Shortbread - 2 - $ - V

It's Christmas Eve! Did you just remember that you didn't get a present for your Auntie Judy? Never fear, there's a quick way to sort that - shortbread! Nothing says 'I went to trouble' like homemade baked goods.


These won't take long, you've probably got everything you need in the kitchen and there's at least 5 hours left before Santa is going to shimmy down the chimney.
Pour some Christmas cheer and get baking. Happy holidays everyone!


Ingredients

2 1/4 cups plain flour
1tbsp cornflour
250gm butter (don't worry, it's only once a year)
1/2tsp vanilla essence
1/3 cup caster sugar (see butter instructions, above)



Preheat oven to 150C degrees and line trays with baking paper.
Sift both the flours into a large mixing bowl.
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium sized bowl and then add to the flour in the big bowl. Stir well with a metal spoon to combine. Don't worry if it isn't sticking together, keep stirring and then use your hands to knead it into a dough.
Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper. This is crucial as it's quite sticky. Cut out the shapes you desire (or just cut out rectangles if you don't have cookie cutters) and then place on the trays. I find the best way to get them on the trays in one piece is to use an egg flip.


You can spear the shortbreads with a fork to make patterns and sprinkle with some extra caster sugar to pretty them up if you like.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. They should NOT brown, but should be firm to the touch.
Cool on a wire rack and then serve or bag them up in cellophane and give away as pressies.

Enjoy!