The anticipation of seeing the predominately green landscape change to a richly vibrant tapestry of yellows, reds, and oranges is one of the many reasons why autumn remains my favorite season. Not unlike the enthusiasm expressed by children en route to some magical place ("Are we there yet?, Are we there yet?"), I have awaken each morning wondering"Have the leaves changed yet?, Have the leaves changed yet?". Last week the trees here in my part of the Midwest showed barely a wisp of autumnal color. But this week, Mother Nature finally began to further reveal another layer of her much anticipated splendor. Against a contrasting gray sky, the colors of the leaves in the trees lining the streets in my neighborhood and in the park near the center of town seemed even more vibrant. While it felt as if it took forever, the changes to the fall landscape have thus far been well worth the wait.
With the visual arrival of autumn comes an even greater desire to bake. A posting of some almost too beautiful to eat shortbread cookies on Instagram was enough to inspire me to take another trip down the shortbread (aka shortcake) recipe road. While not looking to replace or abandon my cherished Irish Shortbread recipe, I wanted to find another one. But it had to be a shortbread having an equally delicious flavor, yet more amenable to being rolled out and cut into an infinite number of shapes. Additionally, I wanted this next shortbread recipe to be as 'authentic' as possible. In other words, one trying to stay true as possible to the somewhat traditional 3 parts flour, 2 parts (unsalted) butter and 1 part sugar ratios.
After spending some time going down the shortbread cookie rabbit hole, I settled on the exact ingredient amounts for the butter, flour(s) and sugar. Additionally I made the decision to use the metric weight versus the measuring cup method. Mostly because every recipe I considered listed the ingredients in grams and partly because I am finding it easier and more precise to weigh versus measure ingredients. For those of you who don't own a scale, there are multiple, easy to use grams to cups conversion links available on the internet.
When a cookie is made with very few ingredients, quality matters even more. In her book 'The Scots Kitchen", F. Marian McNeill (1974) wrote 'Only the best ingredients should be used. The flour should be dried and sieved. The butter, which is the only moistening and shortening agent, should be squeezed free of all water. The sugar should be fine castor. Two other things are essential for success-the careful blending of the ingredients and careful firing.' Because European style butters have less 'water' in them, they seemed to the best butter shortbread making option. Granulated sugar is more common than castor sugar here in the states, although castor sugar is becoming more readily available. Considering most Irish and Scottish shortbread is more than likely made with castor sugar, it seemed there wasn't any other option than to use it. So I did. With at least four different shortbread making flour options to choose from (all-purpose, rice, semolina and cornflour aka cornstarch), the decision making process became a little more complicated. After looking at a significant number of shortbread recipe variations, it appeared using at least two of these flours would be key to making a slightly richer cookie. Which flours I used or which flour I combined with all-purpose flour would significantly affect the texture of the shortbread. Rice and semolina flours would give an added crunch and cornflour/cornstarch would give it a more 'melt in your mouth' texture. Although any of those flour options would work, I decided to use an all-purpose/rice flour combination. Based on the cookie's taste and texture, it may take me awhile to consider any other option.
Ordinarily I don't do more than one test of a recipe (gasp!). But that's true. If a recipe turns out I share it with you. If it doesn't, it's determined not to be immediately blog worthy. So this blog posting is a bit of a departure for me. Even though the first batch of cookies actually turned out to be as buttery, crunchy, and crisp as I hoped it would be. However, I struggled a bit to get the dough to roll out smoothly using the fork and hand method to assemble the dough. Note: The leaf shaped cookies reflect the results of the first run through of the recipe. Because I had a bit of difficulty forming the dough using the more traditional fork/hand shortbread assembly process, I didn't feel as if I could in good conscious post the recipe without possibly directly or indirectly discouraging you from making them. Cookies should be relatively easy to make, they shouldn't be complicated.
So in a somewhat non-traditional and potentially texture risking move, I decided I would attempt assembling the shortbread dough in the food processor. It turned out all of my worries were for naught, as the dough in the food processor was not only much easier to roll out, the baked shortbread was as good as, maybe even slightly better, even more visually perfect, than the more traditionally assembled fork/hand/bowl method. Yes, I know I may have just alienated everyone having even a trace of Irish and/or Scottish ancestry by even suggesting a great shortbread could be made in a food processor. Trust me when I say this is certainly not my intent.
Because the butter softens up a bit in the assembling process (regardless of which method used), allowing the dough to rest in refrigerator a bit ensures the dough won't be overworked in the rolling/cutting/rerolling/cutting process. Fifteen minutes of rest/chill time is all this dough needs. Note: If you keep your dough in the refrigerator longer, you will have to let it set out a bit or it will crack when rolling.
Recommend baking temperatures for shortbread ranged from 300 degrees (F) to 350 degrees (F) or 140 degrees (C) to 180 degrees (C). Both batches of these shortbread cookies were baked at 350 degrees (F) for 15-20 minutes (cookies were rolled out to 1/4" thickness). Baking time will vary slightly primarily due to the size and thickness of the cookies. If you want a thicker shortbread cookie, your baking time will increase. Your shortbread is done when the edges are lightly golden in color.
After allowing the baked cookies to rest on the baking pan for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack. Once cooled to room temperature, they can be packaged in cellophane bags or placed in a tightly sealed tin. I am fairly certain these cookies get better with a bit of age. But honestly the ones I didn't give away didn't last more than two days here. And it's not simply because we love shortbread or cookies or sweets. They were just flaky, crispy, buttery, not overly sugary, addictively amazing. They were GREAT! Definitely a shortbread cookie I would put in the throw down worthy category.
Shortbread Cookies (inspired from multiple sources)
Ingredients
7.05 ounces (200 g) unsalted butter, cool but not chilled firm (Kerrygold is one of my favorites)
3 1/2 ounces (100 g) caster sugar
7 ounces (200 g) all-purpose flour
3 1/2 ounces (100 g) rice flour
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) or 180 degrees (C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift the all-purpose flour and rice flour. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter and caster sugar until combined.
4. Add the sifted flours until large clusters of dough forms. Be careful not to over process.
5. Scrape dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a disc or rectangle. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow it to rest.
6. On a lightly floured surface, cut dough in half. Rewrap one half and return to the refrigerator. Roll out remaining dough half to 1/4" thickness. Cut into desired shapes.
7. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges of the shortbread are lightly browned. Allow cookies to set on pan for 5 minutes. Remove and transfer to a cooling rack. Note: Baking time may vary based on the size of the shortbread cookies.
8. While cookies are baking, roll out other half of the dough. Cut into desired shapes. Bake accordingly.
9. When cool, serve immediately or store in a tightly sealed container.
Notes: (1) If making this shortbread using the fork/hand/bowl method, begin by cutting the butter into small cubes. In a medium sized bowl, blend the butter and sifted flours together until them mixture is crumb-like. Stir the sugar into the mixture, then using your hands squeeze it all together to form a ball (it will seem a bit crumbly). Flatten the ball of dough to about 1 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, allow to chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before rolling out on a lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees (F) or until the edges are lightly golden. (2) I didn't make the decorative fork indentations on the leaf cookies, but did when I made them into squares. (3) In the states, India Tree's Caster Sugar is my go-to.
Grazing dairy cows (October 2017)
