Grandma Emily’s shortbread
Do you have a treasured family recipe that has endured through the generations?
In my house, this recipe for Grandma Emily’s shortbread is widely loved and even better, it is ridiculously easy to make.
The secret is to start with lovely soft butter. You will cream your butter and sugar together until it is pale and beautifully whipped, before adding the flours and salt.
The end result is a beautifully crisp, buttery biscuit, which is just perfect when people pop by, or to treat yourself after a stressful day in this busy season.
I used an amazing trick today courtesy of @halfbatchbaking where you use an empty cardboard tube to roll your cookie logs. It made shaping the shortbread so easy, and I have already used it again on my batch of speculaas. Such a great tip!
- 8 oz butter (salted, soft)
- 4 oz icing sugar
- 6 oz plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 7 oz cornflour
- 1 Cream butter and sugar together until very pale, then add in flours and salt and mix until well combined.
- 2
Lightly knead into a ball, and then shape into one or two logs (depending on how big you want your cookies.)- 3
I wrapped my logs in clingfilm, then used a narrowish cardboard tube to shape mine before chilling them.- 4
Slice into cookies (approx 1cm thick,) then bake until cooked.- 5
Grandma Emily’s recipe suggests using a moderate oven for approximately half an hour, but I usually set mine to 160C fan bake (or 180C regular) and bake for around ten minutes until cooked but not browned.- 6
The timing will depend on the thickness of your shortbread slices and how round you have made your cookie logs.Baking, Shortbread, Biscuit, Family recipe, Cookies - 2
