Shortbread Lab433 recipes
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What goes into shortbread

The main ingredient list of all 433 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • For sugar, 84% use white sugar alone, 5% white and brown sugar together, and 4% brown sugar alone.
  • Of the recipes with white sugar, 54% use granulated sugar alone, 39% powdered sugar alone, and 5% granulated sugar and powdered sugar together.
  • 19% add chocolate, 13% nuts and 10% coconut, candy or chips; 53% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 250 g of flour, the size of a typical pan. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical pan on every ingredient.

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

White sugar includes powdered sugar, in 41% of recipes. Coconut sugar counts as brown (1 recipe). "With maple syrup or honey" means any liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey, molasses and sweetened condensed milk), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Granulated or powdered sugar

Among the 399 recipes with white sugar in the dough.

Powdered sugar used only in an icing or glaze is an extra, not counted here.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 53% add none of these.

  • Chocolate19%

    chocolate chips or chunks 8% · bar chocolate 8% · white chocolate 3%

  • Nuts13%

    pecans 4% · pistachios 3% · almonds 1%

  • Coconut, candy or chips10%

    sprinkles 3% · candy or cookies 2% · toffee bits 2%

  • Spice9%

    cinnamon 3% · ginger 3% · nutmeg 1%

  • Fruit8%

    dried cranberries 4%

  • Cheese, herbs or other savory3%

    herbs 2%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 433 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 250 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Butter98%

    425 recipes · median 201 g

  2. All-purpose flour93%

    407 recipes · median: all of the flour

  3. Salt65%

    285 recipes · median 1.9 g

  4. Vanilla56%

    245 recipes · median 4.2 g

  5. Granulated sugar55%

    240 recipes · median 100 g

  6. Powdered sugar41%

    181 recipes · median 83 g

  7. Cornstarch16%

    73 recipes · median 37 g

  8. Brown sugar12%

    52 recipes · median 87 g

  9. Lemon zest9%

    42 recipes · median 10 g

  10. Bar chocolate8%

    37 recipes · median 146 g

  11. Chocolate chips or chunks8%

    37 recipes · median 151 g

  12. Almond extract6%

    26 recipes · median 2.1 g

  13. Cocoa powder5%

    25 recipes · median 33 g

  14. Eggs5%

    25 recipes · median 40 g (about 1 large egg)

  15. Orange zest5%

    23 recipes · median 6 g

  16. Baking powder5%

    22 recipes · median 3.8 g

Toppings and extras

23% of recipes (100 of 433) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Coarse or raw sugar5% (22)
  • Powdered sugar4% (21)
  • Granulated sugar3% (17)
  • Bar chocolate3% (13)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 250 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.