One day, I wanted to have a tea party with Sonia and Zoe and our friend, but we didn’t have any tea cookies. So, my mom suggested that we make shortbread.
I had never had shortbread before, so I was a little surprised at how not sweet it was. But it was great with tea and it tastes really buttery. I’ll definitely make this again when I need a tea cookie.
Here’s how to make shortbread.
Of course, first you’ll need to preheat the oven…325 °F is the right temperature for this shortbread.
Combine the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl and then cut in the butter. Using your hands, press the mixture into a ball and then knead it until it comes together. At first it will seem like it won’t make a dough, but it does eventually!
On an ungreased cookie sheet, pat the dough out into an eight inch circle, use a fork to decorate the edges, and then cut it into 16 wedges, using a pizza cutter or knife.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and reslice the wedges along the lines you made earlier. Let the shortbread cool a bit, and then transfer it to a serving platter or to a cooling rack.
See? Very easy.
Easy Shortbread
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter (do not use margarine)
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter thoroughly. Using hands, form dough into a ball and knead until smooth.
On an ungreased cookie sheet, press dough out into an 8-cinh circle. Cut into 16 wedges.
Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven. Recut shortbread along lines while still warm. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then cool on wire rack.
(Recipe originally from the big Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.)