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Sunday, March 07, 1999 By Marilyn McDevitt Rubin, Post-Gazette Columnist
I like to finish a meal with something sweet. A cookie will do, and so a cookie often does. Over the holidays when my children were coming home with friends and I knew how busy we were all going to be, I decided to stock up on a dependable dessert by baking shortbread. I made five kinds and stored them in separate tins. One night when I was wakeful, I came downstairs to get a cookie and a glass of milk. (If I don't make a habit of it, a cookie and a glass of milk in the middle of the night are like taking a sleeping pill. The milk has psychological value and the sugar physiologic. It raises my energy level and then drops it and the next thing I know - morning.)
The five tins of cookies were stacked on a shelf, and I went through them one by one. Empty. Astonished, I ate the few crumbs. I had encouraged my guests to eat them all and, by golly, they had.
Shortbreads are my favorites. They are the working person's cookie. The ingredient list is straightforward and short. The cookies are mixed and baked with dispatch. They are buttery, flaky, crisp, good with milk, coffee, alone or with ice cream.
What follows are my favorite shortbread recipes, none of which is made with rice flour, a fine, dry, powdery flour used as a crisping agent. I can give you the rice flour formula (1/4 cup rice flour, 11/4 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter) but I've had better luck with cornstarch, which produces a fine textured, compact cookie with a good flavor. (Rice flour is available in health food stores. I buy mine at Ou's International Co., 705-09 Penn Ave., Wilkinsburg.)
Additional thoughts on making shortbread:
I like baking shortbread in an 8- or 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
I find the outside of a rounded-bowl soup spoon helpful in pressing dough into the pan.
The circle of shortbread dough must be punctured all over with a fork to let steam escape during the baking and prevent the dough from buckling.
A teaspoon or two of sugar sprinkled on the surface of the cookie the instant is comes from the oven gives white shortbread a glittery finish.
Shortbread is cut hot. My solution is to hang a ruler over the edge of the pan and, using it as a guide, cut shortbread into traditional pie-shaped wedges or squares. A thin-bladed knife is a necessity. Cut carefully so as not to loose the point at the end of the wedge. To me, the shortbread tastes better with its point intact.
Cooled and packed in airtight tins, shortbreads last several weeks.
11/4 cups flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together flour, cornstarch and 3 tablespoons sugar. Mix in butter until mixture is very crumbly and no large particles remain. With your hands, gather mixture into a ball; place in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom. Using your fingers or the back of a soup spoon, firmly press dough into an even layer.
With the tines of a fork, make impressions around the edge of dough; then prick surface evenly. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until pale golden brown. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. While it's hot, cut with a sharp knife into 8 or 12 edges. Makes 8 to 12.
Ginger variation: Follow directions for Classic Shortbread substituting 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger for cornstarch. After mixing in the butter, add 2 tablespoons minced candied ginger.
This cookie has a mild lemony flavor, nice with coffee, nice with tea.
11/4 cups flour
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease large baking sheet. Sift flour and 1/3 cup sugar into large bowl of mixer. Add butter and lemon peel; mix in butter until mixture is very crumbly and no large particles remain. Add lemon juice: press mixture with hands until dough holds together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Gather each half into a ball.
Place dough balls on prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly. Flatten each into 51/2-inch round. With the tines of a fork, make impressions around edge of dough (or crimp as for pie dough). Using sharp knife, score 6 wedges into each round. Prick surface all over with fork. Bake until light brown and firm to touch, about 50 minutes. Sprinkle cookies lightly with sugar. Cut into wedges along scored lines. Cool on rack. Makes 12 shortbreads.
2 cups sifted flour
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the vanilla, sugar and salt and beat to mix. On low speed add the flour and cocoa, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until the mixture holds together.
Form dough into a ball, and flatten it slightly.
Flour a pastry cloth, rubbing the flour in well, and a rolling pin. Place the dough on the cloth, and turn it over to flour both sides. With the floured rolling pin and your hands, shape and roll the dough into a square, 1/2 inch thick (no thinner). It is important to make it the same thickness all over. Cut the dough into 11/2-inch squares. Pierce each cookie with the tines of a fork. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 25 to 30 cookies.
I have run this recipe before, but it belongs in a collection of favorite shortbreads. It's not sweet. I have seen a friend or two, hoping for something sweet, take a bite and leave the rest. This cookie has a flat coffee and powdery dry cocoa taste that I like.
11 tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons) flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt. Stir in coffee and set aside. Beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Pat dough into an ungreased 8-inch round pan, or a tart pan with removable bottom. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Remove shortbread from oven and let sit for 5 minutes; then cut into wedges. Cool completely. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
If shortbread isn't enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, try these two great dessert recipes.
A dessert to make at home.
5 large, flavorful apples, peeled, halved and cored
Adjust oven rack to middle, and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice apples with medium disc of a food processor or by hand. Toss with 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. With a pastry brush, butter the sides of a 12-by-9-inch shallow baking dish. Pour remaining butter into the dish, and tilt back and forth to cover the bottom completely.
Sift together flour, remaining 1 cup of sugar and baking powder into a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon, beat in milk until batter is smooth. Pour batter into baking dish, and evenly spread with apples and any accumulated juice.
Bake cobbler 35 to 45 minutes, until top is deep golden brown. Delicious served with vanilla ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Desserts are my favorite part of any meal. When I need something to tide me over until a real dessert appears, these cupcakes, 6 to a recipe, do nicely.
Cinnamon Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
Cupcakes:
1 cup flour
Topping: In a small bowl stir together sugar and cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter six 1/3-cup muffin cups. Into a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until combined well. Beat in flour mixture and add milk, beating until mixture is just combined.
Divide batter evenly among cups, and sprinkle with topping. Bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from cups and cool on a rack. Makes 6.
Recipe sources: Gourmet magazine and Martha Stewart Living.
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