Monday 29 January 2018

Recipe: shortbread biscuits

Because a friend is coming round and because I wanted to christen some cookie cutters, I made some shortbread.
Shortbread isn't cheap but it is frugal when you have butter that's been in the dish for weeks (I can't have much butter at the moment), can't be frozen as a) it is quite 'old' in butter-years and b) was initially frozen anyway.  To avoid just wasting it, which would never do, I thought I'd bake with it and this is the ideal opportunity.

I used the 3,2,1 proportions - one part sugar, two parts butter, three parts plain flour.
Cream the butter and sugar, mix in the flour, bring it all together with your hands, chill, roll out and cut.  They bake at 160C for about half an hour, maybe a little less (I use parchment on a baking sheet).  Then leave to cool a bit before transferring to a cooling rack.  Sprinkle with sugar.

I made them plain but you can add flavours.  Christmas spices are lovely, or lemon/orange zest, choc chips - whatever you fancy really.

I think C will like these.

. . . and whatever she doesn't eat, she can take home for her two little lads.  Win-win!

8 comments:

  1. I do like a bit. of shortbread but we are keeping a close eye on fat content for a couple of months. I can save the recipe for March.

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    1. I had the smallest one and it's fingers crossed for the gallbladder now. Maybe I shouldn't have . . .
      J x

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  2. Hello

    This sounds like something I could make! We have unsalted butter to use up (hubby purchased it by mistake and I don't want to waste it), do you think it would still work using unsalted?

    Thanks for the recipes.

    CMW

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    1. Hi! Actually, I suspect it should be unsalted but if you like to use salted, just add a little pinch of salt to your unsalted butter. But personally, I wouldn't bother, I'd just go with unsalted.
      I hope you enjoy them.
      J x

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    2. Hello Joy

      Many thanks for the information and I shall try them out using the unsalted butter only. The big thing here, is that the biscuits can be made "diet size" and not the standard shop-bought size. :-) I do miss not having a biscuit with my cuppa, but shop-bought biscuits are too big, and use up a lot of my daily calorie allowance. Looking forward to making them up and I'll report back.

      Hope you didn't 'suffer' after eating the teeny-tiny biscuit.
      Regards

      Carol

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    3. I did a reply to this but it seems to have disappeared into the blue yonder! It was just about rolling the dough into a 'sausage' and freezing it, then you can slice off little biscuit shaped rings to bake as and when.
      J x

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  3. Love shortbread and I love your cookie cutters. Win-win as you say!

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