Lavander shortbread

A bit overcooked (mea culpa)… Otherwise, a spot on take on shortbread, probably the best British biscuit of all time. Very buttery and crumbly, ideal to eat with coffee or tea or in a moment of high sugary need. They can also be used to impress the beasts lovely co-workers on the occasion of yet-another-project-update-meeting. And, maybe, the mother in law, in the case that there was indeed one…

Lavender shortbread (adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course)

Ingredients 

• 340g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 225g unsalted butter, softened plus extra for greasing
• 140g caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped lavender

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and set aside. Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electrical mixer until smooth and creamy.

Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and, with the motor running, add the lavender and then the flour a little at a time.

Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20min.

Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 180oC.

To make the shortbread fingers, gently pack the dough into a lightly buttered into a shallow baking tray ( roughly 30cm*20cm). Score the surface to mark out the fingers and prick all over with a fork. If you want to make circular biscuits, roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 5-7cm thick, then stamp out the rounds using a 6cm cutter. Transfer to 2 lightly buttered baking sheets, leaving each space between each biscuit, then them with a fork.

Bake for 15-20min until pale golden, checking ofter as the ovens vary and the shortbread can easily burn.  Cool in the tin or on the sheet until firm, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.