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Home-Made Scottish Butter Shortbread
Makes 12 wedges
Ingredients
6 oz (175 g) butter (must be room temperature)
3 oz (75 g) golden caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
6 oz (175 g) plain flour, sifted
3 oz (75 g) fine semolina
Equipment
You will also need an 8 in (20 cm) diameter fluted flan tin, 11/4 in (3 cm) deep with a loose base.
Method
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C).
First of all, beat the butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon to soften it, then beat in the sugar, followed by the sifted flour and semolina. Work the ingredients together with the spoon, pressing them to the side of the bowl, then finish off with your hands until you have a smooth mixture that doesn't leave any bits in the bowl.
Next transfer the dough to a flat, lightly floured surface, and roll it out lightly to a round (giving it quarter turns as you roll) about the same diameter as the tin, then transfer the round to the tin. Now lightly press the mixture evenly into the tin right up to the fluted edges (to make sure that it is even you can give it a final roll with a small glass tumbler). Finally, you must prick the shortbread all over with a fork – or it will rise up in the centre while it's baking.
Bake the shortbread for 60-70 minutes on the centre shelf of the oven – it should have turned pale gold and feel firm in the centre. Then remove it from the oven and, using a palette knife, mark out the surface into 12 wedges. Leave it to cool in the tin, then, when its cold, cut it into wedges. Dredge with the golden caster sugar and store in an airtight polythene box or tin.
