Millionaire’s Shortbread Recipe (2024)

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Cooking Notes

Andrea

Paul Hollywood uses la different recipe that I like better. I use this shortbread recipe and his caramel. Makes a perfect cookie.¾ cup packed light brown sugar⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk3 tbsp. golden cane syrup (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup)

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor

You can pop it into the fridge while you melt the chocolate, but it's not 100% necessary. It's more important that you allow the shortbread to cool before spreading the caramel on top.

Adrienne

Delicious and easier than I expected! Next time I may actually increase the amount of chocolate—maybe do 8oz semisweet plus 4-6oz bittersweet or unsweetened—because the chocolate layer was pretty thin and I am a fiend.

Emily

Delicious! Only thing I did differently was to butter the pan before lining with parchment paper. Not too sweet and perfect amount of salt in the caramel layer.

Victoria Maras

The second time I made these, I embedded some mini pretzels into the caramel layer, then added more on top of the chocolate. I thought it was an upgrade-- added some more salt and texture without changing too much of a pretty great recipe.

LH

Paul Hollywood uses la different recipe that I like better. I use this shortbread recipe and his caramel. Makes a perfect cookie.¾ cup packed light brown sugar⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk3 tbsp. golden cane syrup (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup)

cookingforfunnt

I didn’t love the flavor of the caramel when cooking - it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet; it just tasted too much like condensed milk. Based on other comments, I therefore used 10 oz (instead of 8 oz) of bittersweet chocolate (instead of semi-sweet) and I sprinkled sliced almonds and sea salt over the top. The caramel did harden as it cooled and became difficult to spread, and the bars took longer than 30 min to cool in the fridge. However, they were devoured too rave reviews. Will def make again!

TheAdventuresofDarbs

So rich and decadent! We love eating Millionaire's Shortbread in Ireland and the UK so we were excited to recreate this to share with friends at home in California. I would strongly suggest finding Lyle's Golden Syrup if possible as it lends to a more rich and flavorful finished product. If you can'd find it in your local shop, Amazon sells it. Buy a two-pack and make this gorgeous dessert all year long. Your friends will LOVE you!

Theo

I'm not an intuitive cook. This is why I use a recipe and this one was annoyingly vague.It was hard to get the caramel to 220 without it becoming quite thick and on the verge of scorching. Yes, you can spread the just melted chocolate (don't let it start to cool down and thicken) over the hot caramel, which sets up quickly.I like the taste of sweetened condensed milk, but it really overpowered this dessert and in the end I found it cloyingly sweet.

David Breitenfeld

Use your torchier to super heat your chefs knife

rebecca

I actually prefer the shortbread used in this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018402-spiced-pecan-date-shortbread-barsit only uses powdered sugar in the shortbread and it is spectacular, the best shortbread ive ever made.

Schwalker

Very simple recipe, followed directions almost exactly, very pleased with results. Regarding challenges faced by others: caramel really does need to be stirred constantly as it comes to temp, and use metal whisk instead of a spatula - whisk pulls the caramel from bottom of the pot much more efficiently than spatula. Don't heat knife when cutting - it melts the chocolate, and mars the layers of the cookie. Don't use extra chocolate - it eclipses delicate caramel flavor. Highly recommend recipe!

Eli

Hi, I just wanted to ask: is the shortbread suitable for freezing? If not, how long is it safe to keep it?

scraps

I made these exactly as written and I found the taste to be just perfect, if not a tad on the sweet side. My beef with this is the cutting is nearly impossible. Even with the sharpest of knives, the chocolate cracks, it smooshes the caramel, and you can not get the beautifully cut bars in the photo. Instead, use half the caramel, half the chocolate. Slightly freeze after the addition of caramel. After the chocolate is added, cut while the chocolate is not fully hardened. Use a warm, wet knife.

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor

I'm afraid not, but you could certainly add a touch more salt to the caramel for balance.

Andrea

I made these for the first time and they are delicious. One improvement I would make is to increase the butter in the shortbread as it ended up a bit dry. I think 2-3 T more would do it.

Jenny

My family LOVED these! I did add a little extra chocolate. Also, it was so close to Christmas that everyone was out of Lyle's syrup. I did half light and half dark corn syrup. The first batch was eaten so quickly that I have to make again for gifts! The recipe is quite easy to make; the only work is stirring the caramel.

Mary

Delicious but cutting them was tricky. Use the sharpest knife you own. I cleaned mine in warm water and dried it off between long cuts. May have eaten the slices that broke

Sam

Added a layer of pretzels on top of the caramel and I'm not sad about it. Didn't get very dark colored caramel, but the thermometer read 225F. Excellent recipe.

Britgirljulie

One of my favourite treats ever… Memories of growing up in UK

Melissa S

For the chocolate layer, easier to sprinkle 8 oz of semisweet chocolate chips on the warm caramel (let caramel cool for 5-10 min first). Let sit for a few minutes then use small offset spatula to smooth. Chill in fridge several hours or overnight (takes longer than 30 min to chill/set chocolate).

Gina

Made the recipe exactly as is. Brought to a party and they were devoured. Definitely cut small—perfect.

albanyan

for those who have had difficulty cutting this, here’s what worked for me:chill finished bars until the chocolate is firm and no longer glossy (i chilled it overnight). take it out and let it rest maybe 30 min, and use a thin, straight blade to score the chocolate. use same thin blade to cut along scored lines.hope this helps.

