You can’t go far wrong with shortbread. Quick and easy to make using simple store cupboard ingredients, perfect if you have unexpected guests.
You can make individual cookies or roll the dough into one big round and mark it into wedges before baking.
SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD
INGREDIENTS:
170 g plain flour
100 g soft butter
56 g caster sugar + a little for sprinkling
25 g cornflour
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 170C°/Gas 3 and lightly grease a baking tray.
Mix the butter and sugar together until it is pale and creamy.
Sieve the flour and cornflour together and stir into the butter and sugar. Mix well.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cover the top with a sprinkling of flour. Roll the out to about ¾ cm thick.
Prick all over with a fork and either cut into rounds or make one large shortbread round, pinching the edges with your thumb and finger to give a crimped effect.
Carefully lift the dough onto the baking tray and bake for 25 minutes until pale brown and crisp.
Shake a small amount of sugar over the top of the shortbread immediately after removing from the oven.
Cool on a rack and store in an airtight tin.
