Shortbread Cookies - General Principles and Methods of Cooking
To prepare friable and gentle shortcrust pastry does not require special efforts. You do not even need scarce products for decoration and any kind of delicacy - it is in itself incredibly tasty and appetizing. It is called sand because of friability. You can bake the dough with large crust, and then cut it into small pieces - it all depends on the specific recipe and type. In this case, you need to pierce the cakes in several places so that carbon dioxide does not accumulate. Mix the products quickly and then leave the workpiece in a cool place for several hours. Certain rules should be followed when baking cookies. For example, the temperature of the oven should be 150-200 degrees, at a higher temperature due to the rapid dissolution of the butter, cookies may crumble. Before baking, grease the cakes with a beaten egg, milk, or just water.
Shortbread Cookies - Food Preparation
The main components are butter or margarine, flour and sugar, additional - eggs, cocoa, raisins, dried apricots, cottage cheese and many others. Experienced chefs know many secrets so that the dough is exactly as prescribed by the recipe:
- the amount of fat affects the softness of the finished product - the less fat, the more dense and hard cookies are obtained;
- Dough is especially friable if, instead of sugar, powdered sugar is used and only yolks are put in it;
- it is better to choose flour with a low gluten content, the dough will be more elastic, and the cookies will be tastier;
- If you add a little water, the dough will look good, but the cookies will become tougher.
Shortbread Cookies - Best Recipes
Recipe 1: Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
For fans of chocolate treats, a real surprise is a simple and tasty cookie with cocoa in the dough, and to enhance the taste, pour it with melted dark chocolate.
Ingredients: butter (100 grams), sugar (1/4 cup), flour (1 cup), cocoa powder (1/4 cup), dark chocolate for decoration.
Cooking method
Since it takes very little time to prepare the dough, turn on the oven so that it warms up well. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer. We sift cocoa and flour right here, whisk to make the dough homogeneous, "knead" it with your hands. To form 16 balls from a total volume, approximately like walnuts. On a baking sheet with parchment, spread them out at a distance and press lightly with a fork - you get an interesting pattern. Small molds can be pierced with a toothpick or a match for 2 pairs cross-wise - you get an original cookie "buttons". Bake for 20 minutes and let it cool. It remains to melt the chocolate and decorate the cookies - pour a small spoon on each circle. Leave the chocolate to freeze - everything is ready for tea.
Recipe 2: Shortbread Cookies with Coconut and Almonds
Almonds are a very healthy nut, but they should not be eaten in large quantities. Our recipe contains just enough to bring the greatest benefit to the body, but not about that, we think, but about its wonderful taste in the company of coconut.
Ingredients: flour (250 grams), sugar (and vanillin) 1 cup, coconut (pulp 1/2 pcs. or 1 chip bag), butter (90 grams), almonds (50 grams), coconut flakes for decoration.
Cooking method
Beat eggs with sugar, add flour and butter. Grate the peeled coconut core and chop the almonds. Add these components to the resulting mass and beat well. Initially, the dough is sticky, add flour, gradually, so that it stops sticking to your hands. Leave for 1 hour in a cold place. We make cookies, decorate with chips. Cover the parchment form and bake cookies for 15 minutes at a low temperature (160 degrees).
Recipe 3: Shortbread Recipe with Interlayer
Unexpected guests are on the doorstep, but you don’t know how to treat them? Do not despair. Put a kettle and use this recipe. The cookie just melts in your mouth, none of your buddies will leave until you eat it all. The most important thing is that the layer does not need to be prepared separately - a thick jam or jam, for example, from apples or plums, will do.
Ingredients: flour (2 cups), sugar (1/2 cup), margarine (150 grams), egg (1 pc.), salt (half a teaspoon), soda (a quarter teaspoon), jam or jam for a layer (50 grams) ), icing sugar.
Cooking method
We prepare a classic dough from sugar flour and margarine and eggs, add soda and salt to the flour. Roll into a layer of about 5 mm. Cut dough cakes, they turn out very beautiful if you use a corrugated recess. We spread the blanks on a baking sheet and bake at a temperature of 240-250 degrees. Bake only 10-12 minutes. Glue the halves with jam or jam. Sprinkle with icing sugar. The most beautiful cookies can be obtained if you form them from flat cakes of different sizes - stick a small one on the big one. Have a nice tea party!
Recipe 4: Shortbread Curd Cookies
A simple recipe for unsweetened curd cookies, similar to shortbread.
Ingredients: flour (350-400 grams), butter (margarine, 250 grams can be), cottage cheese (250 grams), sour cream (200 grams), sugar (1 spoon).
Cooking method
Pour flour into a bowl and put softened butter or margarine, chop with a knife, pass the cottage cheese through a meat grinder and add to the dough along with sour cream and sugar. You can add more sugar than indicated in the recipe. Stir the dough, knead it with your hands and leave for 1 hour in a cold place. Roll out on a board and fold in half. Then put it out in the cold again. So continue 3-4 times every 10-15 minutes. Cut the dough into crusts and bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.
Recipe 5: Shortbread Cookies with Poppy Seeds and Lemon Zest
Poppy not only gives an original taste, but also decorates products very much. Ordinary shortbread cookies with poppy seeds look very beautiful, and if you add lemon peel to it, as they say, you’ll lick your fingers. It cooks quickly, but you still have to wait two hours for the ripening and cooling of the dough.
Ingredients: butter (softened, 180 grams, ¾ packet, sugar (200 grams), egg (1 pc), milk (1 spoon), lemon peel from one lemon. Vanillin, lemon juice (1 spoon), flour (2.5 cups ), poppy seeds (2 tablespoons).
Cooking method
Beat butter with sugar and add the egg. Pour in milk, mix everything with vanilla and lemon juice (you can use a few drops of food flavoring), pour in a little sifted flour and poppy seeds. We form two sausages from the dough, approximately 20 cm each and wrapped in a film, leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Expand the sausages and cut into circles, put on a baking sheet at a small distance from each other. Bake for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then put them on the rack and cool completely.
Shortbread Cookies - Useful Tips from Experienced Cookers
- When mixing the dough, soften the butter. Try to think about it beforehand, as it cannot be melted at high temperature. It is better to pull it out of the refrigerator overnight, or use the microwave in room temperature mode.
- An interesting form for cookies can be in the form of baskets. They can be filled with any sweet contents - cottage cheese with raisins and dried apricots, jam, jam or boiled condensed milk.
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