Holiday baking. The thought can strike fear into the heart of even the most seasoned kitchen warriors. Whether it’s attending holiday parties, hosting Christmas dinners, or surprising coworkers with some holiday treats, the holidays seem to require an almost unending stream of cakes, pies, and cookies. This holiday season, though, you’ve got a secret weapon. Well, maybe not so secret. But it is simple.

Shortbread is quite possibly the quintessential holiday sweet. You almost can’t go to a holiday party without having at least a few shortbread cookies or a slice of shortbread cake. Coincidentally, it’s also one of the easiest desserts to throw together on the fly, which might be why it’s such a popular holiday food. Shortbread is made up of four simple ingredients that you’ve probably already got tucked away in your pantry.But, before we get into the nitty gritty of how to make shortbread, let’s first talk about where it comes from.

Most people equate shortbread with Scotland, after all, Walkers Shortbread is one of their largest food exporters. In actuality, shortbread cookies can be found all over Europe from Denmark to Sweden. Shortbread cookies actually date way back to the 12th Century, where in Medieval times, a similar dough was created and baked twice to create a hardened, sweetened biscuit (or cookie, for those of us not in the UK). Once butter became more popular in Europe in the 16th Century, it replaced the yeast that was used previously and thus shortbread was born.

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One of the reasons why shortbread is such an integral dish to know how to create is that it’s a great starting point for experimenting with different flavors and toppings for shortbread and creating more complex desserts. One of which, we created for our Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu, which featured caramel and chocolate layers on a shortbread base. Find the recipe here. But to get the basics down, here’s what you need to do.

How to Make Shortbread

To start, you’ll want to preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Shortbread is always cooked at a low temperature for long period of time so that it doesn’t burn. In a medium bowl, sift 2 cups of all purpose flour and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. In a separate bowl, take 1 cup of butter that’s been softened (here’s a quick guide on how to soften butter) and use a mixer to cream it for 4-5 minutes or until butter is fluffy and airy. Add the sugar and continue to mix with a mixer for a few more minutes until sugar is completely mixed in. Next, add in the flour mixture slowly while mixing the ingredients together. If you’re using a blender, turn it down to the lowest setting and continue mixing until the flour is completely mixed in with the butter and sugar mixture.

Now you’re ready to bake, and you can go about this in two different ways. If you want to be traditional, you can use a round or rectangular pan and spread the dough evenly into the bottom – and don’t forget to spread butter on the inside of the pan to prevent sticking. OR, you can roll the dough out with a rolling pin and use a cup to cut out small round cookies or use cookie cutters to create shapes and create shortbread cookies. Either way works; it just depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If this is your first time, we suggest spreading the dough into a small rectangular pan, and then slicing them into rectangles with a knife before putting them into the oven. Bake the shortbread for 50 minutes or until the dough is just slightly golden brown on top. You don’t want them to turn too golden, though, or you’ll end up with edible hockey pucks instead of cookies. Once the shortbread is finished, remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.

Is shortbread a holiday staple for your family? What’s your favorite shortbread recipe? Share with us in the comments!