With a simple, three-ingredient recipe and Scottish origins, shortbread cookies are an incredibly popular dessert. Today, there are a number of different ways to prepare this buttery, crumbly cookie, each providing a different take on the classic recipe. Here are three unique shortbread cookie recipes.

Super-Easy Shortbread [Food.com]
If you don’t have much time to bake or you simply want to create a more traditional style of shortbread, this is a great recipe to try. It uses the standard ingredients of butter, sugar, and flour, and the golden color around the edges makes each cookie taste perfectly browned.

Shortbread Cookies Recipe & Video [Joy of Baking]
If you’re a more visual learner, this video recipe will show you exactly how to prepare rich shortbread cookies for your friends and family. It also includes a chocolate dipped version that teaches you how to create a semisweet chocolate coating on one half of the cookie.

Great-Aunt Annie’s Traditional Shortbread [Martha Stewart]
Martha Stewart’s classic shortbread recipe uses higher quality versions of the usual staple ingredients. Unsalted butter, confectioner’s sugar, and cake flour give this cookie recipe a rich taste and a pie-like shape that’s cut into wedge pieces.

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/crayonmonkey

Bringing the rustic bounty of the great outdoors into a modern urban setting is what Washington, D.C.'s Cedar is all about. The menu features a contemporary take on country ingredients using the freshest produce, meats, game, and fish . Starters include a hearty Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with apples and bacon, an uber-fresh Artisan Greens Salad with Meyer lemon puree, and a luscious Lobster and White Chocolate Soup with root vegetables. A roster of delectable entrees will make you feel like you’re picnicking in an enchanted forest, including Braised Wild Boar Shank, King Trumpet Mushrooms, Roasted Sturgeon, and Grilled Elk Sausage. Excellent service and a relaxed, contemporary ambiance make Cedar an excellent choice for lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch.

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr Edsel L

Acre 121 calls itself a “low country” bistro, serving classic Southern barbeque.

Located a block away from the Columbia Heights Metro Station, Acre 121 is more than just a restaurant — it’s a place for good times. The name comes from the neighborhood itself, when 121 acres of land were set aside for Columbia Heights. You will really like the modern décor, with a cool bar and dining area. There’s nothing low about this! It’s a great place to meet up with friends for a drink, especially with a bar that features happy hour drink deals. There are lots of beers on tap and by the bottle, and a good selection of wines by the glass. And, of course, there’s the Carolina spiced, hickory smoked barbeque that will keep you coming back for more.

Acre 121
1400 Irving St NW
Washington, DC 20010
(202) 328-0121
http://www.yelp.com/biz/acre-121-washington

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr Alice Henneman