Shortbread Biscuits
Easy and delicious shortbread biscuits. I like to press my dough into a square tin, stab with a fork all over, mark out the biscuits with a knife pressed about 1/2 way into the dough then bake.
Easy and delicious shortbread biscuits. I like to press my dough into a square tin, stab with a fork all over, mark out the biscuits with a knife pressed about 1/2 way into the dough then bake.
- Carbohydrate 29.4243808781636 g
- Cholesterol 20.15625 mg
- Fat 7.6959375 g
- Fiber 0.253125004470348 g
- Protein 1.048125 g
- Saturated Fat 4.83028125 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (41g)
- Sodium 54.1875 mg
- Sugar 29.1712558736933 g
- Trans Fat 0.56278125 g
- Calories 188 calories
Step-by-step
- Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and creamy.
- Mix in the flours until combined
- Press/roll/cut out to whatever you like. About a 1" thickness
- Bake in a Slow oven, 150C, until lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven sprinkle with a little caster sugar.
- Allow to fully cool before eating.
Traditional shortbread fails when baker error allows too much gluten development or excess moisture to enter the dough. Achieving a sandy crumb requires precise handling of the four core ingredients, particularly the inclusion of rice flour, which inhibits gluten formation and yields the characteristic crisp snap.
Creaming the butter and caster sugar demands patience; incorporate air until the mixture turns pale and fluffy, but avoid melting the fat. When mixing in the plain flour and rice flour, stop the moment a cohesive mass forms. Overworking the dough at this stage activates wheat proteins, resulting in a tough biscuit rather than a tender melt-in-the-mouth texture. Press the dough into a square tin at a uniform one-inch thickness to ensure even heat penetration during baking.
Bake these biscuits in a slow oven set to 150C. Watch for a pale golden hue rather than deep brown edges, which indicate burnt milk solids. Pricking the surface with a fork allows trapped steam to escape, preventing uneven rising. Sprinkle extra caster sugar immediately upon removal from the heat while the exterior oils remain tacky.
Store the cooled biscuits in an airtight container where they maintain acceptable quality for three to four weeks. Stale batches regain crispness when warmed in a low oven for five minutes.
