EASY BASIC SHORTBREAD
This buttery cookie gets better with age: It can be stored up to a month, and over that time its flavor deepens. Dip the tips of the cookies in melted chocolate for a decorative touch.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes
Yield Makes 36 bars
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-by-1-inch baking pan, and line bottom with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating on low speed until just combined.
- Press dough into prepared pan, leveling and smoothing the top. Using a dough scraper or the back of a knife, cut dough lengthwise into nine strips, each slightly less than 1 inch wide. Cut the strips crosswise into thirty-six 3-inch bars. Using the tines of a fork or a wooden skewer, create a decorative pattern on the surface.
- Bake shortbread until evenly pale golden, but not browned, 70 to 85 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Invert pan, and remove parchment. Turn shortbread over, and carefully break, or cut with a serrated knife, into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
SHORTBREAD "FINGERS"
Provided by Food Network
Categories dessert
Time 2h15m
Yield Makes about 2 dozen
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the flour and salt and work the mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until all the flour is incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough until it's 1/4-inch thick. Using a small knife, cut out finger-sized strips, about 3 inches tall, rounding each finger at the top as shown. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Roll and cut the second half of the dough, and place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. You can gather together scraps and re-roll them.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the shortbread is very lightly golden. Do not let the cookies brown. Remove to a wire rack and cool.
- When the cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a heatproof bowl for 1 minutes. The chips may look unmelted, but stir them with a spoon to see if they have actually softened before putting them in for another minute, if necessary.
- Spoon the melted chocolate into a zipper-lock bag. Seal the bag, pressing out any air. Use a toothpick to make a very tiny hole in one corner of the bag to release a thin stream of chocolate for writing. Decorate the fingers by piping a fingernail at the rounded end, and three horizontal lines to mark the joint at mid-finger. Decorate tombstones with crosses and writing as desired. Allow the chocolate to set before stacking the cookies.
SHORTBREAD
Try making these easy, buttery shortbread biscuits for an afternoon activity with the kids. This recipe also works with chocolate chips or orange zest added the shortbread dough.
Provided by BBC Food
Categories Cakes and baking
Yield Makes 20-24 shortbread
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
- Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth.
- Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.
- Cut into shortbread rounds or fingers and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with caster sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
SHORTBREAD COOKIES II
Use only butter in these for best flavor.
Provided by Sally
Categories Desserts Cookies Butter Cookie Recipes Shortbread Cookie Recipes
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla; add flour and mix well.
- Put through cookie press and form cookies onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 489.5 calories, Carbohydrate 48.6 g, Cholesterol 81.3 mg, Fat 31.1 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Protein 4.6 g, SaturatedFat 19.5 g, Sodium 218.8 mg, Sugar 16.9 g
SHORTBREAD COOKIES
Bake Ina Garten's chocolate-dipped Shortbread Cookies for the perfect bite with tea, from Barefoot Contessa on Food Network.
Provided by Ina Garten
Categories dessert
Time 1h15m
Yield 20 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
- Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.
SUPER-EASY SHORTBREAD (3 INGREDIENTS)
The original recipe (called Shortbread Stars) came from my McCall's recipe box collection, which I subscribed to in the 80's. It was the first shortbread recipe I ever made, and I've never found a better one. The ingredients are so basic and easy that you'll soon have them memorized. Other recipes don't seem to produce the same perfect texture and flavor. My modification to the original was to try using a 9 x 13 pan rather than chilling, rolling out, and cutting into shapes. (Who has time for that, except on special occasions?) However, using a 9 x 13 pan changes the baking time, and the time given is approximate and based on my experience with a convection oven. I tend to overbake them a bit because I like shortbread very crisp. These are perfect with a cup of tea, of course, and ideal for tea parties or even a quick dessert for company. You nearly always have the ingredients on hand. Now you'll never need to buy (delicious but expensive) Walker's shortbread again!
Provided by TapestryThreads
Categories Drop Cookies
Time 55m
Yield 24 cookies, 24 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
- Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
- Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
- Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
- Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
- Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
- Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
- Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
- Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!
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