Shortbread

Let the celebaking begin! Exams are all done and I've been busy celebrating with friends and finally doing some shopping etc etc and of course baking.

I've never made shortbread before so wanted to give it a shot seeing as Christmas is fast approaching. It's a pretty festive biscuit so might make a nice gift if I can find a perfect recipe.

Classic Shortbread from Bake It

My version


Ingredients
225g butter, softened to room temperature
115g (1/2 C) caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
225g (1 3/4 C) plain flour
115g (2/3 C) rice flour
pinch of salt
dash of vanilla essence (not in original recipe)

Method


1. Preheat oven to 170C fan-forced.

2. Grease or line (baking paper) one large or two small slice tins or baking trays.

3. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium with an electric beater until pale and fluffy. Add a dash of vanilla if desired and beat in.

4. Sift the two flours into the butter/sugar bowl and add a pinch of salt.

5. Mix together gently with a wooden spoon or using fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

6. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead gently to form a soft dough.

7. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

8. There are two options at this point:

          a) Divide the dough in half and roll out one half on a lightly floured work surface to form a 20cm round. Carefully transfer to a prepared tray. Repeat for second round.

          b) Press the dough evenly into slice tin(s)

9. Using a sharp knife, score the surface of the dough into wedges or rectangles and prick the surface lightly with a fork and if making rounds, press the edges to form a fluted effect.

10. Lightly dust the shortbreads with the extra sugar.

11. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the shortbreads are light golden. Remove from the oven while still hot, follow the score marks and cut into wedges or triangles.

12. Cool in tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

It will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to 1 week.
It can be made with plain flour alone; however, the addition of rice flour produces a lighter result.

Verdict
Turned out quite nice. Thick; next time I will use another pan or make the rounds. Nice crumbly texture - I'm not sure if it's too crumbly. Dad gave it the thumbs up though. Good flavour although I might add a touch more vanilla next time or even some maple syrup like in this recipe.

Will hopefully bake again early next week!