* 1 cup of shortening * ½ cup of granulated sugar * 2 ½ cups of thoroughly sifted flour
Directions to Make Simple Shortbread
1. Beat and mix the shortening with the sugar until you have a smooth, creamy, even mixture. 2. Slowly stir in the flour while mixing until all flour has been completely combined with the creamy mixture. At this time your batter should have a more doughy consistency than it had previously. 3. Kneed and roll out dough and cut into any size or shape you like. 4. Place onto baking pan and bake until the tops are golden. Generally, 350 degrees is a good temperature to bake shortbread, for around 20 to 30 minutes.Now that you have learned to make simple shortbread, think about all of the things you could add to this easy to make cookie to make it even more delicious! There are many items that can be added that will keep the simplicity of the recipe while adding wonderful flavors to your shortbread.
Other Shortbread Options
* Add a small amount (around 1 teaspoon) of vanilla extract when you are mixing the sugar and the shortening. If you are not fond of vanilla, try almond extract. These both give the shortbread a different, but delicious, flavor. * If you love the taste of shortbread, but are not a fan of the crumbly texture, why not try adding an egg to the recipe? This will decrease the crumbling and give the shortbread a more solid texture. * For a shortbread cookie with a little more bite, try adding the extremely finely ground rind of a lemon. This gives your shortbread a little more taste presence with a lemony flavor. * For the nut lovers out there, the recipe for shortbread can benefit from the addition of walnuts, pecans, or any other kind of nut you prefer. If you add only the nuts to the simple recipe, it will increase the crumbliness of the shortbread, but this can be solved by adding an egg into the mix before baking. * One word – Chocolate! Adding chocolate to any shortbread recipe is a wonderful change of flavor. It makes the shortbread that much sweeter, and the chocolate will also hold the bread together and decrease the crumbliness. * For a slightly different option, try adding cheese to your shortbread recipe. This makes your shortbread into more of an appetizer than a desert, and can even be joined with other appetizers to create a main course!
