Harpie’s Goodie Basket A recipe repository for those tasty cookies, cakes, breads, bars and other desserts you’ve come to enjoy during the holidays—and beyond

Shortbread

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My Nana has never been a prolific cook, but there’s still a handful of kitchen treats that evoke feelings of childhood joy and happiness prepared by her loving hands. Among those are open-faced melted cheese sandwiches, mixed-berry jams and refrigerator cookies—particularly her plain yet flavorful shortbread.

A recent expedition through her kitchen drawers uncovered her shortbread recipe, a hand-me-down from a family friend in the mid-1950s. It’s incredibly simple, with minimal ingredients, but the end result is a perfect buttery bite that perfectly pairs with an afternoon cup of tea.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation

1. In a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add in flour and mix until all ingredients are combined and the dough pulls away from the mixing bowl.
2. With your hands, press the dough together then separate it into three evenly sized balls. Place the first ball onto a rectangular sheet of plastic wrap and gradually press into a cylindrical shape. Fold the lengthwise pieces of the plastic wrap over the dough cylinder, then roll the dough back and forth on the prep surface until the cylinder is about eight inches long and two to three inches wide. Fold in the end of the plastic wrap, pressing the ends of the dough cylinder to make them as flat as possible. Repeat for the second and third dough balls. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill until the dough hardens thoroughly, at least one hour.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap.
4. With a very sharp knife, slice the dough widthwise into 1/2-inch slices. Place them about an inch apart on the cookie sheets.
5. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookies immediately to cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.

Notes

• This recipe is very easy to modify for a little extra taste, such as a teaspoon of flavoring extract added just before the flour. Flavored, colored or plain sugar crystals sprinkled on top of the cookies just before baking can also bolster both the taste and appearance.

Yields 4 dozen cookies