Simple Shortbread

Did you know that Sunday was National Shortbread Day? Yep, it was. I was alerted to that fact by a Facebook status update from King Arthur Flour yesterday morning. So I thought to myself, why not? Today seems like a perfect day to bake shortbread.

So I did.

And it was glorious.

How can 4 simple ingredients taste so good? It's mind boggling. 

I used the recipe from King Arthur Flour and it was perfect. Totally simple and crazy good. I drizzled half of mine with melted dark chocolate, which totally took it over the top.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Shortbread
Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional (I was all out of almond extract so I didn't use any)
2 cups all-purpose flour


Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease two round 9" cake pans. You can also line the pans with parchment and grease the parchment if you are worried about the shortbread sticking.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract (if using), then beat in the flour. The mixture may seem a little dry at first; keep beating till it comes together. If it still won't come together, dribble in up to 1 tablespoon of water, until it does. This is a stiff dough. (I added about a teaspoon of water and the dough was perfect)

Divide the dough in half, and press each half into one of the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers. Use a fork to prick the dough all over, which allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes. 

Bake the shortbread until it's a light golden brown across the top surface, and a deeper golden brown around the edges, about 35 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, and immediately turn each shortbread round out onto a clean work surface. Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges. (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily.) Transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to cool.

Serve as is, or decorate. You could drizzle with melted caramel or chocolate or spread with melted chocolate, and sprinkle with nuts. The possibilities are endless!

Bon Appetit!