A simple recipe for Lorna Doone Cookies! It’s a deliciously buttery, lightly sweetened, crisp but tender cookie. They only have FIVE ingredients, plus optional (but highly recommended) chocolate!
What Exactly Is Shortbread?
The “short” in shortbread refers to the absence of gluten in these Lorna Doone Cookies. Liquid activates gluten, but since there is no liquid in the recipe (and a great deal of fat), the gluten is unable to grow into long strands of protein, which are responsible for the chewy texture of other baked products.
Because the gluten is kept “short,” the resulting cookie is delicate, crumbly, and melts in the mouth.
Ingredients That You’ll Need:
- Unsalted butter: Salted butter can also be used (cookies will be slightly saltier), but leave out the salt in the Lorna Doone Cookie recipe
- Granulated sugar: If you want the cookies to be a little sweeter, increase the sugar to 2/3 cup.
- Salt: Simply use regular fine table salt.
- Vanilla extract: For the best shortbread, use real vanilla extract.
- All-purpose flour: I prefer unbleached all-purpose flour. This year has seen me primarily convert to baking. It tastes better than bleached flour, and I’m curious about the chemical bleaching process used in bleached flour. If a bleached paper is all you have, it will suffice.
Is This A Sweet Cookie Recipe?
The Lorna Doone Cookie is not too sugary. If you’d prefer them a bit sweeter, a dusting of confectioner’s sugar after baking would do the job!
How Can I Shape Lorna Doone Cookie?
- Roll dough and slice with a knife: This is the method I used in this case. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/3-inch thick rectangle. Trim the dough’s uneven edges before cutting it into rectangles (or squares). Transfer to baking sheets and chill until firm, then bake for 13–16 minutes at 350°F.
- Roll the dough and cut with cookie cutters: Roll out the dough as directed, then cut into desired shapes instead of squares or rectangles (re-roll scraps), chill, and bake as directed.
- Shape dough into logs and slice: This option makes things easier because you don’t have to roll out the dough. Alternatively, roll the dough into two log shapes (press firmly so there are no holes inside). Refrigerate and bake as directed after slicing 1/3-inch thick.
How To Make Lorna Doone Cookie?
- Add butter and sugar to the mixer’s bowl. Spread salt around the bowl. Set mixer to a speed of medium-low and mix until mixed.
- Add vanilla and stir until thoroughly integrated (butter should be evenly incorporated), scraping down the bowl as necessary.
- Add flour and mix until thoroughly mixed.
- On a floured surface, roll dough to a thickness of 0.3 inches. Cut into squares or rectangles with a knife or cookie cutter.
- Transfer to baking pans without greasing, spacing 1 inch apart. You can remove excess flour from scraps, compress it, and re-roll them.
- Transfer baking sheets to the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. In the middle, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 13 – 16 minutes, or until the cookies are just set. Tip: After 9 minutes, take the cookies from the oven and use a butter knife to slide the spread section back in and smooth up their edges.
- Allow your Lorna Doone Cookies to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. After that, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Rep with the second baking sheet.
- If the chocolate finish is selected as an option: Put chocolate into a microwavable dish. Melt in 20-second increments at 50 percent power, stirring in between, until smooth and melted (or melt in a double boiler on the stovetop).
- Dip cookies halfway into chocolate, then slide the bottom of the cookie along the edge of the bowl to remove extra chocolate. Transfer to baking pans lined with parchment paper and chill until firm.
What Goes With Lorna Doone Cookie?
- Cardamom Hot Chocolate
- Apple Peel Tea
- Malted Milk Latte
- Sticky Chai
- Irish Coffee
- Star Anise Milk
- Brown Butter Cafe Brulot
- Tahini Date Shake
Recipe Variations
- Experiment with different extracts such as almond, coconut, maple, coffee, and so on.
- Citrus zest is optional. Lemon or orange are both delicious.
- Add in the finely chopped nuts.
- Mix in the mini chocolate chips.
- Season with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, if desired.
- Blend in the sprinkles, as I did here.
- Before baking, sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Use royal icing to decorate (like the Christmas tree design above).
- For a classic shortbread appearance, prick the cookies with a fork.
- Instead of semi-sweet, dip in white or milk chocolate. Sprinkle with festive sprinkles to finish.
How To Store Lorna Doone Cookie?
Allow your Lorna Doone Cookies to cool completely on a wire rack then transfer them to an airtight container, you can stack them on each other as Cookies are stackable. Your Lorna Doone Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.
Alternatively, you can freeze your Lorna Doone Cookies for up to 3 months.
