How to Make Shortbread

I finished “Holes” by Louis Sachar yesterday. What a fast read! I liked it better than the movie. But that is almost always the case, isn’t it? Except for “Lord of the Rings” – those movies were pretty good.

The recipe: I’ve made shortbread for about 10 years and used the method that came with my recipe. This method is from King Arthur Flour, but I use the recipe that we all like better. It creates perfect triangle shapes of shortbread and cooks it perfectly. It always cooked well in the 9×13 pyrex pan, but you cannot possibly run a pizza cutter through it because of the sides. Plus, it bakes faster this way.

Scottish Shortbread
yield 16 large pieces

1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon water
1 pound butter, room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for garnish (divided)

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Trace the bottom of your 9″ springform pan onto some parchment paper and cut that out. Place on the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, pour sugar in and sprinkle with water. Cream the butter into the sugar with a large wooden spoon.

2. Add flour and salt. Knead the dough with your hands for about 5 minutes or more. The dough will pull away from your hands and the sides of the bowl.

3. Divide dough in half. Freeze the other half, or store in the fridge, or use another pan if you have one. Press half the dough into a 9″ springform pan. Spread flat. Prick with fork or small wooden skewer. The skewer method looks a little prettier. Sprinkle the 1/8 cup of sugar on top and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until pale golden.

4. Wait 2 minutes and carefully remove the springform pan sides. While hot, cut the dough with a pizza cutter. Let cool.