Grain-Free Maple-Vanilla Shortbread

In each issue of Paleo Magazine, I team up with Steph Gaudreau to share the history of a traditional recipe and adapt it to fit into a healthier paleo lifestyle. (I write the words; she makes the gorgeous photos.) Just in time for the holidays, here’s the sweet and buttery history of Scottish shortbread.

Scottish Snashters

One of the highlights of recent paleo history is when the gurus collectively came to the conclusion that grass-fed ghee—butter that’s been clarified to remove the dairy proteins and leave only the luscious fat—is a paleo-friendly fat source. OMGhee! It’s a treat, indeed, to have butter back on the menu. And one of the butteriest ways to enjoy that singular, mildly salt, not-too-sweet flavor is in Scottish shortbread.

The very name shortbread is an homage to butter. Sweet treats—known in Scottish slang as snashters—are referred to as “short” when they’re made with lots of butter or shortening which imparts a crumbly texture. The shortbread cookie started out as a medieval biscuit made from leftover bits of bread dough that were fancied up with sugar and spices, then dried in a slow oven until they became crisp. Eventually, the yeast in the bread was replaced with butter and the bread became “short.”

But there was more to the name than semantics! Bakers pushed to have shortbread classified as a bread, rather than a biscuit, to avoid paying the taxes levied on biscuits in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Fast forward to the 1980s, shortbread had become so popular, the European Union was in danger of reclassifying it as a “common biscuit” which would have made it subject to the cookie tax, but the Scottish Association of Master Bakers prevailed again, Shortbread remained a “flour confectionary” rather than a biscuit. Justice was once again served.

The first known printed recipe for shortbread dates from 1736—we thank ye, Mrs. McLintock! Now the generally accepted recipe for traditional shortbread is one part white sugar to two parts butter and three parts flour. But flavor variations have been popular as long as shortbread has been part of tea. According to scuttlebutt, Mary, Queen of Scots, liked her shortbread with a sprinkling of caraway (the way it’s made now in Goosnargh, Lancashire), while Queen Victoria preferred a pinch of salt. Other options include ginger, lemon, almond, and orange flavors.

Even in variation, there is adherence to tradition. There are three generally accepted shortbread shapes: one large circle divided into wedges—called “Petticoat Tails,” as they’re said to resemble the shape of the fabric pieces used to make petticoats—individual round biscuits, or rectangular bars.

Because of the high quantity of butter in shortbread, it was something of a luxury back in the day, reserved only for special occasions like Christmas, the New Year, and weddings, where a decorated shortbread cake was broken over the head of a bride to welcome her to her new home. These days, January 6 is National Shortbread Day and the buttery treat is enjoyed anytime a nice cuppa needs a little something sweet alongside.

This paleo version of shortbread is more tender than the traditional, sandy version, but it delivers the same classic buttery flavor: not-too-sweet and very satisfying. I’ve also included variations, including a dark chocolate dip, so you can see with which queen you agree. Whichever you choose, these shortbread fingers are a hoora good addition to your holiday cookie plate.

Grain-Free Maple-Vanilla Shortbread

Prep 15 minutes | Bake 20 minutes | Makes 24 cookies

You Know How You Could Do That?

To live large like Mary, Queen of Scots: Add 2 teaspoons caraway seeds to the flour and potato starch.

Make like Queen Victoria: Increase the salt to ¼ teaspoon when you beat the ghee and maple syrup.

Lemon or orange shortbread: Add the zest of one lemon or orange when you beat the ghee and maple syrup.

Almond shortbread: Add 5-6 drops almond extract when you beat the ghee and maple syrup.