Shortbread is a very basic and old form of butter cookie, perhaps the grand daddy of all butter cookies in fact. The very name Shortbread actually means “Butter Bread” as a “short” pastry refers to a pastry made without yeast but with a high butter to flour ratio. The original recipe for Shortbread contains nothing more than flour, sugar and a whole lot of butter, though more modern recipe’s often include vanilla extract, baking powder, and a bit of salt. Shortbread was invented in Scotland beginning as a biscuit rather than a cookie. Shortbread is considered Scottish in ethnicity though many counties have their own variations and had similar recipes evolve during the time period such as Rusks and Biscotti. http://www.cakespy.com/2009/02/short-but-sweet-salute-to-shortbread.htmlhttp://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Shortbread.html

Shortbread is thought to have first evolved in Scotland from Twice Baked Bread which was a type of biscuit from around the 12th century. As butter became a more popular staple in the British Isles due to the dairy industry growing more butter and less and less yeast was used in the dough until eventually it had been replaced entirely and Shortbread was born. This origin properly makes sense of the odd name of this cookie, bread that has become “short” by removing the yeast and adding lots of butter. Whether or not Shortbread is a cookie however is up for debate. At the time Shortbread became widely popular there was a tax on both bread and biscuits, it’s rumored because of this the original recipe was deemed a cookie though it wasn’t so sweet. Many people today call Shortbread a biscuit or even a cake. Later variations of the recipe have turned the biscuit like treat into what we more classically consider a cookie. http://www.cakespy.com/2009/02/short-but-sweet-salute-to-shortbread.htmlhttp://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Shortbread.htmlhttp://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html#shortbread