Whipped shortbread is usually made using icing sugar instead of granulated or caster sugar, taking advantage of the added starches in the flour to lighten the flour. And I tried this method, but I don’t really like the flavour that icing sugar only gives the cookies.
Ingredients for Whipped Shortbread
Butter is a key flavour in these biscuits. If using salted butter, simply leave out the additional salt, if using unsalted butter, additional salt is a must!
Flour – plain, standard grade or all-purpose flour is what this recipe calls for.
Icing Sugar or Powdered Sugar adds sweetness with the added starches give the biscuit a tender snap. Using icing sugar plays a similar role as when using cornstarch (maizena) in the biscuits.
Caster sugar can be substituted with white granulated sugar. Plain white or caster sugar gives a crispness to this biscuit that is otherwise completely lost with just using icing sugar.
Salt – add if using unsalted butter. The salt brings out the flavour of the butter and flour.
Making the EET-SUM-MOR Biscuits
Making the biscuits begins with room temperature butter that is soft enough to beat and whip. The butter and sugars are then whipped together until light and fluffy.
The flour is then added to the butter and mixed in using a spatula or wooden spoon until all the flour is coated. The biscuit dough is then kneaded together 3 to 5 times until it turns into a nice cohesive ball.
Place the biscuit dough on a piece of parchment or baking paper or floured surface and roll the dough out to 0.5 to 1cm in thickness. To mimic the shape of the EET-SUM-MOR’s cut the biscuits into 4cm x 4cm squares.
TOP TIP – if the dough of your shortbread feels too crumbly, work it a bit more with the spatula.
The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.
For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.
Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.
Resting the biscuits in the fridge
Resting these biscuits in the fridge allows the cookies to fully hydrate, the butter to set, the flavours to develop and will stop the cookies from spreading in the oven when baking.
These biscuits should rest for at least 30 minutes, or the dough can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to a week. If you really want to make shortbread ahead of time – the dough can be frozen for up to a month. Simply defrost in the fridge overnight before baking.
Baking the shortbread biscuits
Place the biscuits on a piece of parchment paper or on a silicone baking sheet and bake at 170°C and 10-15 minutes. The shortbread cookies are done when they are a light golden brown.
The shortbread cookies will be soft when they are first taken out of the oven and will need to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
