Patersons Shortbread Reviews 54

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1.3

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Last night, my husband tried one of the Patersons shortbread cookies that we received for Christmas and spat it out right away. He had almost shared with the dog who refused to eat it. It stank so b... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dear Patersons, I received your Scottish Shortbread Fingers for Christmas. I didn't not open them until February 19th. They are stale. I'm very disappointed because I loved your cookies.  However... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

These are no longer the buttery tasting biscuits of my childhood. Looking at the packaging they have replaced some of the butter element with rapeseed. This has made the biscuit dull, tasteles... See more

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

We used to buy this shortbread every week unfortunately to reduce the package weight the biscuits were made much thinner. This has resulted in the flavour and texture of the biscuit being compromised.... See more

Company details

  1. Bakery
  2. Cake Shop
  3. Cookie Shop
  4. Dessert Shop

Information provided by various external sources

With that unique Paterson's taste, golden appearance and rich melt in the mouth texture, our shortbread is naturally delicious. A treat for every day!


Contact info

1.3

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

54 reviews

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful shortbread

Last night, my husband tried one of the Patersons shortbread cookies that we received for Christmas and spat it out right away. He had almost shared with the dog who refused to eat it. It stank so bad, like paint thinner. We had to air out the room and bag the cookie outside. Obviously rapeseed oil is the culprit,I agree with the other posters. I will not trust Patersons in the future.

8 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

ABOMINATION Of A Traditional Biscuit .

Butter Is The 3rd LAST Ingredient In This Abomination . These Are NOT Traditional Shortbread Biscuits & Should STOP Using That Word In Their Description . RAPESEED OIL Does Not Taste Like Butter & Doesn't Have The Same Qualities As Butter. Taste Is Not Pleasant .

12 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They don't even taste like shortbread

They don't even taste like shortbread, Cheap supermarket ones are better, They are plain and no taste whatsoever, Thank god I got them at well reduced price after Xmas even at that not worth it to be honest.

8 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Tasteless Bricks, that are no longer "shortbread" due to the addition of oils.

These are no longer the buttery tasting biscuits of my childhood.

Looking at the packaging they have replaced some of the butter element with rapeseed.

This has made the biscuit dull, tasteless, and far too hard to eat for a shortbread. I would even go so far as to say they should no longer be advertised as shortbread, given the change to the ingredients.

Perhaps call them "Tasteless Bricks"

7 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I want a refund

Bought in Tesco. These are vile. How can they be called shortbread? I brought them back to Tesco and got a refund. Bought Walkers which has a buttery taste.

20 December 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Avoid

Someone brought these to an event. I thought "lovely", but I was barely able to finish the first mouthful, and dropped the rest of the biscuit into my bag. Someone else went into kitchen, and spat out her mouthful and washed her mouth out. We put the rest of the biscuits into the bin. I took those left in the sellophane wrapper home, and isolated them in a plastic container in case they were toxic. They stank to high heaven but not of shortbread. I did live! The shortbread is now in the food recycling bin (transferred outside in the fresh air just prior to bin collection to avoid the smell). Absolutely disgusting. Some of us checked the sell by date on the cardboard packaging - July 2022 - which probably did not help. They have clearly had quite a journey and life, having come with someone (still in ignorance of the problem, such is our tact) from Hereford. I think the smell is probably the rapeseed oil. Never again, any Paterson's biscuits! Thankfully Walker's shortbread still tastes good, notwithstanding shrinkflation.

24 November 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Cement

If you like dry, tasteless cardboard then buy these. If you like shortbread, run for your life, they're awful. It's not surprising that Iceland were selling them off cheap, nobody wants them 😫🤢

3 December 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Very bad Shortbread biscuits

A family member bought a pack of these shortbread biscuits a couple weeks ago, I wasn't expecting much as I've had them before and they weren't good but this time they were actually disgusting and eating one was an awful experience. Possibly the worst biscuit/shortbread I've ever tasted.

11 November 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I would have given a ZERO if it was an option 🤮

These cookies were gross!! Do yourself a favour DO NOT BY THEM!! I thought they were rotten/expired but no, it’s the oil. They taste and stink like chemicals, I honestly thought maybe there was a recall from chemicals leaching into them. I even checked online and no. Needless to say, they are in my trash!! 🤮

27 November 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Now Crap

What the hell have you done! Your company deserve to go bust ! Think you have been overpowered by the health crap we are force fed , oil instead of butter , your going to lose a lot of customers , collect your P45 .

29 October 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Very disappointed

This shortbread tastes stale with the texture of cardboard. I was really disappointed with the product. It's not the sort of thing you usually write a review about but it was so awful I looked here to see if there was possibly just a bad batch, but no, it seems to be the experience of many others over some time. If there was a zero stars option I would have given it just that. I'd like to hear what the company has to say about this, but they don't seem to care as they have not responded to anyone's comments.

14 September 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

THEY DO TASTE STALE ALONG WITH NO…

THEY DO TASTE STALE ALONG WITH NO BUTTERY TASTE WHATSOEVER!

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE WASTE OF MY TREAT MONEY. I ALLOW MYSELF 1 £2.50 TREAT A WEEK, THIS WEEK I DECIDED ON MY FAVORITES. BUT I ATE JUST ONE, NOW IN THE BIN.
I'M DISAPPOINTED AND CROSS.

8 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Very disappointed

Very disappointed. Right away they looked thin, and the taste just didn’t happen. NOT shortbread. Tried several to be sure but the expected taste just wasn’t there.
Replacing most of the butter with rapeseed oil, while healthier, has RUINED them.
Even the dogs were reluctant to try a piece.

24 May 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dear Patersons,

Dear Patersons,

I received your Scottish Shortbread Fingers for Christmas. I didn't not open them until February 19th. They are stale. I'm very disappointed because I loved your cookies.  However these one with rapeseed oil are really bad, all I can taste is stale rapeseed oil.
I'm truly disappointed that I can't enjoy my favorite cookies.

19 February 2025
Unprompted review

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