Shortbread Cookies

I've told you all about my AGA cooker in other posts. Cooking on an AGA is a little different from the usual American electric or gas stove, so AGA gives all its new owners an AGA cookbook. Since the AGA is manufactured in England, the cookbook is for English cooks. I know what you are thinking! England is not known for its cuisine.

But the AGA cookbook is pretty good reading. The recipes are so different from American cookbooks. For example, as I leaf through the book (its a slim volume) I see a recipe called "Beef Oxford".  The recipe is cubes of stew beef browned then simmered in the oven for 4 hours. The ingredients list includes onions, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, red wine and apricot jam! The tag line says: "Perfect for supper on a cold winter's day."

Another recipe is for "Pheasant with Orange and Chestnuts". The tag line on this one is: "The timing of this recipe is for roasting birds, but you can use old birds very satisfactorily or even ones that are old and badly shot. They may well take 4-5 hours to get really tender." Old pheasant, badly shot. I think I'll pass!

But some of the recipes sound really good. My favorite, and one I make often with my own special twist, is for Butter Shortbread. Here it is. It's a great old fashioned Christmas cookie and gets better with age. I give you the recipe straight from the cookbook as well as my version.  Note:  I have a kitchen scale and weigh the ingredients. Cup measures just don't work.

Butter Shortbread

The AGA Version

12 oz butter

12 oz plain flour

6 oz ground rice, cornflour or semolina

6 oz caster sugar

demerara sugar

In a stand mixer with a dough hook, cut up the butter into small pieces. Put everything together in the mixer bowl and mix with the dough hook until all is combined.  You can also use a food processor or a pastry cutter. Work it like pie pastry.

Lightly grease a large, heavy rimmed baking sheet. (My AGA came with a large 11" by 15" roasting pan which the recipe says to use and I do). Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Smooth the dough with a damp off set spatula. Prick all over with a fork and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 or 25 minutes (maybe longer as ovens vary)  or until the shortbread is a very pale golden color around the edges.

Remove the shortbread from the oven and cut into 40 pieces. Lift out the pieces and cool them on a wire rack. Store in cookie tins.



                                                                  Butter Shortbread

My Version

When I first made this recipe I didn't have ground rice or semolina and I wasn't sure what cornflour was, so I used fine yellow cornmeal.  The cornmeal turned out to be a perfect substitution and I've made this shortbread with corn meal ever since.  I am serious when I say this cookie gets better with age. I don't like to touch it until its at least a week old. I keep the shortbread in cookie tins in a cool place. This is my 88 year old father's favorite cookie. I've also taken it to several cookie swaps and have been told by at least one other gentleman that this shortbread is almost better than sex!  Try it, see what you think.