, because I don’t drink tea. I do like that these cookies came out very festive looking, and I will give them a 6 out of 10.”
Robby’s note: sit with that pair of reviews for a second. Briella gives the recipe a 6 out of 10 and her dad calls them his favorite out of everything in the refrigerator. That is not a contradiction, that is just taste. A plain cookie with tea beside it is one person’s boring and another person’s perfect. Bake them and cast your own vote. The batch costs seventy nine cents. You can afford to have an opinion.
Questions and Robby
What does a batch really cost?
I price every recipe three ways, at everyday store prices, warehouse store prices, and a food bank version where the main ingredient was given to me, and the prices were checked October 28, 2026. This batch of 24 cookies costs $0.79 at Walmart, about $0.03 a cookie, $1.07 at Costco, about $0.04, and $0.58 the food bank way, about $0.02. It is the cheapest batch in the entire Winterfest series.
What does the food bank version change?
The flour. If the flour was given to me, the batch drops to $0.58. Butter or margarine, sugar, and a bag of flour are all things food pantries really do give out, which makes this one of the most food bank friendly recipes in the series, start to finish.
The recipe card used to say $2.51. What happened?
An older count, from when I priced things differently, and it stayed on the card longer than it should have. The checked price sheet is the count I trust now: $0.79, $1.07, $0.58. The card is being corrected to match, and the difference is good news.
Why is my dough so crumbly?
Because shortbread has no eggs and no liquid to hold it together. Keep working it gently with your hands. It comes together. Briella was right in 2019, the hands on part is kind of fun.
Plain or peppermint?
That is the question I asked when this post went up, and I am asking it again. Plain and classic the way the 1979 book wrote it, Briella’s chopped peppermint pieces, or the extract twist. Tell me in the comments. My family is split exactly the way Briella and her dad were.
Where can I read more of Generation B?
The whole story started on my Tumblr, robbybirdy, in 2019. I am bringing the baking chapters home by folding them into the matching recipe posts, because those are the chapters where this blog really began.
Closing
Three ingredients, seventy nine cents, and a cookie that has been argued about by two generations of one fictional family and now gets argued about in my real comments too. That is a lot of life for the plainest recipe in the book, and it is why I keep coming back to these old cookbooks. They leave room for you in them.
Bake a batch this week. Put half out for whoever is home and keep a few aside for somebody who was not in the room, the way Briella’s dad found his favorites waiting in the refrigerator. My work stays pointed at the same place it always is: I walked 31 miles in October for Feeding America, and $1 of every $5 in my shop goes to the Geneva Center of Concern, because a simple cookie should be within everybody’s reach, not just people having a good month.
What is your honest score for a plain shortbread, and are you team tea with it or team no thank you, like Briella? Tell me below. I read every comment.
Thanks for reading a piece of where this blog came from. You are not alone in the kitchen. Happy baking, everybirdy!
Bake the real thing. The full recipe card is on this page, with Briella’s story above it and my real costs beside it: $0.79 a batch at Walmart, $1.07 at Costco, $0.58 the food bank way. Print it, save it, or bake straight from the screen.
Join the Flock. My newsletter is where the new recipes, the real costs, and the next chapters land first. It is free, and you are welcome at the table: Robby’s Baking Therapy on Substack.
Support the kitchen. Tips and printables live on my Ko-fi, and $1 of every $5 goes to the Geneva Center of Concern, the food pantry where I volunteer: Robby’s Baking Therapy on Ko-fi.
Shop the story. You can find the tools and ingredients from my kitchen on Benable if you want to bake along: Robby Birdy on Benable.
Scotch Shortbread
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter or margarine
- ¼ Cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
- Mix your butter or margarine and sugar thoroughly in a large bowl. Measure your flour by either using the dipping method or by sifting it, then gently work it into the mixture using your hands until a soft dough forms. Enjoy the feel of the dough coming together.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for a bit while you take a short break to relax. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Roll your chilled dough out until it is about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut it into whatever shapes you like, simple squares, rectangles, or circles work beautifully. If you want to add a little flair, you can flute the edges by pinching them between your fingers just like a pie crust.
- Place your shapes onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them, but remember the tops are meant to stay pale and will not turn brown. This simple three-ingredient dough makes about 2 dozen cookies.
- For a simple, optional finish, mix a little powdered sugar and milk until smooth, then drizzle or spread it right over your cooled cookies.
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