Easy, Buttery Shortbread

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This is my sister’s trusted recipe which I have been using for many years – it is wonderfully buttery and perfectly sweet

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FOR THE EASY, BUTTERY SHORTBREAD

METHOD

Combine the dry ingredients: Place the flour, cornflour, rice flour, salt and sugar into a food processor and whizz to combine. Alternatively, if doing this by hand, whisk to combine.
Add in the butter: Add the cold butter, diced into cubes, and the vanilla, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. If not using a food processor, rub the cold butter into the flour with your fingers.
Bring dough together and chill: Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and bring together with your hands. Do not overknead the dough. Pat out to about 1cm – 1.5cm in thickness, wrap in clingwrap and place in the fridge to chill for an hour.
Preheat your oven: Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celcius. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into your desired shape. I used a decorative cookie tin, but there is a lot which you can do including just slicing it into fingers. Make a few pricks with a fork for the steam to escape.
Bake the shortbread: Bake the shortbread for 15 – 20 minutes until just tan. Then remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 130 degrees celcius. Let the shortbread cool for about 10 minutes before popping them back into the oven for a further 10 – 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as they should not get too brown.
Cool and dust with caster sugar: Let the shortbread cool until firm enough to handle without breaking, then dust with more caster sugar and leave to cool completely.