Shortbread, Shortbread and more Shortbread

I'm not a big fan of cookies, I eat them once in a blue moon.  But the one cookie that I can't resist is shortbread.  If there's any in the house, I don't stop until it's all gone.

Best part is that my husband and children love it just as much as I do, so it never lasts long.

Yesterday I had a craving for some melt in your mouth shortbread, and I whipped up a batch.  It's GONE, there is nothing left and so, here I am again, making another batch, or two, or three to fill up the cookie jar.

I made two different variations.  The first one is a very simple straight forward shortbread, just 3 ingredients.   The second one is a Pecan Shortbread, another of my favorites. :)

Melt in your Mouth Shortbread

2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar, plus
1 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Place flour and sugar in large bowl. Mix with wire whisk. Add cut butter.

Use a pastry blend, your fingers or food processor to blend butter into flour/sugar mixture. Dump mixed ingredients into 9x13 pan. Press down with fingers and level-out.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Remove from oven. Cut shortbread into squares and then into triangles while the shortbread is still warm. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Cool completely in pan.

And now for the Pecan Shortbread. This one is slightly adapted from Ina Garten.

Pecan Shortbread

3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups small diced pecans


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the pecans and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump into a 9x13 pan, press down with fingers.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Cut into rectangles or diamonds or whatever you wish :) Allow to cool to room temperature and serve.

Leona's Whipped Short Breads

Another great recipe from Marie at A Year From Oak Cottage, honestly if you've never visited her blog you don't know what you're missing. I've made so many of her recipes and they're all keepers. I didn't add the cherries to mine, I kept them plain because we're not cherry lovers here at home.

*Leona's Whipped Short breads*  

Makes about 36

 

What can be easier than dumping everything into a bowl and then beating it together? 

Low on effort, but mighty big on flavour. Use the best butter that you can, these are well worth it. 

 

 

1 cup butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups flour 

1/2 cup sifted icing sugar 

 

To decorate: 

bits of candied cherries and fruit icing sugar to dust over the finished cookies 

 

 

Pre-heat your oven to 180*C/350*C. Line two baking sheets with some parchment paper and set aside. Place the butter, flour and icing sugar into a large bowl and then turn on your electric mixer. Beat for 10 minutes. 

 

 

At first it will seem all lumpy and you won't be able to imagine them ever being a cookie, but persevere. After a bit they turn into a lovely silky mass. Drop by teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about an inch apart. 

 

Decorate the top of each blog with a bit of candied cherry or fruit. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and scoop onto wire racks to finish cooling. 

 

Dust with some icing sugar just before serving.