Foodie Friday -- Ardsheal House Shortbread

This recipe is for my friend, Mary McLarty. She wanted a traditional Scottish shortbread cookie, and I told her that I had a great recipe. I don't know if this is traditional, but it is simple and easy. You do need a food processor to blend the butter to keep it from getting warm and mushy.

This is one of my old, old, old recipes that I typed on 3 X 5 index cards, which went out in the mid-80's. And since it was typed on the card, I can only assume that the recipe is originally from Bon Appetit. I have changed the recipe just a little (a touch more sugar, butter, and I made the pastry flour 1 cup vs. the original 3/4 cup, AND I'm using a more standard 9 x 9 inch glass pan instead of the 8 x 10 metal pan the recipe calls for).

Please read my tips and tricks at the end of the recipe.

Ardsheal House Shortbread

1 cup pastry flour

¾ cup flour

¼ cup sweet rice flour

½ cup superfine sugar

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, chilled, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Blend sugar in food processor to make it superfine, mix in flours, pulsing until blended. Add butter, pulse until crumbly. The shortbread will be very crumbly (like chunky flour) and will not stick together.  

Press into 9 x 9 inch glass pan. Even the edges with a square spatula, and press the top evenly.

Bake until shortbread just begins to color, 30-32 minutes. Immediately cut into 1 ¼ x 2 – inch bars. Cool completely before serving.  

Tips & Tricks:

• ·         I couldn’t find pastry flour at the store, but it’s easy to make. 2 Tbls cornstarch in 1 cup measure, add all-purpose flour to fill the cup and level off with a knife. OR ½ cup all-purpose flour and ½ cup cake flour = 1 cup pastry flour
• ·         Rice flour is becoming more common in the baking aisle. I used Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour
• ·         To make the superfine sugar, just blend the sugar in the food processor until grains are smaller
• ·         I cut the butter into cubes. Keep the butter chilled until ready to blend
• ·         There is NO liquid in this recipe. The butter will melt when the shortbread bakes. The texture is ‘sandy’ feeling when you take a bite. 

Enjoy!

Later Peeps!