Coconut Shortbread—a Scottish traditional cookie with a little something extra fit for a Queen by Melissa Vickers

I’m pretty partial to anything with chocolate in it, but I must say, I love a good shortbread cookie. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies date at least back to 1736, when a Scotswoman, Mrs. McLintock, first published a recipe. It may go back as far as the 12th century, and has become widely associated with Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century, though there is little evidence of either her baking or her shortbread. Perhaps if she was around when she could post her favorite concoctions on Facebook…. This recipe has the traditional 3 main ingredients (butter, sugar, and flour), and I added a bit of coconut extract and a little shredded coconut just for fun. The name, by the way, comes from its crumbly “short” texture created by the high fat content of the butter, as opposed to a “long” mixture that has long protein strands from gluten.

Cuisine: Scottish
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
• ½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Here’s how to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9x13 inch cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter with electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar. Add in flour and mix until well combined—it will be “short,” or crumbly.
3. Optional—sprinkle top with 1 tablespoon sugar.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or just until turning light brown. Remove from pan on the parchment paper and cut into “fingers”—a pizza cutter works nicely. These cut more easily when hot.