The random number generator is stuck in the “Family Favorites” section! This time, Butterscotch Shortbread on p. 84.

I’m not sure I’ve made shortbread cookies before, so I didn’t know what to expect. However, the dough is easy with just a few ingredients.

The dough ended up very crumbly — I really wanted more liquid, but powered through!

The recipe called for the dough to be rolled out (without chilling first, which seemed weird). This was a little bit of a challenge, given how crumbly the dough was. I had to keep pressing the rolled-out dough together at the edges to keep it together.

There were a few casualties as I cut and transferred the cookies to the cookie sheet. In fact, I had to abort my idea of doing moons AND suns, because the suns kept falling apart! If I made this recipe again, I might just cut them into squares or rectangles. Or I could even make a loaf, chill it and cut slices.

These were baked low (300º) and slow (20 minutes). Luckily they don’t spread, so I could pack in a lot of cookies on each sheet, reducing the number of batches that needed to be baked.

These came out slightly sweet, crispy, and delicious. A couple folks didn’t like them very much because the cookies aren’t overly sweet. However, most of the people I shared them with liked them. They’re crunchy, crumbly in the mouth, and light. And, I’m finding I like these cookies that aren’t overly sugary.

Bottom line: These are light, crispy, slightly-sweet cookies that melt in your mouth. They’re a little hard to roll out because the dough is a bit crumbly, but worth the work. May not be a favorite for folks who crave a lot of sweetness, but I quite liked them and could definitely make them again.