Shortbread biscuits are biscuits made with wheat flour and a particularly large portion of butter – at least 9 percent.

They were invented in 1889 by Hermann Bahlsen, from Hannover. Hermann Bahlsen also actually invented the German word for biscuit, “Keks”. They were still called “cakes” in Germany until 1911. Bahlsen, however, thought the word “Keks” to be much nicer, while also being a German word. He prevailed against the linguists of the time and the word “Keks” appeared in the Duden dictionary for the first time in 1915.

RITTER SPORT inserts a whole shortbread biscuit into its popular Butter Biscuit variety. However, we use a square shortbread biscuit rather than a typical rectangular biscuit. It seems that we Swabians are pretty good at inventing stuff after all!