Source: Mary Macleod (via CTV News)

Mary Macleod’s shortbread cookies are famous in Toronto and around the world. We used to live only blocks away from the Mary Macleod’s Shortbread cookie store in Riverside, Toronto until it closed in 2018. Unfortunately for the locals who had grown addicted to the cookies, Mary Macleod was moving to a larger bakery and warehouse space, and closing their retail location to focus on internet sales.

As few months ago as I was reminiscing about the shortbread cookies, I stumbled upon the Mary Macleod traditional shortbread cookie recipe on the CTV News website. The page just has the recipe without any story or context, so I’m not exactly sure why it’s published here. But I was happy to give the recipe a spin in my own kitchen.

Other than the obvious butter, (cake and pastry) flour and sugar, the recipe recipe also calls for Durum wheat flour—also known as fine semolina. So while you might not have these ingredients in your pantry, they are easy to find in any well-stocked grocery store.

Even better, the recipe comes together very quickly and easily. And since the shortbread cookies don’t really expand as they bake, you can pack a full batch onto 2 cookie sheets. The cookies bake in a slow oven for about 1 hour, so plan accordingly.

And they taste just like I remember the cookies the Mary Macleod’s Shortbread shop in Riverside.