Our neighbors are always appreciative of Grace’s impulse baking sprees- especially on a shortbread day. Four ingredients and a few simple steps is all that’s needed to mix up these melt in your mouth gems. Be careful- they are addictive!!
3 cups of flour (some recipes call for 1/2 cake flour, we just use general purpose)
1/2 cup sugar (my family recipe uses brown sugar, but Grace’s recipe is white)
1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) butter (NOT margarine)
2 tsp vanilla (Grace’s personal touch)
optional: 1-2 TBSP fresh lemon zest and lemon extract instead of vanilla
Preheat oven to 325
In large bowl with wire whisk, mix flour and sugar
Knead in butter and vanilla until well blended and dough sticks together
(If using a food processor -pulse the flour and sugar and then add butter and pulse until dough is like coarse crumbs)
roll dough out onto floured wax paper and cut into shapes ( I prefer hearts) or squares and place onto ungreased cookie sheet or stoneware- OR
divide dough in half and pat each half into an ungreased 8 inch round cake pan. Before baking, score shortbread into wedges (if you wait until after it’s baked, you will just have to break it into pieces)
Bake at 325 about 40 minutes or until golden brown (this is for the pans of shortbread- if baking smaller cookies the time will be less)
remove from oven and cut into wedges, cool on wire racks
To add a fancy finishing touch, dip one end of a cookie in melted chocolate (or white almond bark with sprinkles on top)
These freeze well- if you can stay out of them:)