A while ago I tested a historical recipe for shortbread. It wasn’t exactly a success. Time to fix that. This is a fairly traditional English recipe that works well with American ingredients.
Take 1/4 pound (1 stick) butter and 4 tablespoons of sugar. You could use margarine, but butter really is best for this.
Cream them, and then add 1 cup of flour. (Plain flour, not self-rising, about 1/4 pound or 115g) Mix until it is all combined. It should resemble:
Press into a pan, about 1/2 inch or 1cm thick. You can prick this with a fork, but it isn’t necessary. Bake it for 1 hour in a cool oven (300F or 150C). The edges should just be turning brown.
Cut into shapes while hot (it will be very soft). Let cool and remove from the pan.
Enjoy.
R. Harrison, Creative Enterprises 