Granny's Shortbread

Shhh. You're not allowed to share this recipe with anyone. Nah, not really. This is the recipe for shortbread that my granny taught to my mum and she to her children. I'm sure granny learned it from her mum and she from her mum etc. and so this is the most authentic shortbread I've ever come across. What is really good about it is that it is simple to remember:

• 4 parts plain flour
  
• 2 parts butter
• 1 part sugar

This means you can scale the recipe up and down as you need it.Method:

Rub the butter and flour together until the butter has disappeared into the flour. Add the sugar and continue to mix and it will eventually start to clump together. Put a handful onto a clean surface and then press the mixture together until you have a circle of shortbread with no clumps falling off. Pinch around the edges, prick the surface with a fork to decorate and sprinkle a small amount of white sugar on the top. Cut the circles into quarters and place on a greased baking tray and cook in a low oven for about 35 minutes, just until they start to go golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before allowing people to tuck in.

Now, that's what mum taught me. It was all done by hand and since I had an accident falling down a flight of stairs and badly damaged my left hand, I find the manual combining of the ingredients and the pressing it into disks very hard to do. So, here's my new variation.

• 250g soft butter - really soft
  
• 125g Demerara sugar (I find it gives a nuttier taste)
• 450g sifted plain flour

Using a food processor, blend the butter and sugar together until thoroughly mixed. Add the butter/flour mixture to the sifted flour. Combine with your hands until it all starts to clump together.Now, you'll need one of those hamburger presses. Mine is from Tupperware. Dust a tiny amount of flour in the hamburger form and a little on the underside of the press. Take a fistful of mixture (about halfway between a golfball and a tennis ball in size) and form it into a loose sphere. Place in the hamburger press and push down hard to spread the ball out into the hamburger form. Once the mixture is spread evenly over the form and you've pressed far harder than you think you need to, turn the pressed shortbread out onto a clean surface. Cut the circles carefully into quarters, prick the surface and dust with white sugar as before. Transfer to a baking sheet covered with non-stick baking paper or equivalent and bake in a low oven (160°c) for about 35 minutes. Much easier on the hands.

 

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