Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has tested 10 festive shortbread products from brands including IGA's Signature Collection, Mac's, Walkers, Coles Bakery and Woolworths Gold to find out which is best to put out at Christmas.
"Over the years, CHOICE has rated a variety of Christmas treats, from fruit mince pies to plant-based Christmas roasts. This year, we've decided to put shortbread to the test," says CHOICE Managing Editor, Marg Rafferty.
"Shortbread is a firm favourite at Christmas. It's great to have on hand for entertaining throughout the festive season, and also works well as a gift to give your neighbours or your children's teachers," says Rafferty.
The CHOICE score for shortbread takes into account appearance, flavour, baked quality, and quality of finish.
The top three shortbreads in our testing were:
IGA Signature Decorated Shortbread Cookies
CHOICE score: 77%
Price: $9.50 for 180g pack ($1.58 per biscuit)
"IGA's decorated cookies received first place in our testing, with a score of 77%. These cookies have a vanilla flavour and aroma, and aren't too sweet," says Rafferty.
Walkers Homebake Shortbread Festive Shapes
CHOICE score: 75%
Price: $5.00 for 175g pack ($0.42 per biscuit)
"The Walkers biscuits came in second, receiving a score of 75%. These biscuits are nice and buttery, and melt in your mouth. They received the highest flavour score in our testing," says Rafferty.
IGA Signature Festive Shortbread Cookies
CHOICE score: 70%
Price: $4.50 for 180g pack ($0.50 per biscuit)
"Another IGA product also scored a place in our top three. The Signature Festive Shortbread Cookies scored 70%, and were praised for their size and thickness," says Rafferty.
You can read more about the results of our shortbread test here.
You can also see our 2020 review of fruit mince pies here, and our plant-based Christmas roast taste test here.
And if you need some extra tips on what festive food is on offer at the big supermarkets this year, the CHOICE team have put together a great article to help you out. It covers everything from Popping Candy and Prosecco Honeycomb at Aldi to the Coles Bakery Pear and Davidson Plum shortbread.
Plus, our expert tester and CHOICE home economist Fiona Mair has shared her Christmas cooking tips.
Media contact: Jim Hook, 0430 172 669, media@choice.com.au
