Easy Thermomix Shortbread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

You need to choose your flour carefully. Most recipes call for a 2:1 mix of plain wheat flour and rice flour or cornflour, for a very soft texture, but you can also use semolina for a slightly crunchier result. Sifting in the flour is a valuable step that helps to keep the shortbread light and melting.

The key with shortbread is not to overhandle it. Make the dough exactly as instructed, but don't mess around making shapes or over rolling the dough - you will end up with delicious but tough biscuits. Stretching and pulling the dough activates the gluten in the flour, making chewy cookies and not crisp ones.

As mentioned above, the main differences between the two styles of cookies are butter content and inclusion of leavening agents. These differences result in very different texture and taste experiences. No matter your preference, you can be sure to get a quality product from Walkers Shortbread.

Roll out the shortbread dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll it out to a ½ cm (¼ inch) thick. Note: if the dough is too soft at this point then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or longer until it firms up slightly and makes it easier to roll out.

Why is shortbread considered to be bad for you? Shortbread is considered unhealthy because of the high butter content. How long do homemade shortbread cookies actually last? Depends on how you define that… they won't make you sick for weeks after they become unpalletable, which is after a couple of weeks at best.

Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here.

If it's too warm, the butter and sugar cannot properly cream and the cookies will taste dense. Many shortbread recipes call for cold butter worked into the dry ingredients and that gives you a wonderfully flaky cookie but if not mixed properly, the results can be inconsistent.

Making shortbread cookies with cornstarch is necessary for a tender and delicate cookie. Next time you make chocolate chip cookies, I suggest you try adding 1 Tbsp of cornstarch to the batch to help keep them extra soft and tender.

Should you sift flour for shortbread? ›

We recommend sifting flour when making all kinds of baked goods to break up any clumps. It's especially a good idea in a recipe that has only three ingredients, like this one.

You can start with this recipe for Salted caramel shortbread bars; your baking powder will give the rich and buttery shortbread just enough lift to make it flaky and delicate.

But in this shortbread cookie recipe, it really makes a difference. Chilling the dough helps the cookies hold their shape. If you don't chill your shortbread dough, the cookies will spread as they bake.

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

If the shortbread has been properly mixed and kneaded and has risen after baking at the right temperature at the right time. It should be a nice golden colour but will be soft when removed from the oven so until it has cooled and hardened it cannot be judged.

If it's too warm, the butter and sugar cannot properly cream and the cookies will taste dense. Many shortbread recipes call for cold butter worked into the dry ingredients and that gives you a wonderfully flaky cookie but if not mixed properly, the results can be inconsistent.

Make a roll of the dough using parchment paper and put in 'fridge for 30 minutes. Unwrap and slice into rounds. Cooling will cause dough to stick together and prevent crumbling.

The cornstarch is used to give these buttery treats a crispy, melt-in-the-mouth texture. It also helps prevent the cookies from becoming too crumbly and breaking apart. Once you've added cornstarch (cornflour) to these cookies, you're going to want to try it in other cookie recipes to get the incredible texture!

Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it. It should not generally be damp or wet underneath. A classic shortbread recipe will also only have flour, butter and sugar as the ingredients (in a 3:2:1 ratio) and not egg, which could lead to excess moisture.