I first made these cookies to thank the cast and crew of my first Toronto show, Anne of Green Gables in 1986. Since then, I've made two or three batches for every show I've been in. Now I often make 3 or 4 batches for Singing Out potlucks, sometimes one of them with gluten-free flour. The recipe is based on my mom's, but embellished a bit.
— Mike W.

2 1/4 cups white, all-purpose flour (I use Robin Hood Instant Blending)
1 cup (half a "pound") salted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F
2. In a medium bowl, cream well the sugar and butter, until it's lighter in colour and almost fluffy
3. in the flour in 3 steps, (roughly half, then half again, then the last) and mix into the butter mixture. It’s often easier to use your hands to mix in the last bit.
4. Knead in the bowl so that the heat from your hands can soften the butter even more. Dough should be very soft, and just holding together. Add a bit of extra flour if it seems too sticky.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured cutting surface, and form into a mound. Flatten by hand, then use a roller until it is the desired thickness (try 1/3", 8 mm). A little flour dusted on the surface will help keep the dough from sticking to the roller.
6. Cut into desired shapes. Ball up the scraps left around the cutter, knead briefly and roll out again to cut out more cookies. Repeat until all the dough is used. The ugly cookie you hand-form from the last bit of dough is of course your treat!
7. Place cookies about 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
8. Bake for about 18 to 25 minutes, until edges are just turning light golden colour.

Makes about 30 2-inch cookies.

Mike's Warning: If you plan to make more than one batch, like the four I usually make at a time, expect to be repulsed by the thought of eating another shortbread cookie for at least one month.