Shortbread

[Snowball]

My Grand mother used to make the best shortbread it was so fucking good. To this day i have not had any since she died and i would love to make some that was as good as hers.

However i don't have a recipe, does anyone know of any that they have used and are good.

[Norm]

A freinds wife used to make the best shortbread, I asked her for the recipe, she smiled and said sure and then gave me some shit recipe which I'm sure wasn't the one she used. I think you will find the better recipes have a percentage of rice flour in them

[Norm]

A shortbread cookie is like that perfect black dress. Suitable for any occasion, equally as good dressed up as it is plain, and never out of style. But just as you notice the quality of material in that black dress, you will definitely notice the quality of ingredients when tasting a shortbread. With a cookie that contains spices, chocolate or other flavorings the quality of butter doesn't take center stage. But a plain shortbread, with its buttery flavor, is only as good as the butter it contains. This is definitely the time to splurge and use the best you can buy, preferably the European style unsalted butters. Your reward will be a rich and buttery, delicate and crumbly cookie.

At one time this Scottish biscuit (cookie) was served only during Christmas and New Years. It started as a thick round of short crust pastry without any added flavorings. Today, shortbread recipes often contain spices, chocolate, nuts, dried fruits and/or zests which make a richly flavored cookie. Below I have listed many variations to the basic shortbread recipe you may like to try.

Variations to the Plain Shortbread Recipe:

Can substitute 1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar or 1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar for the confectioners sugar. This will change the both the taste and texture of the shortbread.

Can add 1/2 cup (55 grams) toasted and chopped pecans or hazelnuts to shortbread dough. This is especially good when brown sugar is used.

Add 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips or cut up semisweet chocolate.

Add instant espresso powder for a coffee taste (about 1 tablespoon).

Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Add finely chopped zest of an orange or lemon. Especially nice at Christmas time is to use Clementine zest (about 1 tablespoon) and substitute orange extract for the vanilla extract in the recipe.

Try replacing approximately 1/4 cup (35 grams) of the all purpose flour with rice flour for a different texture.

Can replace up to 25% (1/2 cup) (70 grams) of the all purpose flour with cornstarch (corn flour) if you want a more delicate and fragile cookie.

To make Shortbreads with a Stamped Design using a Cookie Stamp:

Place the prepared dough on a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. (If dough is too soft, wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1/2 to 1 hour to firm up.) Take a scant 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it between the palms of your hands to form 1-inch (2.54 cm) ball. Place the balls of dough about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on prepared baking sheet. Press each ball with a cookie stamp, lightly dipped in flour, until dough is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Lightly sprinkle each cookie with Pearl (a large grained sugar) or else granulated sugar. Refrigerate the stamped cookies for 10 minutes to firm them which will help preserve the detail when baked.

To read more on Shortbread Cookies.


In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer cream the butter (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Stir in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Cut into rounds or whatever shapes you wish using lightly floured cookie cutters. Place on the prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cookies are dry but not brown. (The bottoms of the cookie will be lightly browned.) Cool on rack.

From here http://www.joyofbaking.com/shortbreads/shortbreadcookies.html

The basis for this recipe came from The Art of Fine Baking by Paula Peck

The Shortbreads are great plain or you can frost them with chocolate or confectioners sugar.

[Snowball]

Legend..Thanks

[banga]

heres a simple shortbread my mum gave me
250 grams butter
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup of cornflour
1/4 teaspoon of salt .
cream butter and sugar,add sifted flour,cornflour & salt .
knead well, roll out fairly thick 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick(with rolling pin) .
cut into pieces , then place on a cold tray , prick with fork (dunno why but my nana used to do it too ) just poke it 3 times each :) , bake for 20-30 minutes @ 180 degrees celsius , enjoy

[Spades]

can anyone confirm that these recipes work??

[banga]

yeah i eat em all the time , my mum makes it better coz im heavy handed with all ingredients yummy