Perfect Shortbread

I have long followed Felicity Cloake's How to Make the Perfect... series of articles in The Guardian online. However, it was only this recipe (so far) that got me to go into the kitchen to actually try it out. You see, despite my love for her series, I have never actually bothered to try her recipes.

What got me into the kitchen was the fact that this recipe was so simple. Also, considering I bake almost every week, I always, always have all the ingredients for shortbread in the pantry, except this time... so I had to substitute the ground rice with semolina which turned out very well. Very well indeed. It yielded a crunchy, crumbly, buttery and utterly delicious biscuit.

PERFECT SHORTBREAD

Adapted from Felicity Cloake

115g Salted Butter, at room temperature
55g Raw Sugar
1/2 teaspoon natural Vanilla Essence
130g Plain Flour
40g fine Semolina
A pinch of Sea Salt
More Raw Sugar to finish

1. Preheat the oven to 140 Celsius. Line a 19cm tart tin with baking paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the Butter and Sugar with a wooden spoon until well-mixed. About 2 minutes.
3. Mix through the Vanilla Essence. 
4. Fold in Flour, Semolina and Salt gently until well-combined. 
5. Transfer dough into the tart tin, pat down gently, leaving about half an inch space between the dough and the rim.
6. Bake for about an hour and a half or until the shortbread is cooked through but not browned. Check the shortbread at the hour mark to judge the additional cooking time.
7. Remove from the oven, sprinkle on more Sugar, cut into wedges with a sharp knife and let it cool completely before storing in an airtight container.