Jean's Scottish Shortbread
List of Ingredients
- 1 lb. butter
- 5 cups unbleached flour
- 1 cup cane sugar
- superfine sugar to sprinkle (see note below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix flour and sugar and set aside.
- In a large bowl, knead the butter well, until soft.
- Gradually add the flour/sugar mixture while continuing to knead, until all is well mixed. Do not over work!
- Press into an ungreased 11x17 pan.
- Take a fork and poke through the dough across the width of the pan, making similar lines about 1-1/4" apart down the length of the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, and then 250 degrees F for 35 minutes.
- When done, cut immediately into bars, about 3/4 x
2 inches each (or whatever size you want).
- When almost cool, sprinkle generously with superfine sugar.
Final Comments
Makes about 8 dozen cookies.
~~~~Variations
Cinnamon Shortbread
Add the following to the flour/sugar mix, before it is added to the butter: 3-4 tablespoons of cinnamon 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon of: mace, allspice, cloves, nutmeg
Tips & Notes
This really is best when done by hand.
The texture of the cookie is a little off when it's made in an electric mixer (but it's still OK, so don't let that stop you from making the cookie).
I like baking them the full 35 minutes, so that the cookie is nice and brown.
If you would like a more delicate cookie, bake a little less.
These freeze very well.
I cannot find superfine sugar in the stores anymore, but you can make it yourself.
Thoroughly clean out a coffee grinder, add regular granulated sugar, and grind for about 2 seconds.
If you do it right, you'll have superfine sugar; too long and you'll have powdered sugar. Due to the difficulty in cleaning a coffee grinder, I usually make about 3 cups at a time and store it.
I would not recommend using an airbake pan for these -- you want them to brown.
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