OK, today I’m going to keep it short and sweet. Oh God. This is a post about shortbread. I told myself to avoid using puns on my blog at all costs. Groan.
This is our family shortbread recipe. It has never failed me. It’s buttery and has the best texture ever. We also have a variation featuring custard powder – that’s yummy too. I think the trick to lovely shortbread is to bake it really slowly and to keep a close eye on it near the end of cooking time. There’s a short window between beautiful pale perfectly cooked shortbread and golden brown crispy meh.
Shortbread makes a gorgeous gift, specially at Christmas time. People always say they love shortbread but haven’t had it for ages when I give them a batch. I always think my favourite homemade biscuit might be shortbread. Then I remember all my other ‘favourites’. Afghans. Belgian Biscuits. Chocolate Chippies. Gingernuts. Melting Moments. Lebkuchen. Anzac Biscuits. I won’t try to fight it. I can’t choose. They’re all winners on the day.
We used to have lots of biscuits at home growing up – more than cakes or sweets. I keep meaning to revive some of the forgotten ones, like rice crispies, sultana biscuits and coconut clusters (did anyone else have those?). What are your favourites?
Shortbread
8 oz butter, softened
4 oz icing sugar
12 oz flour
2 Tbsp cornflour
Preheat the oven to 150°(c) and line 1-2 baking trays with baking paper.
Lots of people use food processors for mixing shortbread; I use my Kenwood cake mixer. Sift the dry ingredients and place in the mixing bowl with the butter. Mix well – it might look a bit crumbly but leave the beater running a minute, it will be fine. You can also mix by hand.
Tip the mixture out onto the bench and knead it a little; it should come together nicely. I roll my dough into two long square logs, 4cmx4cm, and cut into 5-7mm thick slices with a sharp knife. Shortbread pieces with cut edges (rather than the ends of the logs) are always the best, so I shave the ends off as thinly as possible. Someone usually eats those mixture scraps before they get to the oven. But when I bake any kind of biscuits, I make a tiny deformed one with whatever scraps of dough are left, and then I’m allowed to eat that one warm out of the oven. Silly rule I know, but sometimes it’s the little things that keep you going.
Set the little 4x4cm squares onto the baking trays (they don’t spread so don’t worry about leaving acres of space in between). I prick my slices twice with a fork diagonally (see picture) but each family has their own quirks, so don’t mess with how your grandma makes it!
Bake the shortbread for about 30 minutes, one tray at a time if you can. Start checking after 25 minutes. The shortbread shouldn’t change colour, they’ll just be changing from creamy to very pale golden when they’re done. The bottoms are usually a little more golden, that’s a good way to check.
Cool on a rack and store in a tin or container. Shortbread keeps really well and is probably the best freezer of all the biscuits I know. Voila! In case you’re wondering, the swan below serves no useful, meaningful or symbolic purpose. I just kind of like it.
