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shortbread

(13 Posts)
bichonmad Mon 18-Jan-16 09:08:46

Hello, Does anyone have a easy foolproof recipe for shortbread please,i cant stand for long so don't want a complicated one,and I would like to use my food processor if possible I have read recipes that require lots of ingredients and I cant use my processor,thank you

whitewave Mon 18-Jan-16 09:28:06

Isn't it just flour butter sugar ad water in the right amount? Bung it in, whizz and press into a tin. Could do it sitting down I would think.

Can corn flour be used? Interested from a GF angle?

shysal Mon 18-Jan-16 09:32:53

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rjN7ZuL2bw
Very easy processor recipe.

Alea Mon 18-Jan-16 09:35:08

Flour, softened butter, sugar in the ratio 6:4:2. I use 1oz cornflour and 1oz icing sugar within those quantities. I use my Magimix and add a little salt or else use salted butter. No more than a drop or two of water and don't overwork.
Chill in the fridge then pat or gently roll into a thickness of about 1-2 cm and cut out rounds with a party cutter.
Someone on GN had a brilliant recipe for cardamom shortbread, you could try the Search facility. I also sometimes substitute 1oz polenta for 1 oz flour and add the zest of a lemon with a few drops of lemon juice instead of any water.

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 18-Jan-16 09:40:07

Love shortbread! Best to buy it out with a cup of tea. That way you don't get tempted to scoff the lot. It used to be a bugger to make with a Kenwood Chef. You had to add so much fat to get it to come together.

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 18-Jan-16 09:42:29

Whatever you do, don't add lavender. Or anything really. It's the butter you need to taste.

Indinana Mon 18-Jan-16 09:46:03

This is how I make shortbread:

250g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
250g plain flour
125g semolina

Place all ingredients into your processor (I use a Kenwood Chef, but it would work just as well in a food processor) and process until well blended.

Press into a buttered 8 inch round cake tin (much quicker and easier than rolling it out and cutting/shaping).

Bake at 150 C / 330 F / Gas Mark 2 for about 50 minutes.

Cut into 12 portions while still warm (you can mark the cutting lines with a knife before baking to make cutting easier)

Alea Mon 18-Jan-16 09:49:29

I think you have a point there jingl!
Last year I had a very dear friend I only see every few months (she still works in London) coming round for coffee and I thought I would push the boat out (!) with some posh biscuits grin The co-op's poshest were something like £2.75 for about 6 Duchy Originals so I thought s€d that, I'll bake some lemon and polenta shortbread.
Couldn't remember if I had plain flour, so bought a 1lb bag (£1) not sure if I had any lemons, so bought 3 for 80p, then worried I might not have enough butter, so 1/2 lb, 95p. I knew I had sugar, by the way.
If you have done the maths already you will see my point! But I did use my own polenta and the quantity made about 32, most of which disappeared all too rapidly.

annodomini Mon 18-Jan-16 10:23:30

I have a recipe book by an old Scots cook who used to broadcast on an early morning BBC Scotland programme 50+ years ago. Her recipe never fails and is made with melted (but not over heated) butter, then simply pressed into the baking tin. I smooth it out with the back of a spoon. Leave it to rest for two hours and bake for an hour (approx) in a slow oven, or until golden brown.

This recipe book also contains instructions for making a 'delicacy' known as 'potted heid'.

Alea Mon 18-Jan-16 10:38:34

As in "Awa an' bile pot yer heid!" ??

Alea Mon 18-Jan-16 10:42:46

My aunt used to make "The Shirra " shortbread which sold in Harrods, Fortnums , Maceys etc. I used to love it when she would present me with a tin to bring home after a visit to Scotland. Sadly, well into her 80's she no longer bakes and when she sold her bakery she undertook not to reveal or publish her recipe sad not even to family!!
It was truly melt in the mouth, so maybe your recipe Annodomini holds the clue?

mumofmadboys Mon 18-Jan-16 11:29:38

I use semolina too. Improves texture ++

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 18-Jan-16 11:39:47

Agree. (But don't do it!) unless you have huge willpower. shock