* Adult supervision required. Let an adult handle the oven.
It’s baking season, and shortbread is one of the best cookie recipes to learn. The basic dough goes with all types of flavours, and will keep its shape when you bake it, so you can cut them with a cookie cutter or shape them however you like. In this recipe, you’ll turn the cookies into little cups that you can fill with any flavour jam… guava, strawberry, orange, grape? It’s up to you!
You’ll need
1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
Jam (your favourite flavour)
Wooden spoon
Large mixing bowl
Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Directions
Preheat oven to 180º C.
To your mixing bowl, add the butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Cream with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Add the flour and work it in until the dough forms.
Take 1 tablespoon of dough and work it into a ball, then place it onto the cookie sheet.
Repeat for all the dough, spreading the dough-balls out evenly.
Press your thumb into the centre of each cookie, making them into small “cups”.
Spoon a tsp of jam into each cookie.
Bake for 15-17 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack; they will be very soft after you remove them from the oven.
Photo credit: Live well, bake often.
