Rich, crumbly shortbread recipe, with variations to use as a tart shell or make other flavors. This shortbread calls for cake flour which results in a very delicate, sandy cookie or crust. Rolling them out on the thick side keeps them from being too fragile.
In a bowl (stand mixer or otherwise), cream together butter and sugar.
Slowly work in flour until well combined.
Roll out to 1/4" to 1/2 " and cut with cutters. Or, traditionally, pat it into a greased cake pan, score it with a fork into wedges, and bake.
Break the shortbread apart on the score lines. You can even roll it into balls, roll the balls in sugar (or cinnamon sugar, or cardamom sugar or.....).
Flatten slightly before baking with the bottom of a glass sprayed with some pan spray.
Any way you make them, bake at 350 degrees, F, until light golden brown and delicious. The time will vary depending on your method and the thickness of the dough.
Watch them closely, and take notes on your baking times.
SEE NOTES FOR ALTERNET MIXING METHODS
Notes
*Use all-purpose flour rather than cake flour for a slightly sturdier texture. You can also use an extra ounce of either cake flour or all-purpose flour.
Nutrition based on 1 cookie, if you make 24. Alternate Mixing Methods
The method described above is the creaming method. It allows for some gluten development. If you want to limit gluten as much as possible, for example if you only have all-purpose flour, mix the butter and flour together first and then mix in the sugar. This is called the reverse-creaming method.You can also mix all three ingredients together simultaneously for a hybrid mixing method that has no name. Everyone in the pool, maybe. :)So, for the most achingly tender shortbread, use cake flour, powdered sugar, and the reverse-creaming method. For the sturdiest shortbread that you can roll a bit thinner and use for cutout cookies, use all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and the creaming method.
Variations
For Cut-Out CookiesUse granulated sugar and 8 oz all-purpose flour. Use the creaming method.Chocolate variation Substitute 2 tablespoons of Dutch process cocoa powder for 2 tablespoons of flour (or 1 each of flour and corn starch/rice flour). Add a wee splash of vanilla.Citrus variation Add some finely microplaned citrus zest--lemon, tangelo, whatever you like. For this size recipe, I'd start with the zest of 2 lemons for a lemon shortbread or 1 orange for orange. Some like their citrus more or less assertive, so experiment and take notes.Herbed Shortbread Go very lightly with herbs here--you can always add more after you taste it; it's really hard to take them out once they're in, though. Try some tarragon, mint, thyme, lavender blossoms--whatever sounds good. Make sure the herbs are finely minced. Add them to taste.To Use as Tart Crust Roll the dough out to your desired thickness, fit it into your tart pan and then trim the top. Freeze the lined tart pan, uncovered, until completely hard. Then prick all over with a sharp knife and bake at 350F. Freezing will keep the sides from slumping down. To further guard against slumpage, line the tart with parchment and weight it down with beans during the first fifteen minutes of baking. If the bottom of the tart starts to burble up, even w/the knife pricks, just press it back into place with a heat-proof spatula. Make sure to check early on, because the spatula trick won't work once the dough is too firm.