BEST SHORTBREAD

BEST SHORTBREAD

I made this in 2009 and had forgotten all about it until I was scrolling through Cooks website this morning. These are sooooo good and not that hard to make. It looks more difficult than it is. My favorite kind of treat. Not too sweet.

Published November 1, 2009. From Cook’s Illustrated.

Use the collar of a springform pan to form the shortbread into an even round. Mold the shortbread with the collar in the closed position, then open the collar, but leave it in place. This allows the shortbread to expand slightly but keeps it from spreading too far. Wrapped well and stored at room temperature, shortbread will keep for up to 7 days.

Yields: 16 wedges
Ingredients

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup (2 2/3 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter , cold, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse oats in spice grinder or blender until reduced to fine powder, about ten 5-second pulses (you should have to 1/3 cup oat flour). In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oat flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Add butter to dry ingredients and continue to mix on low speed until dough just forms and pulls away from sides of bowl, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Place upside-down (grooved edge should be at top) collar of 9- or 9 1/2-inch springform pan on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (do not use springform pan bottom). Press dough into collar in even 1/2-inch-thick layer, smoothing top of dough with back of spoon. Place 2-inch biscuit cutter in center of dough and cut out center. Place extracted round alongside springform collar on baking sheet and replace cutter in center of dough. Open springform collar, but leave it in place.

3. Bake shortbread 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Continue to bake until edges turn pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove baking sheet from oven; turn off oven. Remove springform pan collar; use chefs knife to score surface of shortbread into 16 even wedges, cutting halfway through shortbread. Using wooden skewer, poke 8 to 10 holes in each wedge. Return shortbread to oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon, leaving 1-inch gap at top. Allow shortbread to dry in turned-off oven until pale golden in center (shortbread should be firm but giving to touch), about 1 hour.

4. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool shortbread to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate and serve.

STEP-BY-STEP
Forming and Baking the Shortbread

1. PRESS AND SMOOTH Press dough into closed upside-down springform pan collar; smooth with back of spoon.

2. CUT HOLE Cut hole in center of dough with 2-inch biscuit cutter; replace cutter in hole.

3. OPEN PAN COLLAR Open collar. Bake 5 minutes at 450 degrees, then 10 to 15 minutes at 250 degrees.

4. SCORE AND POKE Score partially baked shortbread into wedges, then poke 8 to 10 holes in each wedge.

5. TURN OFF OVEN Return shortbread to turned-off oven to dry; prop open door with wooden spoon or stick.

This recipe printed from Key Ingredient.
Direct recipe link: http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/2747052/best-shortbread/