Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread is built on a high ratio of butter to flour, with just enough sugar to sweeten, producing a cookie that crumbles on contact and dissolves into a wave of pure butter flavor. The dough demands minimal handling - overworking it develops gluten and turns the tender crumb tough and biscuit-like. Cold butter cut into the flour creates the sandy, friable texture that defines a proper shortbread. Chilling the shaped dough before baking prevents spreading, ensuring clean edges and a uniform thickness. Powdered sugar yields a finer, more delicate crumb, while granulated sugar introduces a subtle crunch and slightly coarser grain. Traditionally scored into wedges or stamped into rounds, shortbread keeps well in a tin and actually improves after a day, as the butter flavor mellows and permeates the flour more evenly. It is the natural companion to a cup of strong black tea.
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Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 170C.
- 2
Cream butter and powdered sugar, then add vanilla.
- 3
Add flour, rice flour, and salt, mixing just until combined.
- 4
Roll dough, cut shapes, and prick with a fork.
- 5
Bake 18-20 minutes until lightly golden and cool fully.
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