Monday, May 16, 2011

Briana's Shortbread

I went to a very inspiring Funeral last week of Briana Blackwelder. It was a celebration of her life on her 29th birthday. I took notes on how I need to be a better woman just from listening to her closest friends and family talk about her life. She was a lover of fine foods like myself. They passed around this recipe as one of her favorites. After making these, I wish I had her whole cookbook!

These are from Tartine one of her favorite bakeries in San Francisco. I must go there next time I am there. I made these cookies for bookclub last week and they were almost entirely gone by the end of the night.

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 Tbs unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups + 2 Tbs flour
1/2 cup +2 Tbs cornstarch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup super fine or granulated sugar for topping

Yields one 6 by 10 inch pan, about sixty 2 by 1/2 inch bars
or a gazillion tiny little cookie cutter sized one bite cookies.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a glass baking dish.

Mix the soft butter and salt so it dissolves completely. Add the sugar to the butter mix until just combined. Sift the flour and cornstarch together in a separate bowl and then combine just until a smooth dough forms.

Pat the dough evenly into a prepared dish. It should be no more than 2/3 inch deep. I then cut out little cookies and put then on top of my silpat.

Bake until the top and bottom are ever so slightly browned, about 30 minutes. The middle of the shortbread should remain light. Let cool.

Sprinkle the shortbread with the sugar.

If you made a baking dish of them, use a very sharp thin knife to cut into rectangular fingers. If they are too cold, they will not cut well. The first piece is the trickiest.

They will keep for two weeks in an air tight container.

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