Shop bought shortbread is often surrounded by plastic packaging; and I for one want to avoid plastic in my food wherever possible. I want snacks in the home that I can nibble on when I get a little peckish and shortbread always finds a way of making me content with life (when eating them anyway) ?
For this recipe I use wholewheat flour (as I am trying to eat less refined foods, to retain more nutrients), but feel free to swap this for white flour if you prefer (like it is traditionally made).
After collating various shortbread recipes, I have come up with a tasty recipe with lots of helpful tips for guidance. This is super easy to make, so definitely give this a try. They also go great with a cuppa!
Enjoy.
key facts:
- Yield: approx. 8 Biscuits
- Prep Time: 10 mins (plus 15 minutes cooling time)
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
- Difficulty: Easy
ingredients (cost 13p per biscuit):
- 50g Organic Sugar (I use Unrefined Cane Sugar, but can use any sugar you like; brown, caster etc), plus extra for sprinkling – approx. 11p (£1.10 for 500g from Sainsburys)
- 100g Organic Butter (I use Unsalted), plus extra for greasing – 72p (£1.80 for 250g from Tesco)
- 150g Organic Wholewheat Flour (unconventional, but has more nutrients; you can use with part rice or corn flour too for extra melt in the mouth) – approx. 20p (£1.36 for 1Kg from Asda)
- (Optional Flavour Enhancers) 1 pinch Teaspoon grounded Sea Salt (if using unsalted butter) and 1 Teaspoon Organic Vanilla Extract (available from Tesco)
equipment:
- Large mixing bowl
- Rolling pin or a the base of a clean pan
- Baking paper/aluminium or tin foil
- Sieve
- Wooden spoon
method:
- Use a knife to cut 100g butter into small cubes. Add the butter cubes (once at room temperature) and 50g sugar to a mixing bowl. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mix into a smooth thick paste.
Make your life easier by cutting the butter into cubes when cold and mixing with the sugar when warm/at room temperature. - Cover the mixing bowl with a sieve and pour the 150g flour over the top from height. You may add any flavour enhancers, such as sea salt or vanilla extract at this point if you wanted to (I leave it as it is).
This will add some air to the mixture and give a nicer texture. - Once all of the flour has been added, fold in the flour using the wooden spoon to mix until crumbly in appearance. Use your hands to form a dough, by squeezing and shaping the mixture into a ball.
Be careful not to over work the dough otherwise the warmth of your hands will melt the butter and you will have a more greasy shortbread. - Flour the work surface and roll out the dough (using a rolling pin or the base of a large pan) to around 1.5cm thickness (but you can make thinner/thicker if you wish). Now create any shape of your choice from the rolled out dough (e.g. round, square, star, xmas tree etc).
Flouring the work surface will ensure the dough does not stick to the surface. - Line a baking tray with baking paper. Grease the baking paper with a little butter. Place the shortbread shapes onto the baking tray.
- Leave to chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F.
You could use the waiting time to clean the work surface and wash the dishes. - Take out of the fridge. Use a fork to make little indentations on the shapes, just like you see on traditional shortbread (pierce all the way through).
The small indents you make will help the shortbreads to cook more evenly. - Place the tray into the oven. If you like, you can sprinkle some sugar over the top of each shortbread piece. Cook for approx. 30-50 minutes. Keep an eye on them.
The thicker the shortbread, the longer they will need to be cooked for. You are aiming for a light golden brown colour. Make sure the edges don’t go brown (the shortbread should be all the same colour). The bottom should be a golden brown colour (slightly darker than the rest of the shortbread. They should still be soft when they are taken out of the oven. When they cool they will harden. - Remove from the oven. Transfer onto a wire rack if you have one. Whilst still hot, sprinkle the shortbread with some sugar.
- Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.. that’s if you don’t eat them all in one go like me.. ?
Chocaholics (myself included): Try dipping in melted dark chocolate and leave to cool before serving. - Enjoy!
Have you tried this recipe? How did it go? Feel free to share your thoughts on this recipe by leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you!
Originally published on: 12/7/18
