Prep: 20 Mins Bake: 25-30 mins
Stand: 5 mins Oven: 325 F
Makes: 8-12 Wedges
Today, We bake!
I think of shortbread as a hybrid mix of a cookie and bread. It takes longer to bake than a cookie but faster than bread. You can say it's the best crumbly version of both worlds.
Recipe:
I got the recipe from the Ultimate Cookie Book. Here's the slightly modified version of it:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons matcha (This is just a suggestion. It really depends on how you want it to taste.)
1/2 cup cold butter
The Dirty Work:
1) Preheat oven to 325 F. In a medium bowl or stand in mixer, mix together flour, sugar, and matcha. Add in the butter and mix together until it looks like fine crumbs. If it is not clinging together, you can add in more butter OR a bit of water. Knead together into a ball until it's smooth.
2) On a cookie sheet, roll out the dough to desired shape and thickness. Crimp the edges to make scallops (either with your fingers or the edge a the cookie cutter). Using a knife, cut the circle into 8-12 wedges without separating them. To add a bit of decor, you can use the cookie cutter to make an imprint on each wedge.
3) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or just until the bottom is brown. Remove from the oven and let it set for 5 minutes, and while warm, recut the wedges.
Tips:
I couldn't find matcha in the one asian grocery store I checked at, so Johnny and I bought the next best think: The powdered drink version.
I was taking a risk with this one, but I figured the added sugar in this drink it will taste better.
(Ehhh, what do you mean that's not how it works?)
The recipe called for cold butter, but for once I only had room temperature butter. The reason they asked for cold butter is so the ingredients will stick together, but if they don't stick together you simply have to add more butter or a bit of water.
When using the mixer, set it to low.
After a few minutes, the mixture is suppose to look like fine crumbs.
Never trust the suggest bake time in the book. When baking shortbread, just check to see when it turns brown in the edges. that's when you know it's done.
And done!
Question is, for something that only has four ingredients, why are there so many dishes in the sink?
