Here's the recipe for shortbread that I promised IrishLake and others elsewhere. I got this recipe from a Scottish cookbook.
Shortbread
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325º.
Cream the butter with a flat wooden spoon in a large, deep bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating (with spoon, not electric beaters) until light and fluffy. Sift in flour, 1 cup at a time, and salt, mixing as adding. Combine throughly with your fingers until mixture is uniformly crumbly and can be pressed together to form a ball.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured smooth, cool surface. Roll gently with a rolling pin until about ½ inch thick. Using a knife, cut into fingers about 2½ inches long and 1 inch wide.* (You might want to use a ruler to keep the edges straight and even.) Prick the top of each finger with tines of a fork to form rows of pricks. Remove with a spatula and place on
ungreased baking sheets, about ½ inch apart. (There's qute enough butter in the dough to prevent sticking.) Put in preheated oven.
Immediately reduce oven temperature to 275º. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until light golden on the bottom, sandy white on top and firm to the touch. You have to keep an eye on them, especially toward the end of the cooking time, so that they don’t overcook. If the bottoms get brown or the tops get golden, they’re overcooked.
Remove from oven and use a spatula to place on wire racks immediately. If desired, sprinkle tops with sugar (granulated or confectioners’). Let cool completely. To store, wrap in wax/parchment paper or foil and store in airtight container.
This will yield about 3 dozen shortbread fingers.
* Alternatively, you can use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles, stars or the like. I wouldn't go any larger than 2-2¼ inches in diameter.
ETA: If you want to, you can add flavorings such as vanilla extract, almond extract or lemon or lime zest to taste. But I usually prefer unadulterated shortbread.
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