Lani

I cooled the caramel, chilled the ganache, then assembled. But the ganache slides off the caramel!What did I do wrong?

Joao Pereira

Very bad. Not good. Would not reccomend. Ugh.

one lucky lass

I did a deep dive into perfecting this cookie. This recipe was disappointing as the caramel at 220 degrees did not set

ceegee

So delicious. I sprinkled some fleur de sel on top and it made all the difference. And I used my caramel - birite recipe. Perfect.

Pam

This recipe is just ok. The colour advised from the picture and method for the caramel are terrible so I took the caramel to 230f, soft ball stage and it had a nice caramel colour and good flavour. The shortbread is really crumbly making it quite hard to slice, and I only baked it for the lower recommended time of 30 minutes. I will keep searching for a better recipe.

Emily

Highly suggest using a whisk when making caramel instead of a spatula- helps to keep it from burning.

sb

I made this with my 11 year old son, and we loved the results. Smooth the shortbread layer before baking, it won’t smooth out any more in the oven. We love Lyle’s - it makes a big difference. The caramel texture and thickness was perfect - cooked strictly by instructions, but seemed to lack salt. We added a sprinkle of salt over the caramel, then over the dark chocolate layer too. The salt cut through the condensed milk flavor in the caramel. Whole family is now obsessed, need to make more!

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Millionaire’s Shortbread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

Why is it called millionaire shortbread? ›

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.

What does millionaire shortbread contain? ›

Make these delicious caramel squares, also known as millionaire's shortbread, with this easy recipe featuring a buttery shortbread crust, a rich caramel center, and a dreamy milk chocolate topping.

Why do you put cornstarch in shortbread? ›

A cornstarch shortbread cookie is a shortbread cookie that contains cornstarch along with all-purpose flour in the cookie dough. The cornstarch is used to give these buttery treats a crispy, melt-in-the-mouth texture. It also helps prevent the cookies from becoming too crumbly and breaking apart.

What is the secret to good shortbread? ›

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies
  • Choose High Quality Butter. No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. ...
  • Keep Ingredients Simple. ...
  • Add Flavor. ...
  • Don't Overwork. ...
  • Shape Dough. ...
  • Chill Before Baking. ...
  • Bake Until Golden. ...
  • Add Finishing Touches.

What not to do when making shortbread? ›

The key with shortbread is not to overhandle it. Make the dough exactly as instructed, but don't mess around making shapes or over rolling the dough - you will end up with delicious but tough biscuits. Stretching and pulling the dough activates the gluten in the flour, making chewy cookies and not crisp ones.

What's the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

Why do Scottish people eat shortbread? ›

In ancient Scottish folklore, sun-shaped cakes, such as shortbread, had magic powers over the Sun during the Scottish New Year's Eve.

What is shortbread called in America? ›

Americans are the outlier on how we use "biscuit"

To most of the rest of the English-speaking world, a biscuit is what Americans would refer to as either a cookie or a cracker. Biscuits can be sweet (shortbread) or savory. They're baked in the oven, and they're crisp, not chewy.

What is a billionaire cake? ›

There are 5 layers of moist chocolate sponge in our Billionaire Dream Cake, filled with a smooth premium Belgian chocolate buttercream, handmade shortbread pieces and award winning caramel sauce in each layer. It's sweet, it's crunchy, it has chocolate, and it has salted caramel filled pearls on top of each peak.

How do you cut a millionaires shortbread without cracking it? ›

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.

What is a fun fact about shortbread? ›

It was usually only served at important occasions, like Christmas, Hogmanay, weddings and christenings. Shortbread got its name from the short, crumbly texture which melts in the mouth. This is due to the pure butter, which adds a full flavour to traditional shortbread as well as to gluten free shortbread.

Why do you put an egg in shortbread? ›

Adding hard-boiled egg yolks to a basic shortbread recipe makes cookies more tender with the perfect buttery-soft texture. The addition is a sure-fire way to improve the texture of your cookies, but perhaps not always worth the extra time and effort.

Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking? ›

Why do you put shortbread cut-out cookies in the fridge before baking? This is to resolidify the butter. The butter is at room temperature when making the dough resulting in a soft dough. If baked straight away, the butter would melt away immediately when hitting the hot oven and the shortbread would spread.

Why does shortbread have holes in the top? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Why did my shortbread fail? ›

Nigella Lawson explains that they can turn out with the dreaded soggy bottom if they're pressed too thickly in a pan, cooked at too high a temperature, or cooked in a non-metal pan that doesn't quickly distribute the oven heat.

What happens if you don't poke holes in shortbread? ›

Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here. You'll see lots of shortbread recipes using granulated sugar.

What are the disadvantages of shortbread? ›

Sugar provides a fast source of energy. There are rarely any artificial additives. Cons: Shortbread is a weight watcher's nightmare because it is extremely high in saturated fat and calories. Saturated fat is the 'bad' fat which is linked to artery-clogging high cholesterol and heart disease.

What happens if you over mix shortbread? ›

It's important to avoid over-mixing shortbread dough, which will develop gluten and make the finished product tough, not tender. To make sure that the flour mixes completely with little effort, sift the flour first to get out all of the lumps.

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