Best Sh0rlbread

WHY THIS REirE WORKS shortbread mold with 2 inch high ides.
Scornsh trodition, shortbread cookies ore cnumbly.
h but it stil widened into an
amorphous mass
perfety browned, ond faintly sweet. In Amencan Nccding a substantial barrier to
keep its edges
trodition, shortbreodis often blond. chalky. and corralled, we use a
springtorm pan collar
kckuster. We wanted superlative shortbread with First, we set the closed collar on a
parchment
on
olunng towny brown crumb and pure, buttery lined baking sheet. We pat the
dough into it,
nchness. cut a hole in the center of the
MIX WELL
dough with a
At its simplest, shortbread 2-inch biscuit cutter, and then open the col
contains Just tour
ingredients-tlour, sugar, lar to give the cookic about half an inch to
salt, and butter. But unlike crisp butter cook spread out.
ies, shortbread should have an ultratine,
sandy BAKE HIGH, THEN LOW, THEN
OFF
texture It needs to hold
together while still We bake our shortbread
in an oven that is
being tender and delicate. In traditional
reci off for far than
the
longer it is on. After all,
carly
pes, cold butter is cut into the
dry ingre- shortbread was made by leaving the
dients as if making
pie dough. However,
dough
in still-warm oven heated only by
a
we found that beating the cold butter into dying
embers. After removing the
the dr
ingredients (a method called reverse springform collar,
we return our shortbread to a
turned-off oven
creaming) works best. for an hour to let it dry out and finish.
USE CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR Granu-
lated sugar won't fully dissolve in this cookie
dough-there's not enough liquid, not even BEST SHORTBREAD
an
egg. Fine textured confectioners' MAKESI6 WEDGES
sugar
gives shortbread a much more delicate erumb.
Use the collar of
PICK OATS AND
CORNSTARCH The
a
springform pan to form the short
bread into round. Mold the shortbread with
an even
small amount
of water in the butter activates the collar in the closed
the gluten in the flour, which can
make short-
position, then open the col
lar, but leave it in This place. allows the shortbread
bread tough. Some recipes use gluten-free rice to expand slightly but
flour but we found that flavor is sacrificed. keeps from spreading too
it

Oats contain
far. The extracted round
of dough in step 2 is baked
very few of the
proteins neces alongside the rest of the shortbread. The shortbread
sary
gluten development, plus they have a
for
will keep for
nice flavor. We up
to one week in an
airtight container
grind the oats to a fine mealin or cookie tin stored at room
a
spice grinder or blender and then use them temperature.
(along with some cornstarch) to
replace some
of the flour cup (% ounces) old-fashioned rolled
GET THE RIGHT oats
SHAPE When bak
ing our shortbread, we had cups (7% ounces) all-purpose flour
a
problem with VA cup cornstarch
spreading As buttery shortbread
bakes, it cup (2% ounces) confectioners' sugar
cxpands, losing its shape as the
out. We tried baking the dough inedges
flatten h teaspoon salt
traditional a
14
tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
and cut into s-inch-thick slices

TRATED BAKING BOOK

 rack to maktle position and
Auust oNcn FORMING AND
nCh t 450 degrees l'ulse a t s in spice CHOCOLATE-DIPPED PISTACHIO BAKING SHORTBREAD

untnl redncd to tine Iow SHORTBREAD

fet k nder
IOu sheukd have 4 to Add
t 10 pulws
cup fincly chopped 1oasted pista
u t thour ng stani m i e r titted chios to dry ingredients in
step 1. Bake and
kdikmi ut tour, all purpose tlour, cool shortbread as
directed. Once shortbread
alt on ow speed until cool, melt 8
nNarh, gar, and is
ounces finely chopped bitter
- a d .a t S eonds. Add butter to dn
sweet chocolate in microwave
50 percent at
E and ontinuc to miy until dough power for 2 minutes. Stir chocolate and con
x a n d Nalk awav trom sides of bowl, tinue
heating until mclted, stirring once cvery
T.Press dough into closed

tc additional minute. Stir in additional 2 ounces upside down springform pan

Tiavc usidc down (grooved cdge collarsmooth with back of
fincly chopped bittersweet chocolate until spoon. Cut hole in center of
t topl collar ot 9. o r 9 2 inch smooth. Carefully dip base of each wedge in
dough with 2 inch biscuit cut
e m pan on parchment paper-lined
chocolate, allowing chocolate to come halfway ter, replace cutter in hole.
ng shect do not uSC springtorm pan bot up cookie. Scrape off excess with your finger
chs dough into collar in even 2 inch and place on parchment paper-lined rimmed
sar, smoothing top of dough with back baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate sets,
n

lace inch biscuit cutterin center about l5 minutes.

a n d cut out center. Place extracted

nd alkvngside springtorm collar on baking

ccT and replace cutter in center of dough GINGER SHORTBREAD

nen yprngtorm collar, but leave it in place Turbinadosugar is commonly sold os Sugar in the
2. Open collar. Bake
Bakc shortbread for 5
minutes, thcn Raw. Demerara sugar, sanding sugar, or another 5 minutes at 450 degrees,
acc
ov cn
temperature to 250 degrees. coarse sugar can be substituted. then 10 to 15 minutes at
inuc to hake until edges turn pale golden, Add 2 cup chopped crystallized ginger to dry 250 degrees.
5munutes longer Remove baking sheet ingredients in step 1. Sprinkle shortbrcad with
ACTR urn oven off. Remove springform I tablespoon turbinado sugar after poking
arusc chef's knife to score surface holes in shortbread in step 3.
brcad nto 16 even
wedges, cutting
athrugh shortbread. U sing wooden
TOASTED OAT SHORTBREAD
p k c about 10 holes in cach wedge.
short bread to oven and prop door To toast the oats, heat them in an 8-inch skillet over
handic of wooden spoon, leaving medium-high heat until light golden brown, 5 to
tp Alow shortbread to dry
p ar
8 minutes. We prefer the texture and flavor of a
tt
r.cn untul pale golden in cen coarse grained sea salt like Maldon or fleur de sel, 3. Score
Torcad shrruld be firm but partially baked short
giving to but kosher salt can be used. bread into wedges, then
atRut nur poke
Add 2 cup toasted oats to dry ingredients about 10 holes in each
areser wedge.
shect tro
wire rack; let shortbrcad instep Sprinkle 2 teaspoon sea salt
1. evenly
A trmperature (ut shortbread at over surfacc of dough betore
baking.
ks
r vtpaf ate beiore *ring

4. Return shortbread to
turned off oven to dry.
prop
door open with
wooden
spoon or stick.

COOKIES 211