Shortbread

1. Beat the cold butter with handheld beaters or using a mixer until the butter is soft.
   
2. Add the caster sugar and continue beating until pale and creamy. (Scrape down the sides with a spatula and make sure all of the mixture has been combined) then sift in the flour.
   
3. Mix the flour into the butter and sugar with a spoon and then press it together with your hands  to form a ball.
   
4. Put the ball on a lightly floured surface and press it down lightly to form a flat disc.
   
5. Sprinkle a little plain flour on the top of the disc and onto a rolling pin and gently roll the ball of shortbread out to about 1cm thickness.  It is a delicate dough so you may need to roll gently and then use the side of your hand to push the mixture back together a little to repair any cracks.
6. You can cut the shortbread into rectangles, fingers or squares but I prefer to use 5.5cm round biscuit cutters (either smooth or fluted) to cut out circles.
   
7. Using a palette knife or regular knife, gently lift the rounds and place them onto a baking sheet with a gap between each to give them room to spread a little as they cook.
   
8. Re-roll the scraps of shortbread pastry and re-cut until all the mixture has been formed into biscuit shapes.
   
9. Sprinkle over a little caster sugar and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  While the shortbread is in the fridge, pre-heat the oven to 150°C Fan or 160°C.
   
10. When the 30 minutes is up, place the tray into the preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.  Keep an eye on them though as every oven is different and you don’t want to over cook them.
11. At the end of the cooking time the biscuits should be a pale golden colour. Remove the baking sheet and leave the biscuits to cool.  They will firm up as they cool.
    

Variations

For lavender scented shortbread, add a teaspoon of dried lavender petals to the dough mixture before rolling out.