Ingredients
- 200 gr. plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 50 gr. caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling over
- 125 gr. unsalted butter
Chocolate orange & caraway
- 1 orange zest of
- 30 gr. good-quality dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Lavender & honey
- 2 tablespoons lavender honey
- 20 gr. lavender sugar, use only 25 gr. caster sugar in the main ingredients when making this version
Lemon thyme & vanilla
- ½ a small bunch of fresh lemon thyme , leaves picked
- 1 lemon zest of
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
Method
- I know you can buy shortbreads everywhere these days, but great as some of those biscuits can be, nothing comes close to a batch cooked that day, or even that week.
- The simplicity of these biscuits makes them a wonderful base for desserts with cream and fruit, or a crumbly topping for trifles and stewed fruits.
- But for me the very best way to celebrate this humble biscuit is with a cup of tea.
- You can have these biscuits plain, or scent them with everything from lemon or tangerine, to lavender, lemon thyme or caraway seeds.
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
- Mix the flour and sugar together in a mixing bowl.
- Rub in the butter with your thumb and forefinger, then add your chosen flavourings and squash, pat and push it into a dough.
- Don’t knead it, you just want to pat it down flat.
- Push or roll it out until it’s 1 cm thick, do this directly on to a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper so you don’t have to move it.
- Once it’s in the shape you like, which could be square, round, or a few small finger-shapes, feel free to thumb or pinch the edges.
- If it splits or tears, just press it back together, but remember, the less you work the dough, the shorter and better these biscuits will be.
- If you want to score lines on the shortbread so that you can click the biscuits off into pieces later, you can.
- Sprinkle over some caster sugar, then pop the baking sheet into the oven and cook for 20 – 30′.
- Keep an eye on it, you want a lovely light golden colour.
- Leave to cool, then put away in a tin or serve.
- These will be delicious for two or three days and make a lovely present for someone special.