Shortbread Cookies

This was another of the saved baking recipes I had got from Joy of Baking. The shape and color had me bowled over and I had to try these. Especially for the newly bought, still unused heart shaped cookie cutter! Followed the recipe almost as is, though I didn’t follow the measurements exactly. The outcome was good, and was well received. This is sure to be a keeper, especially with the variations in texture that can be made.
Here’s how to make them....

Shortbread Cookies

Preparation time : 15 min + resting time Cooking time : 15 min Makes : ~20 Ingredients: All purpose Flour (maida) - 2 cups Unsalted butter - 1 cup, in room temperature Powdered Sugar - ½ cup Vanilla extract - 1 tsp Salt - a small pinch - ¼ tsp Method: • In a bowl mix flour and salt well • In another bowl, beat butter till creamy for about a minute or two • Mix in sugar and continue to beat till fluffy for another few minutes • Add vanilla extract and mix thoroughly • Fold in the flour and mix to combine. Do not knead. • Flatten the dough, wrap it in a sheet and place it in refrigerator for 30 min • After half an hour, remove from refrigerator, and flatten it using a rolling pin and cut out desired shapes. • Place these on a greased tray, till all the dough is used up • Place it in the refrigerator for 10 more minutes to firm up, so that the cookies retain the shape when baking • Preheat the oven at 180 ºC and bake for 15 minutes. Check after about 10 minutes and adjust the time, not to over bake or under bake. A slight golden at the edges should be enough • Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet till cool enough, else they crumble when tried to lift when hot • Allow it to cool completely and then store away the rest in a tight container Tips n Tricks: • I found the dough too brittle to roll and cut. So I pinched out a small ball and flattened it on palm and cut the same with a cookie cutter Variations: • For a slightly crunchy texture replace 1/4 cup of the all purpose flour with rice flour • For a more delicate tasting shortbread, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, replace 1/2 cup of the all purpose flour with cornstarch (corn flour).

Sending these to Champa's Bake-off event.