Salted Cookie Butter Millionaire's Shortbread Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Is salted or unsalted butter better for shortbread cookies? ›

If you don't have salted butter, unsalted butter will also work, simply add about ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough. The reason the salt is needed is because salt brings out the flavor in the cookies, without it, your cookies will taste bland.

Butter is an emulsifier and it makes cookies tender. It also adds in the crispy-around-the-edges element. Adding too much butter can cause the cookies to be flat and greasy. Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly.

**If you struggle to cut your shortbread and tray bakes without the chocolate cracking on top, set it at room temperature rather than in the fridge and it'll be softer so therefore won't crack when you cut it!

The name "millionaire's shortbread" appears to have originated in Scotland. The "millionaire" prefix to millionaire's shortbread or millionaires slice implies a level of decadence and wealth to the sweet treat, that it is an upgrade from regular shortbread.

If you're baking and swapping in salted butter, the excess water from salted butter may make more of an impact. This is because extra water can have an effect on how gluten reacts and forms within dough. Consider slightly lessening any additional water the recipe may call for.

Can I Use Salted Butter to Replace Unsalted Butter and Visa Versa? In a pinch, you can replace unsalted butter with salted, as long as you reduce the amount of additional salt in the recipe.

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

Avoid making your shortbread too thick

This is much thicker than a roll-and-slice sugar cookie — or really any other popular type of cookie. If you keep your dough any thicker, you risk the dough coming out of the oven raw. If it's any thinner, the cookie will have a crispy texture with the snap of a graham cracker.

The best substitution for golden syrup is a light corn syrup, also called maize syrup. It's a refined sugar syrup made from corn starch and usually flavoured with vanilla too. This is usually a bit thinner than golden syrup but should add the same sweetness, with only a slightly different flavour and lighter colour.

How to cut millionaires shortbread without it cracking? ›

Slice using a hot, sharp knife.

Run a sharp, large knife until hot water for a minute or so. Then dry with a cloth and slice through the Millionaire's Shortbread. The heat with soften the layers and prevent the chocolate on top from cracking.

While Millionaire's shortbread has a soft caramel filling, Billionaire's shortbread has salted caramel sauce in the center.

Millionaire Shortbread aka Twix Bars

Enjoy a slice of rich, decadent Millionaire Shortbread, also known as Caramel Squares or homemade Twix Bars with an easy shortbread crust, gooey caramel layer and smooth milk chocolate topping.

Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda.

Place the caramel (or dulce de leche or sweetened condensed milk) into a medium pot with the butter, sugar and salt. Heat on medium, stirring often, until the butter has melted. Turn the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring often, for 7-10 minutes until the caramel has thickened and darkened.

Unsalted butter is most commonly called for in baking recipes. Unsalted butter has a very neutral, creamy flavor—a great base for many baked goods. In baking, precise measurements are key for achieving the right flavor and texture. This even extends to small amounts of ingredients like salt.