Baking shortbread is a Christmas tradition in our home. The first recipe here is our standby and a favourite. It's a hearty Scottish-style shortbread. This is from parb (parbo):
Shortbread
parb
3/4 cup butter
1/3rd cup sugar
1-1/2 cup flour
press into 9 inch pyrex-350 for 20-25 mins-does not double well, so small batches-try it-it's wonderful
parb note 1 and 1/2 cup flour-soft butter, sugar, flour-use a WOODEN SPOON to mix
Cut into squares after baking. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before cutting into squares with a sharp knife. Cool completely before removing from the pan.
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I tried a new recipe this year, and it is delightful too, very delicate melt-in your mouth shortbread. Be careful not to over-bake, they really want to be minimally baked, I'd say 10-12 minutes in a 350F oven, so as not to brown them at all or they will be too hard/crispy because of the sugar content. Use an air-bake (double layer) cookie sheet if you have one- it helps keep the bottoms from browning. Let cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.
Note: I use a wooden spoon to mix this up, too, any other method just seems wrong to me.
The recipe is here: http://www.hildastouchofspice.com/2012/ ... hatai.html
The cardamom adds a lovely subtle flavour, and the ghee (clarified butter) keeps em light. This is the method I use to make the ghee: https://thehealthyfoodie.com/homemade-ghee/
I always keep some ghee made up in a jar, 1lb of butter makes a pint (500ml). It's my favourite cooking fat for making curries and such.
If you don't have or can't get ground cardamom, you could substitute a lesser amount of ground nutmeg- maybe 1/4 tsp, or 1/2 tsp of ground mace (which is the more delicately flavoured part of nutmeg)
[EDIT]: I made these using 1/2 Cup of powdered (Icing) sugar, as per the recipe, next time I will reduce that to 1/3 Cup, I think it will make more tender cookies. Should make 2 dozen cookies.
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Our third recipe is an English shortbread recipe handed down by my wife's grandmother. These are very delicate and fragile, but melt in your mouth good.
1 Cup (1/2 pound) Soft butter
1/2 Cup Icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour
Soften butter slightly, but don't allow it to become oily/melted. Stir in sugar, salt, nutmeg, and egg yolk, and cream it all together with a wooden spoon. Then, add the flour a little at a time while mixing it. Roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick on a floured surface, and cut into cookies with a cookie cutter. place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. If you like, you can decorate these with candy sprinkles or nut pieces before baking. Again, I recommend using an air-bake cookie sheet. Let cool completely before removing from the baking sheet, or they will fall apart, they are very fragile.
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There, we have covered Scottish, Indian, and English-style shortbreads.
Merry Christmas!