Melt-in-your-Mouth Shortbread
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing [confectioner'<WBR>s] sugar
1 cup rice flour
3/4 cup butter
Sift cornstarch, sugar and rice flour together. Add butter. Mix with
hands
until soft dough forms. Refrigerate one hour. Shape dough into 1" balls.
Place
about 1-1/4 inches apart on greased cookie sheet; flatten with lightly
floured fork. Bake at 300 (F) [150 (C)] for 20-25 minutes or until
edges are
lightly
browned.
Variations:
Form balls as above. Roll in finely crushed corn flakes or crushed nuts.
Press top of ball with thumb. Add a dab of jelly.
Mix in 2 tbls. finely chopped peel and/or 2 tbls. finely chopped nuts.
Flatten with lightly floured fork.

Coffee Almond Shortbread
1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp. instant coffee
1 tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 rice flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
granulated sugar Cream together butter and icing sugar. Dissolve
coffee
in water; beat into creamed mixture. Add almond extract. Combine flour,
rice
flour and almonds; stir into creamed mixture. On floured surface,
roll out
dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into fingers, about 2-inches long and
3/4-inch
wide; place on ungreased baking sheet. Prick tops with fork; sprinkle
lightly with granulated sugar. Bake in a 325ºF. oven for 25 to 30
minutes
or until
very lightly browned. Makes about 30.

Chocolate Chip Orange Shortbread



1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter -- softened

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips



Glaze frosting

1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

1 teaspoon shortening



Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar and

butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add orange peel; blend well. Add

flour and cornstarch; mix well. Stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Divide dough into 4 parts; shape each into a ball. On ungreased

cookie sheets, press or roll each ball of dough into a 6" round, 1/4"

thick. With knife, score each round into 8 wedges in place.*



Prick each wedge 3 times with fork. Bake 17-27 min. or until edges are

light golden brown. Cool 5 min. Prick again with fork; cut into

wedges. Remove from cookie sheets. Cool 15 min. or until completely

cooled. In small saucepan over low heat, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips

and shortening, stirring constantly. Dip rounded end of cooled

shortbread wedges in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper or wire

rack. Let stand until set.



*For smaller cookies, score each round of dough into 12 wedges.

Shortbread Cookies

Prep: 20 min; Bake: 40 min

Makes about 2 doizen 1 1/2-inch cookies



3/4 cup stick margarine or butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour



1. Heat oven to 350 degrees



2. Mix margarine and sugar in large bowl. Stir in

flour. (If dough is crumbly, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons

margarine, butter or spread, softened)



3. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick on lightly floured sur-

face. Cut into small shapes by hand or use cookie cut-

ters. Place 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet



4. Bake about 20 minutes or until set. Remove

from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack



*It's not recommmended that you use vegetable oil spreads



**Do not use self-rising flour in this recipe



Pecan Shortbread Cookies



Mix in 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted if desired, with the flour

Chocolate Shortbread

8 ounces butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients; knead with hands to combine. Press
into lightly buttered pans (or roll out to about 1/2-inch
on a floured board and cut into shapes). Bake at 325° for
about 20 minutes. Cut into wedges while warm or break apart.

ALMOND SHORTBREADS

1/2 cup raw almonds with skins, plus about 18 whole almonds for decorating
2/3 cup sugar, plus more for top
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (7 ounces, 1 3/4 sticks), softened, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg white, beaten

Special equipment: 9-inch tart fluted pan with a removable bottom
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Blend and pulse the 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor with the sugar until mixture resembles coarse sand. (If there are a couple small chunks of nuts that is fine.) Add the butter, vanilla and almond extracts, and the salt, and pulse until creamy. Add the flour and continue to pulse to make a soft dough.
Turn the dough out into a 9-inch tart pan and spread it out evenly with an off-set spatula. Dip the spatula in a little warm water to help smooth and even the surface of the shortbread. Cover and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and dock (prick) the dough all over with a fork. Generously sprinkle the top of the shortbread with sugar. Toss the remaining whole almonds in the egg white; evenly arrange and press the nuts into the dough around the edge of the pan. Bake until golden brown and set, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Cool the short bread in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tart ring and cut the shortbread with a sharp knife into wedges, each with a nut. Cool shortbreads on a rack completely. (Alternatively present the shortbread as 1 large cookie. Cool the shortbread in the pan completely and remove the tart ring. Cut the shortbread into wedges as desired.)

Butter Pecan Shortbread Cookies



1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (125 mL) light brown sugar

2 cups (500 mL) flour

1 cup (250 mL) ground pecans

2 tsp. (10 mL) vanilla

pinch of salt



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line a

cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a food

processor, beat together butter and brown sugar until

creamy. Add flour, ground pecans, vanilla and salt and

beat just until it forms a smooth dough. Wrap dough in

plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour

to allow it to firm up just enough to shape.



