The Must-Have Kitchen Tool for Creating the Most Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies

Just when I thought I had mastered the art of making perfect shortbread bars, an Instagram video from epicurious made me rethink everything. The video suggested that for the best shortbread, you should freeze and grate the dough. Yes, that same box grater you use for cheese is also perfect for grating shortbread dough. Intrigued? So was I. Here's what I discovered.

To get to the bottom of this, I did some digging. A quick search revealed that the genius behind this recipe is Michelle Polizine. She featured it in her cookbook, "Baking at the 20th Century Cafe" a few years ago. The recipe is based on Hungarian Shortbread, which was originally created by pastry chef Gale Gand for the famous Julia Child cookbook, "Baking with Julia." Both Polizine’s and Gand’s versions involve freezing the dough before grating and baking, a technique that produces shortbread bars with a finer crumb, while still delivering that rich, buttery flavor.

Why does this technique work so well? I asked Polizine, and she explained that it creates a texture similar to streusel, with tiny, individual shortbread pieces coming together like a chaotic, yet delicious, punk rock concert. It's not a uniform mass, but a delightful blend of crispy, buttery goodness. She’s absolutely right!

Mastering the Art of Delicate, Tender Shortbread Cookies with a Box Grater

Since I didn’t have Polizine’s recipe when I first tried this method for shortbread, I opted to use our own recipe for Blackberry Shortbread Bars. I followed the usual steps to prepare the dough, wrapped it in plastic, and popped it in the freezer. Once frozen solid, I unwrapped it and began grating it on the coarse side of my cheese grater. Halfway through, I realized my food processor could do a much quicker and better job. After grating it all, I spread half of the dough into a baking dish (loosely, as per the instructions, despite my instincts to pack it in). I then added spoonfuls of jam, topped it with the remaining grated dough (again, loosely), and baked it at 350°F for 35 minutes before letting it cool in the pan.

Comparing Grated Shortbread to the Traditional Method

For comparison, I made a second batch (my control) to see how the grating method stacked up against the traditional approach in terms of flavor, appearance, and texture. This batch followed the original shortbread recipe but with a classic method. I didn’t freeze or grate the dough—instead, I gently pressed half the dough into the bottom of the pan, added the jam, and topped it with clumps of the remaining dough. I baked it for 35 minutes and let it cool in the pan as well.

The Results

Right away, I noticed that the cookie bars made using the freeze-and-grate technique (pictured on the right) had a much finer crumb topping compared to the “control” bars (pictured on the left). This made sense given the method and how the dough was handled (no packing). Both bars had a beautifully golden top with edges just slightly browned. After slicing into both, I saw that the control batch had a thicker, denser-looking crust and topping. I tasted both and didn’t detect any difference in flavor, but the texture was another story. The freeze-and-grate bars were light and crumbly—delicately so. I loved it. The control batch was good as well, but definitely more solid and dense. There are plenty of great tools for making cookies, but who would have thought a box grater could be one of them?

The Bottom Line

I bake a lot and love simple, no-fuss recipes that still pack amazing flavor. This method for making shortbread is exactly that. The dough is straightforward, with just a few basic ingredients, and I love that it works as both the crust and topping. It only takes a few hours for the dough to freeze, but you can easily prepare it a day in advance, which means less waiting. Grating the dough with my box grater worked fine, but I was happy to switch to my food processor, which shredded the dough quicker and more efficiently thanks to its powerful motor.

The bars were rich, buttery, and packed with flavor, with a light, delicate crumb that practically melted in my mouth. Every bite was a delight. If you decide to try them, Polizine offers this tip: trust the process and whatever you do, please, 'don’t pack the dough.'