Shortbread
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Yields:
-
60 two x 1/2 inch bars
ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, plus softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour, plus
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 cup cornstarch, plus
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1⁄3 cup sugar
- 1⁄4 cup superfine sugar or 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for topping
directions
- Preheat oven to 325°; butter a 10x6 inch glass baking dish.
- Add butter to a mixing bowl—the butter must be very soft, the consistency of mayonnaise or whipped cream.
- Add the salt to the butter and mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk sot that it dissolves completely before you add the rest of the ingredients.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch together into a bowl.
- Add the sugar to the butter and mix just until combined.
- Add the flour mixture and mix just until a smooth dough forms.
- Pat the dough evenly into the prepared baking dish; the dough should be no more than 2/3 inch deep.
- Bake until the top and bottom are lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
- The middle of the shortbread should remain light; let cool on a wire rack until warm to touch.
- Sprinkle the shortbread with the superfine sugar; tilt the dish so that the sugar fully and evenly coats the surface and then tip out the excess sugar.
- With a very thin, sharp knife, cut the shortbread into rectangular fingers, about ½ inch wide and 2 inches long; if the cookies have become cold, they will not slice well, so they must still be warm to the touch at this point.
- Chill thoroughly before removing from the baking dish; the first cookie is difficult to remove, but the rest should come out easily with the aid of a small, thin offset spatula.
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