Shortbread
Shortbread
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| KAF guaranteed, quick-n-easy | |
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| Yield: | 2 dozen shortbread wedges |
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional, or the flavor of your choice; eggnog flavor makes a delicious holiday shortbread
- 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease two round 9" cake pans. If you worry about the shortbread possibly sticking in your particular pans, line them with parchment, and grease the parchment.
2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, then beat in the flour. The mixture may seem a little dry at first; keep beating till it comes together. If it absolutely won't come together, dribble in up to 1 tablespoon of water, until it does. This is a stiff dough.
3) Divide the dough in half, and press each half into one of the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers, or with a mini rolling pin.
4) Use a fork to prick the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes. Prick the dough in a random pattern, but it looks nicer pricked with some kind of symmetry.
5) Bake the shortbread until it's a light golden brown across the top surface, and a deeper golden brown around the edges, about 35 minutes.
6) Remove it from the oven, and immediately turn each shortbread round out onto a clean work surface.
7) Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges. (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily.) Transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to cool.
8) Serve as is, or decorate. Here are a few suggestions:
Drizzle with melted caramel;
Spread with melted chocolate, and sprinkle with nuts;
Set aside two shortbread cookies, and spread the remainder of the cookies with a thick layer of jam or preserves. Crumble the reserved cookies, and sprinkle the crumbs lightly over the jam.
Reviews
- Ok, so I've found my go-to "shoot! i'm having people/going to someone's place/I need a dessert I can prepare at anyone's house/something dairy free" recipe. I used parchment in my 9" pans because I get sad when things stick, though I'm not sure I really needed it. When I went to get the confectioner's sugar out, I (gasp) had run out. I live on a 5th floor walk-up in NYC and going to the grocery was too annoying, so I used 3/4 c white granulated suger. I also used unsalted butter, and about a teaspoon of table salt. I creamed the butter, sugar, and salt all together first and have not noticed any adverse effects on texture, nor do I find it grainy. Since I rarely keep anything simple I also added about a half cup of toasted chopped walnuts. I'll be sure to try the version as-written again, and SOON! SO GOOD!
- Thanks for discussing all the variations you can make with this recipe. It's fun being able to tweek a recipe for a special occasion or special someone. I am a bit perplexed that you recommend to brown the cookies. Every Scot I've ever discussed shortbread with has said to never let them get brown--if so, they are over cooked! I go to a LOT of Scottish Festivals and have eaten a lot of shortbread over the years and have to say that I agree with this conclusion (to be honest, it's usually my cookies that are overcooked!). Though you do have to cook them enough to get them baked through and this is where the "art" of shortbread making comes to play. I do like the salted vs non-salted butter argument and I will keep that in mind when next I bake. Cheers!
- Super fast and easy. I only had a cheese cake pan on hand, so they were a bit thicker ( kicked up the baking time a bit), but were delishous. My test subject boyfriend, ate half the pan before coming up for air.
- So easy and absolutely delicious but I want to make a thicker shortbread. Would it be the same signs of "done" as far as baking time? But,again, so good and really that melt in your mouth buttery shortbread signature taste and texture. I love shortbread!
- Too much of an almond taste and mine had to cook a lot longer to get golden, probably just my oven. Besides that they were yummy :)
- Easy and delicious! I added one cup finely chopped pecans. The cookies popped right out of my Teflon pans, did not need to use parchment paper. Using a pizza cutter makes slicing them so easy. I like the texture of these better than ones that call for granulated sugar.
- FANTASTIC RECIPE
- Delicious, brings back the taste memory of the shortbread-in-a-tin mom used to get when we lived in Canada, uh, 40+ years ago :-) The recipe filled two 5-3/4" x 4-1/2" heart shaped Pampered Chef stoneware shortbread molds, and one 8" stoneware shortbread pan marked on the bottom "Brown Bag Cookie Art c 1988". Each mold had a pretty design but I was worried the dough would stick so I liberally sprayed them and then sanded with sugar. The shortbread fell out great, but the designs were obliterated on the cookies so next time I'll try without. Also, the extra sugar made the cookies too sweet. The small molds were a bit overcooked (hard cookies), and the larger pan undercooked -- too soft. Next time I'll get it right ;-)
- This shortbread is the best, but next time I want to try a drop or two of my fiori di sicilia. I think that will kick them up a notch, if that is possible.
- Recipients of these wonderful cookies were devouring them before I left their company :o) Have tried numerous shortbread recipes and this one consistently yields fantastic results! Drizzling with melted white and semi-sweet chocolate or melted caramel made for fanciful variations. Hoping Santa will bring me that lovely snowflake stone baking pan this year.



