A family favourite recipe is the key to our hearts…
KITTY’S SHORTBREAD RECIPE
“My mum is exceptionally good at making desserts and was famous in the family restaurant for her mounding pavlovas, treacle tarts and chocolate puddings, but of course by Sunday she was never in the mood to make anything so I’d step in. At eight years old, I learned to make shortbread. From about twelve, I made batches of shortbread for the restaurant. To this day, it is my family’s favourite.”
For 8
Ingredients
55g caster sugar
115g fridge cold unsalted butter
170g plain flour
Method
1. Line a 24cm cake tin or a 20x30cm-ish brownie tin with parchment paper.
2. Weigh out the flour, sugar and butter.
3. Dice up the cold butter into small cubes, then add to a food processor with the sugar, flour and a small pinch of salt. Make sure the butter is really cold here – if it’s a bit soft, cube it up and place in the freezer for a bit as this is what will make the shortbread extra short.
4. Pulse the mix a few times until it resembles breadcrumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, you can add the cold butter to a bowl with the flour, sugar and salt and rub the butter in until you have a breadcrumb texture.
5. Tip the mixture in to the prepared tin and pat it down so you have an even layer (a good way to do this is with the bottom of a glass, pressing down the mixture until you have a flat and compressed surface)
6. Place the mixture in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes, but this can be left to rest for up to 4 days if you want to make it ahead of time.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C, then once hot, bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until it is very lightly golden. Remove the tin from the oven and sprinkle the shortbread with a little extra caster sugar then slice it while it’s warm.
Recipe from Make More With Less: Foolproof Recipes To Make Your Food Go Further, by Kitty Coles, published by Hardie Grant.