Butter Up

Who says shortbread is only for sweet tooths? By Charles Oberdorf

The Scots say they invented shortbread 400 years ago, but the inimitably decadent mix of flour, butter and sugar has no one birthplace. Spanish speakers call their shortbread polvorones; the French, sablés ("sand tarts"). Even China and India have variations. Here-abouts, the vogue is savoury shortbread, spiked with everything from rosemary to romano cheese. We've found the very best.

The Place	The Cookie	The Back Story	The Verdict
Alchemy Baking Co., 287 Augusta Ave., 416-531-2471. 65 cents each	In Kensington Market, a forest of tall jars displays a panoply of mini-pucks, including five or six savouries among the sweet	A neighbour’s basil inspired alchemist Brian Kirk’s pesto shortbread	For palate stretching. Fresh-ground spices yield fantastic orange-cardamom, surprise treats (masala) and just one letdown (curry)
Churchill's Fine Gourmet Gifts, 882 Millwood Rd., 416-422-3353. Cookies $1.75 each; gift boxes from $25; by appointment	Sweet rules here: thin, chocolate-dipped shapes, plus shortbread-based chocolate-pecan bars, lemon meringue bars and pecan bars. Seasonal variations by special order	Beverly Churchill Morris ships her chic pink-and-brown gift parcels to brides, shut-ins and corporate clients from Guelph to Cobourg to Barrie	Luxe of the lot. Supreme melt-in-the-mouth feel indicates low-protein flour and oodles of butter. Only hand delivery makes these tender babies marketable
Coach House Shortbread Co., 416-778-4207. $9.95 for approximately 18 sweet, $10.95 for savouries; by appointment	Sweet choices include cranberry, pecan, lavender and chocolate chip. Savouries are more daring: stilton-rosemary, cheddar-chipotle, spicy asiago and roasted garlic	One-man cookie works Carl Stryg packs stacks of pucks in airtight tubes (so the butter won’t go rancid), then gift-wraps and stockpiles them for his One of a Kind show regulars	Cheese-blend shortbreads with pomtinis, sweet ones with ice cream—how better to bookend a meal?
Mary Macleod's Shortbread 639 Queen St. E., 416-461-4576. $15 a dozen	The shop’s tins hide 10 kinds of craggy cookies: from almond crunch to orange or coffee	A shortbread seller for 25 years, Macleod also bakes angels, snowmen and trad thistles	Though Macleod’s are the least sophisticated of the bunch, her Dutch crunch (chocolate plus cocoa) could easily wean purists off plain

Originally published December 2006

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