At the local grocery store, shortbread cookies are consistently the most expensive cookies out there. I just checked on-line and saw the same price for 4.5 oz packages of shortbread, as 7oz packages of other “premium” non-shortbread cookies.
In my ignorance, I would think the fewer ingredients would result in simpler processing - but maybe they require a greater amount of butter or some other pricey ingredient.
I suspect there is some Anglo shortbread mafia responsible for price-fixing…
I second the comment about butter being the cause. That is certainly the reason. Given the cost and the “bad for you” when you eat this in quantity, I only treat myself to a box of Walkers once a year. And then I try to savor every crumbly bite.
OTOH, it’s one of the easiest cookies to make. The ingredients may cost “a lot” if you are a cookie manufacturer (which makes me shudder…what do they actually consider putting into cookies they sell?!) but it’s pretty cheap for us consumers. Shortbread is a great candidate for “do it yourself and save money” kind of similar to brewing your own coffee.
I make my own butter for my shortbread cookies which helps keep down the cost somewhat but compared to sugar and flour, fresh cream is still more expensive, and butter is a required ingredient no matter where it comes from.
My wife does back cookies occasionally. (Next up, pecan nut thins - almost a nutty shortbread - for my upcoming birthday!). Not sure why she never tried shortbread.
I COULD suggest that she make her own butter - but then again, I DO like sleeping in the bed!
Making fresh butter at home is dead simple. Put heavy cream into a blender, run it on high for a few minutes, and butter happens. Remove the buttermilk (you can save it for your recipes), rinse the butter under cold water in cheesecloth, add salt, and put it into an appropriate container. Take about 20 minutes max. It’s kind of messy to make, but it is worth it in the tasting.
I never knew what store bought butter tasted like till I was about 8 years old. My mother had a hand crank butter churn, she would make a couple pounds a month. Ate dinner at a friends house and saw a yellow cube of something on a plate. I thought it was margarine and didn’t think I would like it. It tasted like butter but didn’t look like what I was use too. I was use to a bowl of whitish butter with a bit of liquid around the edge. The butter churn broke when I was about 15, we ate stick butter from then on.
If you have the NY Times Cooking app (well worth it!) try Alison Roman’s “Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies.”
More work than a simple drop cookie (you have to roll the dough into cylinders, chill it, cut it with a serrated knife, and not forget to sprinkle with coarse salt), but the damnedest best cookie ever.
Lorna Doones say they are shortbread, but I’d be shocked if real butter is involved. Still my favorite no-chocolate chips involved US made store bought cookie.