By hand, roll dough into 1-inch (2-cm) balls. Place

them on the prepared cookie sheet and flatten very

slightly (to about 1/2-inch/1-cm thickness) with the

bottom of a glass that has been dipped in flour to

prevent the dough from sticking to the glass. (If you

have a cookie stamp, you can use it to flatten the

cookies instead of the glass.)



Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or

until set and very lightly browned on the bottom.

Remove from pan and let cool on a rack.



Servings: About 2-1/2 to 3 dozen almost authentic

shortbread cookies.

Ruhbarb Shortbread Squares

1 cup flour

2 Tbls sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold butter

Filling:

4 cups diced fresh or frozen ruhbarb

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/8 tsp satl

2 envelopes unflavored getatin

1/3 cup cold water

4 to 6 drops red food coloring

1 cup heavy whip cream- whipped

In a bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut better into it until it resembles coarse meal. Press into a grease 8 inch square baking dish. Bake in 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool

In a saucepan, bring rhubarb, sugar, 1/4 cup water and salt to a boil.Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes or until rhubarb is tender, stir occasionally/ In a small bowl combine unflavored gelatin and cold water. Let it stand 1 minutes. Stir into rhubarb mixture. Cook until gelatin is dissloved. Stir in food coloring. Cover and chill until cooled about 2 hours.

Fold in whipped cream to rhubarb mixture and pour into crust. Chill for 3 hours so it can set

Citrus Shortbreads


3 small tangerines, washed and dried
3/4  cup       sugar
3 cups   all-purpose  flour
6 tbsp.  cornstarch
1/4  tsp.       fine salt
3/4  lb.        unsalted butter or margarine (3  sticks), softened



Preheat oven to 325º F.  
Butter a 9x12-1/2" baking sheet pan,  line with parchment paper, and butter
paper. 
Finely grate zest off all  3 clementines, making sure you peel only orange
skin and not the bitter white  pith.  Purèe zest with 1/4 cup sugar in a food
processor until minced,  about 1 - 2 minutes.
Whisk flour,  cornstarch, and salt in a bowl.
In a  standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter with
remaining 1/2  cup sugar on medium, until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes.
Add 
clementine-sugar mixture and beat for another minute. 
While mixing on low, add dry  ingredients and mix just until combined.  Do
not overwork dough.   Transfer dough to prepared pan, spreading it out as evenly
as possible.   Cover with plastic wrap, then press and flatten using your
hands over the top to  smooth and even out dough.  Cut dough into bars about
1x3"
with a sharp  knife, while still in pan.  Prick a decorative pattern in
shortbreads with  a fork or a wooden skewer.
Bake until  golden, about 1 hour 10 - 20 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes
and then  re-cut bars along previous cuts.  Let cool completely on racks.  
Store cookies in a sealed container for  up to 2 weeks.

Millionaire's Shortbread

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup confectioners'  sugar
¾ cup lightly salted butter (such as Land o' Lakes; slightly hard  butter
works best, cut into small bits for crust; divided use)
2 tablespoons  corn syrup (preferably dark)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1  teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
½ cup white  chocolate chips
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: 
To make the crust,  preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together flour, sugar and 1/4
cup butter, cutting the  butter into the dry ingredients, much like making
pastry. Do this until the  mixture is crumbly. Press the dough into an 8x8-inch
greased pan. (You can line  the pan with baking parchment, to make the
shortbread easier to remove.) Bake  for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Set
aside to cool. To make the  caramel layer, melt 1/2 cup butter in a heavy
saucepan over medium heat. Add  corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk. Bring
the
mixture to a boil, stirring  constantly, cooking until it turns a medium
caramel color (about 15 to 20  minutes). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla
extract. Immediately pour the  caramel over the cooled crust and spread it into
an
even layer on top. Set aside  to cool further. Melt the vegetable shortening in
a small saucepan over low  heat. Add the white chocolate chips and keep
stirring until the chips have  melted and the mixture is somewhat thin. Remove
from
heat. Drizzle the white  chocolate mixture over the caramel topping with a
spoon. (If the white chocolate  chips do not melt to a drizzling consistency,
add a bit of vegetable shortening  until the mixture reaches the right
consistency. Do not attempt to thin it with  water, or you'll end up with a
white
glob.) Melt the semisweet chocolate chips  in a small saucepan over very low
heat,
stirring constantly. When they have  melted enough to pour, drizzle the
mixture with a spoon over the caramel layer.  Let the shortbread cool completely
in
the pan. Cut into 2-inch squares. The  shortbread squares will keep for
several days in the refrigerator in a covered  plastic container. Makes 16
2-inch
squares.