Recipe Tips
- The use of cold butter in the Lorna Doone Cookie recipe eliminates the need to chill the dough for 1 – 2 hours beforehand. This is a great way to save time, and using butter makes the dough easier to work with and the cookies spread less.
- Mix for a long enough time to fully incorporate the ingredients.
- Roll out the dough to an even thickness for even baking.
- Cookies spread less on ungreased cookie sheets (don’t worry, with all the butter in them, they don’t stick).
- Bake one sheet at a time to ensure even cooking, and keep the other chilled (again so cookies spread less).
FAQ Section
The Lorna Doone Cookie is ready to be removed from the oven when the BOTTOM has just begun to change color. If you want them to be particularly crispy, cook them for a few more minutes until the edges are golden brown.
I’ve prepared delicious pistachio Lorna Doone cookies using coconut oil. Definitely not the same as these, but definitely worth a go if you’re searching for a vegan substitute.
This Lorna Doone Cookie recipe may be prepared using salted butter. However, you should skip the additional salt. If you’re wondering why most recipes ask for unsalted butter despite the fact that salt is added back in, it’s because various kinds of butter contain varying quantities of salt. The use of unsalted butter in a recipe is only a precaution to assure comparable results regardless of the brands of components used.
The Lorna Doone Cookie includes a great deal of butter, so if your shortbread is overly soft, refrigerate the bars before baking. This will let the butter solidify.
It is not required to fork Lorna Doone Cookies, although doing so stops the butter from foaming. Additionally, pricking your shortbread gives it the distinctively Scottish Lora Doone Cookie pattern!
So many people get this wrong! Lorna Doone cookies and butter cookies are not interchangeable. Butter cookies, like sugar cookies, have more sugar than Lorna Doone Cookies. Lorna Doone Cookies bake at a lower temperature than butter cookies. Furthermore, butter cookies do not crumble.
Yes, you can freeze the Lorna Doone Cookies. Cut out the cookie shapes and place them in a single layer in the freezer. Place the frozen cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Lorna Doone Cookie Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving ( 1 Cookie )
- Calories 35
- Total Fat 1.5g
- Saturated Fat 0.5g
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 38mg
- Total Carbohydrate 4.8g
- Dietary Fiber 0g
- Sugars 1.3g
- Protein 0.3g
Lorna Doone Cookie Recipe
Description
A simple recipe for Lorna Doone Cookies! It’s a deliciously buttery, lightly sweetened, crisp but tender cookie. They only have FIVE ingredients, plus optional (but highly recommended) chocolate!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add butter and sugar to the mixer’s bowl. Spread salt around the bowl. Set mixer to a speed of medium-low and mix until mixed.
- Add vanilla and stir until thoroughly integrated (butter should be evenly incorporated), scraping down the bowl as necessary.
- Add flour and mix until thoroughly mixed.
- On a floured surface, roll dough to a thickness of 0.3 inches. Cut into squares or rectangles with a knife or cookie cutter.
- Transfer to baking pans without greasing, spacing 1 inch apart. You can remove excess flour from scraps, compress it, and re-roll them.
- Transfer baking sheets to the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. In the middle, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 13 – 16 minutes, or until the cookies are just set. Tip: After 9 minutes, take the cookies from the oven and use a butter knife to slide the spread section back in and smooth up their edges.
- Allow your Lorna Doone Cookies to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. After that, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Rep with the second baking sheet.
- If the chocolate finish is selected as an option: Put chocolate into a microwavable dish.
- Melt in 20-second increments at 50 percent power, stirring in between, until smooth and melted (or melt in a double boiler on the stovetop).
- Dip cookies halfway into chocolate, then slide the bottom of the cookie along the edge of the bowl to remove extra chocolate. Transfer to baking pans lined with parchment paper and chill until firm.
Notes
- The use of cold butter in the Lorna Doone Cookie recipe eliminates the need to chill the dough for 1 – 2 hours beforehand. This is a great way to save time, and using butter makes the dough easier to work with and the cookies spread less.
- Mix for a long enough time to fully incorporate the ingredients.
- Roll out the dough to an even thickness for even baking.
- Cookies spread less on ungreased cookie sheets (don’t worry, with all the butter in them, they don’t stick).
- Bake one sheet at a time to ensure even cooking, and keep the other chilled (again so cookies spread less).
Servings 30
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 35
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 1.5g3%
- Saturated Fat 0.5g3%
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 38mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 4.8g2%
- Dietary Fiber 0g
- Sugars 1.3g
- Protein 0.3g1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.