Shortbread Base For Squares Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
• Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
• Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
• Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
• Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
• Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
• In a medium bowl, mix together 2/3 cup butter, white sugar, and flour until evenly crumbly. Press into a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
• In a 2 quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Pour over baked crust (warm or cool). Cool until it begins to firm.
• Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute, then stir and continue to heat and stir at 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly to cover completely. Chill. Cut into 1 inch squares. These need to be small because they are so rich.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly grease and line a 20-22cm square or rectangular baking tin with a lip of at least 3cm.
• To make the shortbread, mix 250g plain flour and 75g caster sugar in a bowl. Rub in 175g softened butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Knead the mixture together until it forms a dough, then press into the base of the prepared tin.
• Prick the shortbread lightly with a fork and bake for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and very lightly browned. Leave to cool in the tin.
• To make the caramel, place 100g butter or margarine, 100g light muscovado sugar and the can of condensed milk in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Continually stir with a spatula to make sure no sugar sticks to the bottom of the pan. (This can leave brown specks in the caramel but won't affect the flavour.)
• Turn up the heat to medium high, stirring all the time, and bring to the boil, then lower the heat back to low and stirring continuously, for about 5-10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened slightly. Pour over the shortbread and leave to cool.
• For the topping, melt 200g plain or milk chocolate slowly in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Pour over the cold caramel and leave to set. Cut into squares or bars with a hot knife.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with baking parchment. Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, 1 tsp of the cinnamon and the cloves together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Stir in the flour and ground rice first with a spoon, then get your hands in and knead to a smooth dough.
• Halve the dough and press one half evenly into the base of the tin. Spread the mincemeat over the top, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Roll out the remaining dough between 2 sheets of baking parchment to a 20cm square, then slide onto the mincemeat. Seal around the edge with your fingers gently press all over until dimpled, then prick all over the top with a fork.
• Bake for 25-30 mins until lightly golden. Mix the granulated sugar with the remaining 1/4 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Cool in the tin before cutting into squares. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture. , Pat into an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Pierce several times with a fork. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut while warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Mix 4 cups and 2 tablespoons flour, butter, and white sugar together in a bowl using your hands until completely mixed. Spread dough into the prepared baking pan; cover with waxed paper and press firmly into pan. Prick dough through the waxed paper using a fork; remove waxed paper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until shortbread is lightly browned, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn off oven and remove pan. Cut shortbread into 1-inch squares. Return pan to oven until oven is completely cooled.
• Sprinkle shortbread with colored sugar, remove squares from pan, and store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Mix 2/3 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar& 1 1/4 cups flour until the mixture is crumbly.
• Pat into a 9" pan.
• Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile bring the caramel ingredients to a boil and boil for 5 minutes then pour over the shortbread base.
• Cool.
• Melt chocolate in a double boiler and pour over the cooled caramel shortbread Cool- cut into small squares.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and with a metal spatula press evenly onto bottom. Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place oven racks in the bottom third and top third of the oven. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, making sure the foil is tucked into all the corners and that there is at least 1 inch overhanging the top of the pan.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
• Combine the butter and sugar in a medium-size mixing blow and cream together with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in the egg. Stir in the vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture.
• Use a spatula to smooth half the mixture in an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Place the bowl in the freezer, along with the bowl containing the remaining half of the shortbread dough, for 15 minutes to firm up.
• Remove the pan from the freezer and spread the preserves in an even layer on top of the dough. Pinch off pieces of the remaining dough and scatter them evenly over the jam.
• Place the pan on the bottom oven rack and bake for 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to the top rack and bake until the top is ight golden, another 5 to 10 minutes. Let the pan cool completely on a wire rack.
• Grasping the overhanging foil on either side of the pan, lift out the squares and place them on a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. Jam and shortbread squares will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.