Shortbread Cookies

I struggle with shortbread and have tried numerous recipes in an attempt to find one that I like. Elva and Helen have shared their Aunt Pearl's recipe with me, and what a recipe it is!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. room temperature butter
• 1/2 pound icing sugar(or 2 cups sifted)
• 4 cups sifted flour

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.

Place all three ingredients in a large mixing bowl and have at them. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients and work the mixture until you can press it together into several large balls of dough. Roll the dough on a floured board until you reach the desired thickness, (thick or thin depending on your preference). Cut the rolled dough with a cookie cutter or use a sharp knife to define bars, (also known as 'fingers'), approximately 1/2 inch wide by 2 inches long. Bake the cookies on ungreased cookie sheets until very light brown. 

More Thoughts on Shortbread....

I happened upon the following in my recipe box and made it because I liked its name, Ultimate Shortbread. However, I read the recipe incorrectly and added too much flour. With great difficulty I managed to roll the dough sufficiently to produce four cookie cutter snowmen. With the remaining dough I gave up rolling and made round 8 inch patties of shortbread about 1/2 inch thick, scored them before baking and cut them into 8 wedges while they were still warm, then sprinkled them with sugar. Ultimately, it worked.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups flour plus additional flour if dough is sticky

Methods:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With your fingertips gradually add in 2 cups of flour, adding more if necessary to make a soft but not sticky dough. Roll dough to about 1/3 inch or 8 mm. thickness and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool on wire racks.



And finally, my sister P. chimes in with her thoughts on shortbread.....

"I find the recipe on the back of the cornstarch box very easy. Variations: you can add 1/4 cup cocoa (Fry's) for chocolate shortbread. You can add 3/4 cup sliced filberts, roll into a 1 1/2 inch log, refrigerate, cut into 1/4 inch slices. Mom used to roll the dough around a red or green maraschino cherry, then ice them after baking with pink or light green icing.

At a public school Christmas party, someone's mother had made cookies like candy canes. There were two colours of dough (pink and white) twisted together with a crook at one end to make a cane shape. It seems to me there was also a peppermint flavour."