For better shortbread, careful with the butter
Designer cookies? Only if they are designed to be easy. That’s my theme song for this 2020 pandemic holiday. Drop cookies, bar cookies or shortbread.
I remember long-ago interviews I had with the folks who answered cookiebaking calls on the Land O’ Lakes Holiday Bakeline. They told me callers were often confused about the verb cream.
Cream? “How can I cream together the butter and sugar (usually the first procedure in cookie recipes), if no cream is called for in the recipe?” Yikes!
To avoid this problem, Land O’ Lakes’ recipes never say to cream the butter and sugar; instead, they clear up any possible confusion by saying, “Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until creamy.”
For best results, take the butter out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before making cookies; the time varies depending on the warmth of your kitchen. To test it, press butter with back of spoon. It should yield to pressure. It shouldn’t be shiny and there shouldn’t be any melted pools of butter, a problem some people have if trying to soften butter in the microwave.
These ginger-spiked shortbreads come together quickly and are scrumptious.
Gingered Shortbreads Yield: 24 cookies INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1⁄2 cup sugar, superfine sugar preferred 2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup cornstarch
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2⁄3 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries, golden raisins or dried cherries
1⁄4 cup minced crystallized ginger; see cook’s notes
Cook’s notes: Baker’s sugar from C&H is the brand of superfine sugar most commonly found in local supermarkets. If you don’t have superfine sugar, you can make it at home by processing granulated sugar in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Crystallized ginger (ginger that has been cooked in sugar syrup and coated with coarse sugar) is sold in Asian markets and many supermarkets. It’s often sold at specialty markets.
PROCEDURE
1: Line 1 large or 2 small baking sheets with parchment paper. Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2: In large bowl of electric mixer, add butter and sugar. On medium speed, beat, scraping down sides when necessary, until creamy.
2: In separate bowl, stir together flour, cornstarch and salt. Add about 1 cup of flour mixture to butter mixture. Beat on medium-low speed to combine. Add remaining flour mixture and beat to combine.
3: Add cranberries (or raisins or dried cherries) and ginger. Stir to combine, mixing just until crumbly. Transfer to lightly floured work surface. Knead gently until it just comes together. Divide dough into 3 balls and transfer to baking sheets, pressing each into a 6-inch round. With sharp knife, cut each round into 8 wedges. Do not pull sections apart. With a small knife, score edges of each round to create scalloped edge. Insert tines of fork in shortbread to make tiny holes at 11⁄2-2-inch intervals. Chill 15 minutes.
4: Bake in preheated oven 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 15 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely. Shortbread can be cut into wedges (along cut lines made before baking) while warm or kept in rounds to be cut at serving time.