Shortbread cookies

 As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I love recipes that don't have the leavening agent. Not that the butter, sugar and flour is very healthy ;), but leaving out the baking powder/soda is a little comforting to me. So I wanted to bake these shortbread cookies when I came across the recipe on joyofbaking.com.

 Shortbread Cookies: (From joyofbaking.com)

2 cups - Maida

1/4 tsp - salt

1/2 cup - powdered sugar

1 tsp - vanilla extract

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:

6 ounces (180 grams) semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Shortbreads: In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.  

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C with the rack in the middle of the oven.  Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. I use the three baking sheets model from my sugar cookies experience.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle.  Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.  Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads: Place 3 ounces (90 grams) of the finely chopped chocolate in microwaveable utensil and microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the cookies have been dipped in the chocolate, place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.

Shortbread cookies with keep in an airtight container for about a week or they can be frozen.

Makes about 28 shortbread cookies.

Verdict: The cookies turned out great :). My daughter licked off the chocolate from each cookie and then ate the cookies.