Tasty Gluten Free Shortbread

To start things off I'm going to post a few of our original recipes from 2005/2006 that are still relevant today!

First up... shortbread!

This was one of the easiest recipes to adapt as it's pretty much just the 'normal' recipe but with a flour substitution, it's actually based on a recipe my nan (Betty) taught me from the 'Good Housekeeping Guide' she was given in the nineteen forties!

Preparation time - ~30 minutes

Cooking time - 15-20 minutes (slightly less for a fan oven)

Makes / Serves - ~20 shortbread

Child friendly - 5/5

Difficulty rating - 1/5

Ingredients:

125 g butter

55 g caster sugar

180 g gluten-free plain flour alternative

icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Cover your baking tray with either foil, baking paper or a reusable Teflon sheet.
2. Blend the butter and sugar together, using a spoon, until smooth.
3. Stir in the flour gradually to get a smooth paste.
4. Turn the mixture out on to a work surface and gently roll it out to a thickness of around 1 cm or half an inch thick.
5. Cut into fingers or other shape as desired and place onto baking tray, leftover paste can be rolled out again several times to use up any trimmings if shaped cutters are used.
6. Heat your oven to 190 C / 375 F / Gas mark 5.
7. Prick all over with a fork and sprinkle with icing sugar and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. 
8. Bake in the oven for  15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown.
9. Leave them on the baking tray to cool, or alternatively transfer to a wire rack after 5 minutes or so to speed the process up.

Tips:

1. Weigh your butter first, cut it into small cubes, and leave it at room temperature to soften slightly whilst you get everything else ready!
2. Shortbread can be decorated in all sorts of ways, especially using icing or chocolate as a base, be creative!
3. You can make plain shortbread a little more interesting in lots of ways, for example you could exchange 60 g or 2 oz of the flour for cocoa and add some chocolate chips to make them chocolatey or add some natural lemon flavouring and a some lemon zest for a zingy twist!
4. Gluten free shortbread makes an excellent base for things like banoffee pie, cheesecakes, etc.