Shortbread

Addy’s Cookbook, p. 40

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup butter (2 sticks), chilled

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Put a sifter in a mixing bowl. Measure the flour and salt into the sifter and sift them together into the bowl.

Having the sifter already in the bowl is, indeed, crucial. 

Jingle bells, jingle bells...

Be sure the brown sugar is firmly packed into the measuring cup. Then add the brown sugar to the flour and salt and mix well.

Thus ruining your fluffy mountain of siftedness.

Add the butter to the mixing bowl. Use a butter knife to cut the butter into small chunks.

It's a messy business. Have towels on hand.

Use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the flour mixture until you have pea-sized lumps.

Er, "fork."

Wash your hands Then use your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until the mixture is smooth.

Eeee! The fun part!

Put the shortbread into an 8-inch square baking pan. Press it down with your hands until it is the same thickness everywhere in the pan.

The almost-as-fun part!

Use a fork to prick the shortbread all over.

I'm not sure why you do this. But it's always the little holes that make you think "shortbread."

Bake the shortbread for 20 minutes. It will turn light brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.

Remove the shortbread from the oven.

Well, I dunno about light brown.

But it did beat a hasty retreat.

Use the butter knife to cut the shortbread while it is still warm. Leave it in the pan to cool.

When the shortbread has cooled, use a spatula to lift the pieces out and place them on a serving plate.

And nom!

My Rating: 3/5 "I absolutely love shortbread for its simplicity, but this recipe is too Spartan for even my taste. The buttery flavor is there, but gets a little overwhelmed by the salt - I'd reduce the amount you put in, if you make this."