Shortbread cookies - general principles and methods of cooking
For the preparation of crumbly and tender shortcrust pastry does not require special efforts. Even scarce products are not needed for decoration and any frills - it is incredibly tasty and appetizing in itself. Sand it is called because of the friability. You can bake the dough and a big cake, and then cut it into small pieces - it all depends on a specific recipe and type. In this case, you need to pierce the cakes in several places so as not to accumulate carbon dioxide. Mix products quickly, and then leave the billet in a cold place for several hours. Certain rules should be observed when baking cookies. For example, the oven temperature should be 150-200 degrees, at higher temperatures, cookies may crumble due to the rapid dissolution of butter. Before baking, brush the cakes with a beaten egg, milk, or just water.
Shortbread Cookies - Food Preparation
The main components - butter or margarine, flour and sugar, additional - eggs, cocoa, raisins, dried apricots, cottage cheese and many others. Experienced cooks know a lot of secrets so that the dough is exactly what the recipe prescribes:
- the amount of fat affects the softness of the finished product - the less fat, the more dense and tough it turns out cookies;
- dough is especially crumbly, if sugar powder is used instead of sugar, and only yolks are put into it;
- it is better to choose flour with a low gluten content, the dough will be more elastic, and the cookies will be tastier;
- If you add a little water, the dough will look good, but the cookies will become tougher.
Shortbread Cookies - Best Recipes
Recipe 1: Chocolate Shortbread
For lovers of chocolate treats, a real surprise is simple and tasty cocoa cookies in the dough, and to enhance the taste - pour it with melted dark chocolate. Ingredients: butter (100 grams), sugar (1/4 cup), flour (1 cup), cocoa powder (1/4 cup), dark chocolate for decoration.
Method of preparation
Since cooking dough takes a little time, turn on the oven so that it warms up well. Mixer whip butter and sugar. Sift cocoa and flour right here, whip to make the dough homogeneous, “knead” it with your hands. Form 16 balls of the total volume, roughly like walnuts. On a parchment sheet with parchment, spread them out at a distance and press lightly with a fork - you get an interesting pattern. Small molds can be pierced with a toothpick or with a match, 2 pairs crosswise - you will get the original cookie "buttons". Bake for 20 minutes and let it cool. It remains to melt the chocolate and decorate the cookies - pour a small spoon with each circle. Leave for chocolate to harden - everything is ready for tea drinking.
Recipe 2: Shortbread Cookies with Coconut and Almonds
Almonds are a very healthy nut, but they cannot be eaten in large quantities. In our recipe it contains just enough to bring the body the greatest benefit, but not about this we think, but about its wonderful taste in a company with coconut.
Ingredients: flour (250 grams), sugar (and vanilla) 1 cup, coconut (pulp 1/2, or chips 1 bag), butter (90 grams), almond (50 grams), coconut chips for decoration.
Method of preparation
Beat eggs with sugar, add flour and butter. Grate grated coconut core and chop almonds. Add these ingredients to the resulting mass and beat well. Initially, the dough turns sticky, add flour, gradually, so that it ceases to stick to the hands. Leave for 1 hour in a cold place. Sculpt cookies, decorate with chips. Parchment we lay the form and bake cookies for 15 minutes at a low temperature (160 degrees).
Recipe 3: Shortbread Recipe with Layer
Unexpected guests on the threshold, and you do not know how to treat them? Do not despair. Put the kettle and use this recipe. Cookies just melt in your mouth, none of your friends will not leave until you eat it all. The most important thing is that the layer does not need to be cooked separately - thick jam or jam will fit, for example, from apples or plums.
Ingredients: flour (2 cups), sugar (1/2 cup), margarine (150 grams), egg (1 pc.), Salt (half a teaspoon), soda (quarter teaspoon), jam or jam for layer (50 grams), icing sugar.
Method of preparation
Prepare the classic dough from sugar flour and margarine and eggs, add soda and salt to the flour. Roll out into the reservoir about 5 mm. Cut dough cakes, they are very beautiful if you use a corrugated notch. We spread the blanks on a baking sheet and bake at a temperature of 240-250 degrees. We bake only 10-12 minutes. Glue the halves with jam or jam. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. The most beautiful cookies can be obtained if you form them from cakes of different sizes - to stick a small one on a large one. Have a nice tea party!
Recipe 4: Shortbread Cheesecake
A simple recipe for unsweetened cottage cheese cookies, similar to biscuits.
Ingredients: flour (350-400 grams), butter (margarine, 250 grams), cottage cheese (250 grams), sour cream (200 grams), sugar (1 spoon).
Method of preparation
Pour the flour in a bowl and put the softened butter or margarine, whip with a knife, put the curd through a meat grinder and add to the dough along with sour cream and sugar. You can add more sugar than indicated in the recipe. Stir the dough, knead it with your hands and leave for 1 hour in a cold place. Roll out on the board and fold in half. Then again endure to the cold. So continue 3-4 times every 10-15 minutes. Cut the dough into the cake and bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.
Recipe 5: Shortbread with poppy seeds and lemon zest
The poppy not only gives original taste, but also very much decorates products. Regular shortbread biscuits with the addition of poppy look very nice, and if you add lemon zest to it, as they say, “you will lick your fingers”. It is prepared quickly, but it will still have to wait two hours to ripen and cool the dough.
Ingredients: butter (softened, 180 grams, 3/4 bags, sugar (200 grams), egg (1 piece), milk (1 spoon), lemon zest from one lemon. Vanillin, lemon juice (1 spoon), flour (2.5 cups), poppy (2 tablespoons).
Method of preparation
Whip butter with sugar and add egg. Pour in milk, mix everything with vanilla and lemon juice (you can use a few drops of food flavoring), gradually pour sifted flour and poppy. We form two sausages out of dough, about 20 cm each and wrapped in film, leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Expand the sausages and cut into circles, put on a baking sheet at a short distance from each other. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees. Leave the cookie on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer it to the wire rack and cool completely.
Shortbread cookies - useful tips from experienced chefs
- When kneading dough, soften the butter. Try to think about it in advance, as it cannot be melted at high temperature. It is better to pull it out overnight from the refrigerator, or use a microwave in room temperature mode.
- An interesting form for cookies can come in the form of baskets. They can be filled with any sweet contents - cottage cheese with raisins and dried apricots, jam, jam or boiled condensed milk.
