Sue Veed
Veteran
It's that time of year in the UK when there's a massive fund-raising day for Children in Need. When I was still employed, one of my annual contributions was to make quantities of shortbread, to be sold to colleagues for as much as I could get away with. In early years, I tried various recipes, some of which included things like rice flour or ground almonds, but eventually, after much trial and, well, not so much error as let's say slightly sub-optimal but still delicious results, settled on this one. It always sold out in a matter of minutes, and I felt ever so slightly guilty that people who had put in much more effort were still left with unsold cakes. Nowadays, I make some for us and some to be given to friends or favoured stallholders at the local farmers' market.
Easy to remember as 1-2-3, these being the relative weights of ingredients, so, based on a standard 250gm pack of butter,
125gm granulated sugar - in keeping with my persona, I normally use unrefined.
250gm butter - the better the butter, the better the results. I use cheap stuff.
375gm plain flour- I use white, but feel free to experiment with wholemeal or a mixture.
Blend the ingredients thoroughly.
(I can't imagine doing this without a food processor; the Magimix has certainly earned its keep for this alone; the ingredients form a single soft and malleable mass in about 2 minutes.)
Divide the mixture between two shallow 7" round cake tins - or whatever you have. You might get interesting results using a pizza plate, at a pinch. I weigh the two halves diligently; if they're not both 375gm I must have left some in the processor or on the worktop, the battery in the electronic scales is low, or just possibly my hands are now slightly cleaner than hitherto, if the total is greater than 750gm. Fill the tins evenly, pressing the mixture out to the edges, and applying a pattern if you feel like it (but expect it to be indistinct by the end of cooking!) There's no need to grease the tins, as the mixture is already very rich in butter, and there's no need to keep the mixture chilled – it's not pastry.
Bake at 160c for about 30 minutes - towards the end, check every 2 or 3 minutes, and take out earlier if you think it's needed, or leave in for longer. I aim for a deep-golden surface. Cut into segments while still hot, but leave in the tins to cool for a while before removing.
There's a fine line to be drawn when cooking multiple batches with only two tins!
[Diabetic variant - still very much under development!
80gm fructose - this was guesswork; might be better with less?
250gm butter - as above
375gm plain flour- as above, but as the mixture was softer than usual (due to the
higher proportion of butter?), I'd probably increase this to 400 or 425gm
Same method as above, but baked at a lower temperature as stipulated on packet of fructose, and for slightly longer, about 35 minutes.
Actually the packet said reduce by 25c, but I baked at 145c to 150c, and I suspect I could have got away with 30 minutes at 160c as for standard recipe.]
Easy to remember as 1-2-3, these being the relative weights of ingredients, so, based on a standard 250gm pack of butter,
125gm granulated sugar - in keeping with my persona, I normally use unrefined.
250gm butter - the better the butter, the better the results. I use cheap stuff.
375gm plain flour- I use white, but feel free to experiment with wholemeal or a mixture.
Blend the ingredients thoroughly.
(I can't imagine doing this without a food processor; the Magimix has certainly earned its keep for this alone; the ingredients form a single soft and malleable mass in about 2 minutes.)
Divide the mixture between two shallow 7" round cake tins - or whatever you have. You might get interesting results using a pizza plate, at a pinch. I weigh the two halves diligently; if they're not both 375gm I must have left some in the processor or on the worktop, the battery in the electronic scales is low, or just possibly my hands are now slightly cleaner than hitherto, if the total is greater than 750gm. Fill the tins evenly, pressing the mixture out to the edges, and applying a pattern if you feel like it (but expect it to be indistinct by the end of cooking!) There's no need to grease the tins, as the mixture is already very rich in butter, and there's no need to keep the mixture chilled – it's not pastry.
Bake at 160c for about 30 minutes - towards the end, check every 2 or 3 minutes, and take out earlier if you think it's needed, or leave in for longer. I aim for a deep-golden surface. Cut into segments while still hot, but leave in the tins to cool for a while before removing.
There's a fine line to be drawn when cooking multiple batches with only two tins!
[Diabetic variant - still very much under development!
80gm fructose - this was guesswork; might be better with less?
250gm butter - as above
375gm plain flour- as above, but as the mixture was softer than usual (due to the
higher proportion of butter?), I'd probably increase this to 400 or 425gm
Same method as above, but baked at a lower temperature as stipulated on packet of fructose, and for slightly longer, about 35 minutes.
Actually the packet said reduce by 25c, but I baked at 145c to 150c, and I suspect I could have got away with 30 minutes at 160c as for standard recipe.]
