Grannie's Shortbread

It's time to share

I've been making my grandmother's shortbread forever - the 'secret' family recipe.  The time has come to share the recipe, with both the family and all the great bakers I'm meeting on FB.   Grannie used to make this in round cake pans, but I find doing it on a cookie sheet gets me some nice crisp shortbread.

Recipe

• 1lb butter (salted)
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus a handful or two
• 4 cups flour (all purpose)

350 degrees, 30-40 minutes or until golden brown

Directions

Bring butter to room temperature

Using your hands, mix the butter and sugar until well combined

Add the flour a bit at a time (a cup-ish) , hand mixing until well combined before adding the next bit of flour.  You're basically giving time for the flour to absorb the butter.   You could add it all at once, but it would take forever to mix.   Once mixed, let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes to continue to absorb and mix with the butter.

Line a baking sheet with a brown paper bag.  You can cut the bag down to size before baking.   

Form the dough into a long log and place in the center of the sheet.   Using hands (or rolling pin if you like) to spread the dough until it fills the pan,   Do your best to make it even throughout the pan.

Using a fork, make a lot of holes in the dough.  This will help in the baking process and ensure the center is nice and crisp.

Cut any excess bag off and place in center rack int he oven.   Back for 3-040 minutes or until they look golden.

Once out of the oven sprinkle the top liberally with sugar.   Then cut the shortbread into pieces while it is still warm from the oven.   (As it cools the shortbread will crisp up and be impossible to cut without it falling apart).  

Enjoy!!

Details

Once mixed and allowed to rest, it will have a consistency like play-doh.

I work the dough into the try by hand - the uneven look makes the shortbread more interesting.  

You can also roll out with a rolling pin.  Might be interesting to try going over with a patterned roller.

Here I've already cut the bag down - I wait until all rolled out in case things shift on the pan while I'm spreading the dough

The brown paper will absorb a lot of the oil - I never tried using regular parchment paper, that would prevent sticking but wouldn't absorb anything.

The recipe calls for poking holes throughout - I do so with a fork

I assume this is to ensure consistent baking throughout, so I've never tried not doing this.  If you make this in 2 smaller pans you might not need the holes, but they do make the shortbread interesting.

Since you will cut into smaller pieces, you can poke holes freehand.

Shortbread right out of the oven.

I let bake it a little longer to make a bit crisper, (and my friend loves the crispy ends)

You can tell by the color variations that my oven isn't quite consistent, but it all tastes good.

Grab a handful (or two) of sugar and sprinkle it all over the shortbread.

You don't have to be perfect.

Make sure you cut this right out of the oven, before the shortbread starts to crisp up

I make the second cut on the diagonal to be more interesting than plain old squares

I also like small, bite-size pieces.  

These manage to be a nice 2 bite snack

Let cool in the pan an hour or two and then put in a container, or serve!

Will keep in an airtight container for a few weeks

These also freeze well - just allow to come back to room temperature on their own

I hope you enjoy the family recipe!   Leave a comment if you try it and it works out well!