300g softened butter
170g caster sugar
400g standard plain flour
20g cornflour
40g rice flour
2 good pinches of salt

Using an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Sieve the flour, cornflour, rice flour and salt together. Add half the flours to the creamed butter and sugar, and cream again until light.

On slow speed blend in the rest of the flours until the dough comes away from the sides of the mixing bowl and gathers as one mass.

Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough out until 1.5 cm thick. Cut into desired shapes, either by using a cutter or by cutting into squares, rectangles etc.

Place on to a baking tray lined with a double thickness of non-stick baking paper. Prick with a fork.

Bake in a preheated oven set at 180ºC for 10 – 20 minutes depending on the size of the shortbread or until very pale golden colour.

Remove from the oven and immediately dredge with caster sugar if desired.

Note: This recipe is also suited to the following:

Pressed or Moulded Shortbread – given that shortbread is native to Scotland, the most popular design is a round biscuit with an impression of a thistle in it, that is made in one large circle, and pressed with a shortbread press or mould.

Refrigerated Shortbread – often the dough can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator or freezer until require.

Make one quantity of shortbread dough, roll into thick sausage shaped logs, approximately 5cm in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator or freezer for 2 to 3 hours until firm all the way through.

To bake, remove from the refrigerator and take off the plastic wrap. Using a sharp cook’s knife carefully slice off discs of shortbread 1.5cm thick, and cook as above.

Shortbread Varieties – there are countless ingredients that can be added to this basic dough such as, toasted walnut pieces, flaked almonds, lavender, crystallized ginger, dried cranberries, glace cherries etc.
Feel free to experiment with decoration and flavouring.