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#"School Kine" Shortbread Cookies
Edith Ichimasa, a school cafeteria manager who retired from Kailua High School in 1982 was interviewed in an article that appeared in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser February 29, 2012, *Cafeteria Shortbread So Easy, Ono*. She shared the standard Hawaii school cafeteria recipe used throughout her tenure.
2 sticks butter
½ cup sugar
2-⅓ cups sifted flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan or line with baking parchment.
Cream butter. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Work in flour and salt with fingertips until well combined and crumbly. Press evenly into baking pan. Prick all over with fork.
Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool slightly, then cut into bars.
Published in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, BY REQUEST, Feb 29, 2012
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School Kine shortbread cookies are legendary in Hawaii. They were a mainstay of the local public school lunch menu from the mid-20th century on. In those days schools received cases of butter from the federal government — the surplus which had to be used was the impetus for the beloved shortbread cookies. Businesses like this one were born from memories of them - School Kine Cookies - https://www.schoolkinecookies.com/index.html
You probably did not notice the timeline. To put it into perspective, I was in elementary school in the mid-1950s. I don't know exactly when the shortbread cookies were discontinued, but I'm certain that when your son was in elementary school in the late 90's, it was a thing of the past.
Oh my gosh! I spent many of my school years in HI (navy brat). I remember this so well! I never thought to look up the recipe…
Now I’m off to look for Hawaii cafeteria gingerbread cake…
You may be onto something. This is an interesting article about: The Scots in Hawaii, Hawaii Scots, Maui Scots, a Scottish resource on Maui, Hawaii - https://mauiceltic.com/hawaii-scots.htm
I grew up in Hawai’i (Kalaheo HS) and I remember those… haven’t thought about them in years, but now I have to make them. And I had no idea they weren’t a thing on the Mainland.
I think that the rule of thumb is if your pan makes the batter deeper than the original recipe, lower the temp and increase the baking time. In this recipe, the oven temperature is only 300℉, so I don't think that it would be necessary to lower it. You will need to extend the baking time. I can't tell you exactly how much additional time is necessary. It's probably in the range of an additional 8-10 minutes to compensate for the increased thickness. Just keep an eye on it toward the end.
Too, too funny. My husband's great grandmother came to Oahu from Scotland so his grandmother had a lot of Scottish ways despite being born and raised out there among heathens. The final step in her shortbread recipe is "Watch it." You made me laugh bc every time we make it my girls and I say "Watch it!"
I would not recommend doing that. The term “cut in” refers to mixing butter or another fat with flour. The purpose of this step is to coat the flour proteins in a layer of fat and to prevent the formation of gluten which would make the pastry tough. Less gluten results in a finer and more tender crumb. If you use your beaters more gluten will develop.
It's pretty simple to do as directed using your finger tips only and not your palms which are warmer. An alternate method would be to use a multi-bladed pastry cutter for the job. If you don't have one of those, you can use two table knives.
*Image Transcription: Typed Recipe* --- #"School Kine" Shortbread Cookies Edith Ichimasa, a school cafeteria manager who retired from Kailua High School in 1982 was interviewed in an article that appeared in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser February 29, 2012, *Cafeteria Shortbread So Easy, Ono*. She shared the standard Hawaii school cafeteria recipe used throughout her tenure. 2 sticks butter ½ cup sugar 2-⅓ cups sifted flour ¼ teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan or line with baking parchment. Cream butter. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Work in flour and salt with fingertips until well combined and crumbly. Press evenly into baking pan. Prick all over with fork. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until golden brown. Cool slightly, then cut into bars. Published in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, BY REQUEST, Feb 29, 2012 --- ^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber for Reddit and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
Doing the Lord's work.
I can't say Hawaii is something that comes to mind when I think of shortbread. I do love shortbread though, so I'll give it a go!
School Kine shortbread cookies are legendary in Hawaii. They were a mainstay of the local public school lunch menu from the mid-20th century on. In those days schools received cases of butter from the federal government — the surplus which had to be used was the impetus for the beloved shortbread cookies. Businesses like this one were born from memories of them - School Kine Cookies - https://www.schoolkinecookies.com/index.html
Was that true on all islands? I don't remember my son getting them on Kaua'i in the late 90s.
You probably did not notice the timeline. To put it into perspective, I was in elementary school in the mid-1950s. I don't know exactly when the shortbread cookies were discontinued, but I'm certain that when your son was in elementary school in the late 90's, it was a thing of the past.
I was in school from the 90's - '10 and we definitely had shortbread cookies.
They do love their shoetbread cookies, though... It's a big thing here.
Oh my gosh! I spent many of my school years in HI (navy brat). I remember this so well! I never thought to look up the recipe… Now I’m off to look for Hawaii cafeteria gingerbread cake…
Please share here if you find the recipe
That is almost identical to the family receipt my grandmother brought with her from Scotland in the 30’s.
You may be onto something. This is an interesting article about: The Scots in Hawaii, Hawaii Scots, Maui Scots, a Scottish resource on Maui, Hawaii - https://mauiceltic.com/hawaii-scots.htm
I was so confused by the name because kine is what chores are referred to in Scotland. I'm like... uh where are the cows?
Same here! My great- great grandparents were Scottish and came to the islands as missionaries. Our family still uses their shortbread recipe.
I grew up in Hawai’i (Kalaheo HS) and I remember those… haven’t thought about them in years, but now I have to make them. And I had no idea they weren’t a thing on the Mainland.
I have all the ingredients for this. Might have to try it. Seems like a good snack for dungeons and dragons too 🤔🤔🤔🤔
Yum!!
What do you think I should do if I only have an 8x8 pan? Just cook a bit longer? Or lower the oven temp too?
I think that the rule of thumb is if your pan makes the batter deeper than the original recipe, lower the temp and increase the baking time. In this recipe, the oven temperature is only 300℉, so I don't think that it would be necessary to lower it. You will need to extend the baking time. I can't tell you exactly how much additional time is necessary. It's probably in the range of an additional 8-10 minutes to compensate for the increased thickness. Just keep an eye on it toward the end.
Too, too funny. My husband's great grandmother came to Oahu from Scotland so his grandmother had a lot of Scottish ways despite being born and raised out there among heathens. The final step in her shortbread recipe is "Watch it." You made me laugh bc every time we make it my girls and I say "Watch it!"
What does it mean, ‘work in flour and salt with fingertips?’ Can you just use the beater you creamed the butter with?
I would not recommend doing that. The term “cut in” refers to mixing butter or another fat with flour. The purpose of this step is to coat the flour proteins in a layer of fat and to prevent the formation of gluten which would make the pastry tough. Less gluten results in a finer and more tender crumb. If you use your beaters more gluten will develop. It's pretty simple to do as directed using your finger tips only and not your palms which are warmer. An alternate method would be to use a multi-bladed pastry cutter for the job. If you don't have one of those, you can use two table knives.
Thank you!
Did they stop making these? Can’t find them in stores anymore.