There’s nothing like a simple pick me up with life gets busy and I’ll argue that these easy shortbread bars are exactly that.
And they’re perfect.
This recipe comes from Aran, and it’s the one that I veer towards when I don’t feel like messing with the chill-roll-cut routine of this one that I got years ago from our B&B on Skye. That’s a good one, too, but fast times call for fast bakes.
If you’ve never made shortbread before, it really couldn’t be much easier. Four ingredients and that’s it:
butter
sugar
flour
salt
Here’s the rub though – because there are only four ingredients- you’ve got to be particular about them. Good butter- Irish or European – is what you’ll need here (#WhatWouldInaUse?). There’s nothing much to obscure the taste of artificial flavors, so you have to go with the real deal. Caster sugar is more prevalent in other parts than our US ones, but you can easily DIY that by blitzing granulated sugar in your blender or food processor. I promise it’s worth the extra work – and the finer sugar blends better into the butter for the oh-so-goodness. Sift your flour- no lumps allowed- and these will be in the oven in less than ten minutes.
And in your mouth in less than an hour.
Time well spent, methinks.
Aran's Easy Shortbread Bars
Easy shortbread bars use nothing but the best ingredients in this recipe - butter, flour, sugar and salt- and are done and on the table in no time.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (140 g) superfine (caster) sugar, plus more for dusting
- 10 oz (280 g) unsalted butter (pref: Kerrygold)
- 3 ½ cups (425g) all-purpose flour, sifted
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 280F. Grease and line an 8” (or 9”) square cake pan.
- Step 2 In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and well-combined- a stand mixer or hand mixer works best, about 5 minutes. Add the flour until just incorporated and the batter resembles sandy crumbs.
- Step 3 Pour mixture in the baking pan and press down evenly with a fork.
- Step 4 Bake 30-40 minutes until pale golden. Sprinkle immediately with extra sugar and allow cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Slice, then cool completely before removing from the baking pan. Store in an airtight container.