Sweet and buttery, this shortbread is laced with orange and has chewy raisins in every bite. It can be made ahead and kept in tins or frozen.

Shortbread is a simple mixture of butter, sugar, and flour.
But by no means is it a simple flavor. It's buttery, sweet, deep, and comforting.
A good shortbread is not hard to make but it's all in the details.
We added orange and raisins to a traditional recipe and it turned out wonderful, with personality but not losing the old-fashioned feeling.

Shortbread dough
- It's short: as the name implies. And in pastry, that means that it has a high ratio (proportion) of fat (in this case it's butter) to flour.
- It's crumbly: in appearance, and comes together when you pat it in the pan.

Scoring the shortbread
To score is to make a cut on top of the dough.
It usually applies to bread, such as French bread, where you make slits or superficial cuts before baking it.
For this recipe, we score the dough before and after baking, while still hot. This makes it easier to cut fully later and separate the pieces of shortbread.
If you waited until it's cold, the shortbread will break too much.

Shortbread is an interesting thing because you can take a century-old recipe and it’ll still be as good as a new and improved one, the changes through the years – like adding some rice flour or cornstarch – lacking in significance as a whole.

Shortbread is all about the proportions of three ingredients: butter, sugar, and flour.
The rest are fillers. Like the raisins here. But worth adding. If you’re into raisins that is. If not, it’s good without them. Good old-fashioned shortbread.
Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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Old Fashioned Raisin Shortbread
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ¾ cup raisins
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small saucepan boil ⅓ cup orange juice with ¾ cup raisins until almost no juice is left, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely. It can be done ahead and kept for a day at room temperature or in the fridge for a few days.
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150°C).
- Have ready a square or round 8-inch pie or cake pan with removable bottom.
- In a bowl cream ¾ cup unsalted butter with a wooden spoon. Add ¼ cup sugar and combine very well.
- Add raisins (with juices) and mix.
- Add 1 ½ cups flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and mix thoroughly until well combined and no dry spots are visible.
- Dump into the pan, and with lightly floured hands, pat evenly on the bottom.
- Score with a sharp knife without reaching the bottom, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until it turns lightly golden and dries out.
- Let cool on a wire rack and carefully unmold.
- Cut along the lines, and store in an airtight container.
Notes
from Bon Appetit, December 1985
Jeannie Tay says
Scrumptious looking shortbread, love the addition of raisins! Pinned!
Cocoa and Lavender says
I have never seen raisins in shortbread - but I think it is a great concept! Like Anna, I have never counted my cookbooks... I am afraid to do so... and the magazines? Stashed everywhere. It is an illness, but one I am glad I have! Love the links, both the humor and the Pinterest ones. Thanks!
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
Love this raisin shortbread recipe Paula! Will be putting this on my to-bake list. Pinning! 🙂
e / dig in says
i cull my magazines and recipe tear outs every couple of months. 'am i going to make this, seriously?' no? out it goes to make space for somethign new. but some mags i can never throw out, espeically very old ones from the 1980s that have novelty appeal.
you are right paula, this shortbread is ageless. i would love to try it.
Kalyan Panja says
Just mouthwatering...looks delicious!
laurasmess says
These look so delicious Paula! I am a bit obsessed with shortbread; it's been a very long time since I've eaten some good ones but I'm excited about your version! Love those plump raisins. They'd go perfectly with the touch of orange. Thanks lovely!
Angie Schneider says
228 cookbooks and 406 magazines....now I don't feel guilty having just 50 cookbooks...
The shortbread looks fantastic!
Liz Berg says
Perfectly made shortbread! I'm so glad you salvaged those magazines. A pipe burst and ruined a huge stack of my Bon Appetits and Gourmets...I was bummed.
Medeja says
Omg, tell me where do you keep those books and magazines 🙂
That shortbread looks so nice..I like that orange juice used in it.
vanillasugarblog says
I love shortbreads!
They are the perfect vessel for kicking up recipes.
And yet, I've never done a raisin shortbread. LOL
Monet says
Delicious. I'm glad you have held onto so much...and then shared it with us here. These look just perfect. I love shortbread but I have yet to make it with raisins. Thank you for sharing! Another sweet post and a great start to the week. I hope you had a beautiful Monday!
yummychunklet says
Raisin? Maybe if they were chocolate chips instead!
The Ninja Baker says
Interesting how orange juice is added to these delectable raisin bars. They do look dee-licious, Paula!
Kudos to you for actually organizing your piles into folders. My filing system is er, uh unique...But I pretty much know where things are - most of the time.
Bless you for your dedication to restoring your recipes <3
Karen @ Lemon Grove Cake Diaries says
Wow so many magazines I would love the chance to look through your collection - so many ideas!! Also now I can tell my husband that my own collection is not that big when he complains that I brought another magazine into the house 🙂 I am a big fan of shortbread it sounds delicious with the orange juice and raisons added in!
Deb says
You've made my day! My cookbook collection is half your size and my bookshelf is FULL! (I find it impossible to pare down my collection.) What an irresistible recipe! Butter and raisins are a magical combination!
Dana @ Simply Romanesco says
Your cookbook and magazine collections are impressive, Paula! And this shortbread is pure deliciousness. Simple, rustic, and absolutely amazing 🙂
Susan Lester says
I love how rustic this looks. These do remind me of my grandma. Thanks for all the ohter links, too!
Funny - I guess because of moving so often as a kid, I go through my collections of magazines & cookbooks pretty regularly and purge - I'm like that with everything. It's just a habit. I was going to say at least I don't move so much anymore, but I've moved twice in the pat 4 years, so that would be a lie.
peanutbutterandonion says
OMG, I love shortbread so so so so much, and then you throw raisins into the mix. You are my BFF food blogger now..;)
anna @ annamayeveryday says
I too have many many cookbooks (dare not count them) and had literally hundreds of magazines which I moved from house to house. Then a couple of weeks ago I had a major cull and sat on the floor for 2 days tearing out pages to keep and chucking the rest. Now I have more room on my shelves for new books and magazines!! Your shortbread looks just delicious.
Renee says
You sure do have a lot of cookbooks and magazines. They certainly are a treasure and I'm glad to see you were able to save them after the flood. Some of my favorite cookbooks are from the 80's and early 90's. There's something about that time and the popular recipes then (and how they are still great today). Now shortbread is something that calls my name at all hours of the day and night. Love the touch of orange with the raisins in this one.