European Shortbread Recipes

SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Line a baking sheet with greaseproof (parchment) paper. Sift the flour and rice flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar and mix.
• Cut butter into pieces and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture begins to bind together. Knead into soft dough.
• Roll the dough into an 8 inch round (or for exact round, mold it in an 8 inch cake pan). Place on baking sheet. Using a fork, prick top and make tine marks along edge. Using a table knife, score top with wedge marks. (This is where it will break when cooled)
• Bake 45 minutes or until pale golden in color. Sprinkle a little superfine sugar over top and cool on baking sheet. Cut into wedges. Keeps for weeks in airtight tin.

SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cornstarch and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Roll dough into a 15x2x1-in. rectangle; chill. , Preheat oven to 325°. Cut into 1/4-in. slices; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

EMPIRE BISCUITS

Steps:

• For the shortbread cookies: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Have ready two 9-by-13-inch sheets of parchment paper.
• Mix together the butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl with a rubber spatula until evenly combined. Stir in the flour until the dough forms a ball and you no longer see any streaks of flour; the dough may look slightly cracked, but this is fine.
• Place the dough in the center of one prepared parchment sheet, then top with the second prepared parchment sheet. Use your hands to press the dough into the same shape as the parchment. When the dough becomes thin enough, you can switch to a rolling pin to ensure the dough is rolled out evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top parchment sheet and place it on a baking sheet.
• Cut the dough into 24 rounds with a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, biscuit cutter or the top of a glass. You can bring the scraps of dough together to form a ball and roll it again if needed. Place the cookie rounds on the parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Place the remaining sheet of parchment on a second baking sheet.
• Arrange 12 chilled rounds 1/2 inch apart on each parchment-lined baking sheet. Shortbread shouldn't get too much color when baking, so bake until the shortbread is just set and the edges begin to turn a pale golden brown, about 22 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sugar glaze.
• For the sugar glaze: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small bowl until a thick and smooth glaze forms.
• To assemble, dip the top of 1 cooled cookie into the glaze. Lift the cookie just slightly above the glaze and let the excess drip off. Place glaze-side up on the wire rack and place half of a glazed cherry in the center before the glaze sets. Repeat with 11 of the cookies.
• Flip over the 12 remaining plain cookies. Evenly spread 1 teaspoon of the raspberry jam to the edges of each cookie.
• Place 1 glazed cookie on top of 1 jam-topped cookie. Repeat with the remaining cookies to make 12 sandwich cookies. Serve immediately or store between parchment paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.