Shortbread

It’s day five, the final day of COOKIE WEEK! And what a delicious week it’s been! Today I’m sharing one of our favourite shortbreads. This is a really yummy recipe. Great with a nice hot cup of tea. It has that great shortbread-y, kind of crumbly texture that you’re looking for. And, it’s easy, since you just make the dough and press it into one pan, no fiddly rolling out and cookie cutters or rolling into balls. I love it cut into nice little fingers. Just remember to cut it up when it’s still warm, but not hot out of the oven -I don’t why but it messes up the texture if it’s too hot when you cut it, and you can’t cut it up without it breaking if you wait until it’s too cold.

This recipe is from good old Jamie Oliver, from the “Cook with Jamie” cookbook. I have had good luck with any of his recipes that I’ve tried over the years, and I like that, in general they’re not too fussy. This recipe must have originally been done in the traditional British method of using a scale rather than a measuring cup, I think that explains the kind of odd measurements. Scant means not quite. Because of this I have found that the results vary from time to time, but they are always good, and more often than not, they’re great.

“The best shortbread in the world” -from Jamie Oliver’s Cook with Jamie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsps butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp superfine sugar -plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 2 scant cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 scant cup of cornstarch

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square pan.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy.

3. Add the flour and cornstarch. Combine into a smooth dough.

4. Press evenly into the square pan. Prick all over with a fork, and bake 50 mins. or until golden brown.

5. While it’s still warm, sprinkle with a generous dusting of sugar. Allow the shortbread to cool slightly, then cut into fingers.

This shortbread is so good, and easy, you’ll never feel the need to buy a box of Walker’s again. Great as a traditional Christmas treat.

With the world’s greatest shortbread, life really is a party!