I’ve made the same shortbread recipe for years. Ina Garten stands by Eli Zabar’s shortbread recipe and I’ve done the same. What’s good enough for Ina…! In fact, there are several variations on that theme right on this blog–think chocolate dipped and salted fluted rounds, sugar-sprinkled hearts, lemon-scented fluted cookies, and even a savory appetizer version. I have, however, heard from a follower that the dough is a perfect pain to keep together and roll; I partly agree. It is sometimes, though not always, difficult–you must pay strict attention and keep patching and rolling– but the result always seemed to be worth it. Facing the need for a couple hundred shortbread cookies for my friend Lynne Stefonik’s mom, Marge Murray’s funeral, I decided to compare Ina’s/Eli’s basic to other shortbreads just to see what I could see. One that appeared promising was SCOTCH SHORTBREAD from THE FANNY FARMER BAKING BOOK by Marion Cunningham, a book I trust implicitly. The two recipes were similar in scope, the big difference being the use of powdered sugar rather than granulated. Any Scot baker worth her salt knows shortbread is made with granulated sugar–though some also have cornstarch, which is an ingredient of powdered sugar, after all– but I decided to give these a try, given my need for ease and speed. What a bake! This dough goes together, rolls, cuts, and bakes like the perennial dream cookie. The recipe is so simple I had it memorized by the second or third batch. My only change was to move from vanilla extract to almond extract, which is just enough to give them a tasty boost to my mind. I also fleshed out the directions a little. Thanks, Marion. Once again!