Easy, Buttery Shortbread

Method: shortbread

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Bring the 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.
4. Preheat your oven: Preheat the oven to 170˚ Celsius. 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.
5. Bake the shortbread: Bake the shortbread for 15 – 20 minutes until just tan. Then remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 130˚ Celsius. 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.
6. 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.