Favorite Shortbread Recipe?

My friend and I have decided to make Peppermint Fudge Sauce & Shortbread for teacher gifts (this way we can get it out of the way b/c shortbread doesn't go stale the way other cookies do). I know we have a few big shortbread fans on the site (I'm not one, another bonus of our choice), so I thought I'd hit you guys up for favorite recipes.

TIA!

[Michele]

It's a lot of work, but I really like the Cooks Illustrated recipe I posted before. I'll try to find it for you. Cupcake made them for the exchange a few years back.

[Michele]

From my post in the Cookies 2010 thread:

Shortbread cookies

It's a Cooks recipe....therefore time intensive.

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup (2.666 oz) confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1.75 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
Cut into 1/8 inch thick slices

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450F. Pulse oats in spice grinder or blender until reduced to a fine powder, about ten 5-second pulses (you should have 1/4 to 1/3 cup oat flour). In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oat flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Add butter to dry ingredients and continue to mix on low speed until dough just forms and pulls away from sides of bowl, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Place upside down (grooved edge should be at top) collar of 9 or 9-1/2 inch spring form pan on parchment lined rimmed baking sheet (do not use springform pan bottom). Press dough into collar in even 1/2 inch thick layer, smoothing top of dough with back of spoon. Place 2-inch biscuit cutter in center of dough and cut out center. Place extracted round alongside spring form collar on baking sheet and replace cutter in center of dough. Open spring form collar but leave in place.

3. Bake shortbread 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 250F. Continue to bake until edges turn pale golden, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove baking sheet from oven, turn off oven. Remove spring form pan collar; use chef's knife to score surface of shortbread into 16 even wedges, cutting halfway through shortbread. Using wooden skewer, poke 8 to 10 holes in each wedge. Return shortbread to oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon, leaving 1 inch gap at top. Allow shortbread to dry in turned-off oven until pale golden in center (shortbread should be firm but giving to touch), about 1 hour.

4. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool shortbread to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate and serve.

NOTE: Wrapped well and stored at room temperature, shortbread will keep for up to 7 days.



***I tried to grind the oats in my food processor and it didn't work. I used my mortar and pestle. It really took about 8.5 minutes to turn into a dough. I was gonna give up, but figured I'd follow it exactly and set a timer....sure enough it made a dough. My extracted round never made it to the baking sheet. I ate it raw. ***

I'm perplexed by the "keep for 7 days" part. I'd always heard shortbread is one of those things that doesn't go stale, and actually improves if it sits a bit. ?? Now, by your mention of eating the dough, you probably aren't the person to ask on that one ... :-0

[Michele]

. It's a softer cookie than most other shortbreads I've eaten.

I'm going to go with this one, I think. Smitten Kitchen has never led me astray (and I've lost some confidence in Cook's Illustrated since their Slow Cooker cookbook SUCKS), and the recipe does mention that it can keep for a few weeks.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/10/tw...-lost-recipes/

[Michele]

I'll have to try that one!!

I haven't made it for a while but I use the Scottish Shortbread recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Probably google-able. I would think that because there is so much butter in shortbread you might want to refrigerate it?

No need - it's baked, so the dairy element is dealt with. None of the recipes for shortbread say they need refrigerating, but several say "will keep for a few days in airtight container". I'll look for the recipe you've used, Kirsty, since you're our actual UK'er.

http://www.two-tarts.com/2011/03/sco...hortbread.html

In my head I just imagine it going rancid if left hanging around but I don't really know!

[MissCrabette]

I don't know squat about shortbread. I printed the smitten kitchen recipe to try at some point because Andrew is a huge fan. I just don't get what the big deal is about shortbread.

I have to wonder, though, why is it important that the recipe keep for a long time? If you're giving it to shortbread lovers, it won't sit around that long. If you're not, why are you giving them shortbread in the first place? Yeah, I know, I know, teacher gifts. Maybe I'm viewing this from my very skewed perspective, but I see shortbread like fruit cake or mincemeat pie: people either love them, or they hate them.

Because we're trying to get the teacher gifts out of the way, but won't be giving them until 12/16.

My original shortbread recipe from years back specifically said it keeps & actually gets better if it sits for a couple weeks, which is why this sounded like a good plan to me.

Kirsty - the part that would go rancid is baked out. Remember that butter used to be left out on the counter for use all the time (& my MIL still does). It would take a good long while.

[Momo]

I wonder if you could use ghee or clarified butter?

Why? I'm not at all worried about the butter, and messing with the fat ratio in baking is a recipe (pun intended) for disaster. Crackers have butter, cookies have butter ... once it's baked it does not require refrigeration. Uncooked dairy (some frostings, etc.) are where the problems happen.

[DCJenn]

My mother has an awesome shortbread recipe- I just called her and she's going to post it to my FB page. (and you're right- it lasts for freaking ever and tastes just as delish.)

J.