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Shortbread is a type of biscuit
Biscuit

File:Runny hunny.jpgA biscuit is a small Baking product; the exact meaning varies markedly in different parts of the world. The etymology of the word "biscuit" is from Latin language via Middle French and means "cooked twice", hence biscotti in Medieval Italian ....
 (cookie
Cookie

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat-baked treat, containing milk, flour, eggs, and sugar, etc. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have different meanings?a cookie is a plain bu...
) which is traditionally made from one part white sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, two parts butter
Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
, and three parts oatmeal
Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a product of ground oat groats or a porridge made from this product . The term, 'oatmeal' can refer also to other products made from oat groats, such as steel-cut oats, crushed oats, and rolled oats....
 (although plain white flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
 is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
 or cornflour
Cornflour

Cornflour may be:* Cornmeal, flour ground from dried corn* Cornstarch, the white, powdered starch of the maize grain; in UK usage, cornflour normally has this particular meaning....
 are sometimes added to alter the texture). Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word short).






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Shortbreadrounds
Shortbread is a type of biscuit
Biscuit

File:Runny hunny.jpgA biscuit is a small Baking product; the exact meaning varies markedly in different parts of the world. The etymology of the word "biscuit" is from Latin language via Middle French and means "cooked twice", hence biscotti in Medieval Italian ....
 (cookie
Cookie

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat-baked treat, containing milk, flour, eggs, and sugar, etc. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have different meanings?a cookie is a plain bu...
) which is traditionally made from one part white sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, two parts butter
Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
, and three parts oatmeal
Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a product of ground oat groats or a porridge made from this product . The term, 'oatmeal' can refer also to other products made from oat groats, such as steel-cut oats, crushed oats, and rolled oats....
 (although plain white flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
 is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
 or cornflour
Cornflour

Cornflour may be:* Cornmeal, flour ground from dried corn* Cornstarch, the white, powdered starch of the maize grain; in UK usage, cornflour normally has this particular meaning....
 are sometimes added to alter the texture). Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word short). The cause of this texture is its high fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
 content, provided by the butter. The related word "shortening
Shortening

Shortening is a semisolid fat used in food preparation, especially baked goods, and is so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture ....
" refers to any fat that may be added to produce a short (crumbly) texture.

Shortbread is not to be confused with shortcake
Shortcake

Shortcake is a sweet biscuit , and a dessert made with that biscuit.Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, table salt, butter, milk or cream, and sometimes Egg s....
, which is similar to shortbread but can be made using vegetable fat instead of butter and always uses a leavening agent, giving it a different texture. By coincidence, it is now understood that the short or crumbly texture is a result of the fact that the fat inhibits the formation of long protein (gluten
Gluten

Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some Triticeae glutens cereal, notably wheat, rye, and barley....
) strands.

Baking procedure


Shortbread is baked at a low temperature to avoid browning. When cooked, it is nearly white, or a light golden brown.

Shapes


Shortbread is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: one large circle, which is divided into segments as soon as it is taken out of the oven ("Petticoat Tails", named from the French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 'petits cotés', a pointed biscuit eaten with wine); individual round biscuits ("Shortbread Rounds"); or a thick (¾" or 2 cm) oblong slab cut into "fingers." It is made from a stiff dough that retains its shape well during cooking. The biscuits are often patterned, usually with the tines of a fork before cooking; sometimes they are then sprinkled with more sugar while cooling. Shortbread biscuits are often associated with normal egg-based biscuits, but they hold their shape under pressure, making them ideal for packed meals.

Shortbread is also sometimes shaped in stars and other shapes for special occasions

Cultural associations


Shortbread is generally associated with and originated in Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, but due to its popularity it is also made in the remainder of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, and other countries like Denmark
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
, Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 and Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
. In the latter a popular recipe of it is called "Drömmar", literally meaning "dreams" in English. The Scottish version is the best-known, and Walkers Shortbread
Walkers Shortbread

Walkers Shortbread is a Scotland manufacturer of shortbread, biscuits, cookies and cracker s. The company is Scotland's biggest exporter of food....
 Ltd is Scotland's largest food exporter.

Shortbread was chosen as the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's representative for Café Europe
Café Europe

Caf? Europe, Caf? d'Europe or also Caf? Europa was a cultural initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, held on Europe Day in 27 caf?s of the capitals of the then 25 EU member states and the two countries which would join the Union in 2007....
 during the 2006 Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
n Presidency of the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
.

Scottish chef John Quigley, of Glasgow's Red Onion, describes shortbread as "the jewel in the crown" of Scottish baking.