More home cooking

A person cooking is a person giving: Even the simplest food is a gift.

          From More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

Last year at the Friends of the Library fall book sale, I picked up a hardback copy of Home Cooking, Laurie Colwin's much-loved collection of essays, for $1. Last month at the spring book sale, I found the companion volume, More Home Cooking, also for $1. The books are full of inspirational thoughts about the value and meaning of cooking for your family. They also have some great recipes, including an adaptation of Elizabeth David's amazing, flourless Chocolate and Almond Cake, which is a personal favorite.

I love shortbread, too, and this one did not disappoint. We all loved it, though everyone was sad they only got two pieces each. But two pieces are plenty, given that the cookies are just a delivery mechanism for pure butter flavor. Because the butter is the star ingredient here, you want to use good butter, not the store-brand crap from Food Lion or some such. You can even experiment with the fancy European butters like Plugra or Kerrygold, which have a higher fat content than American butter.

Buttery Shortbread

Adapted from More Home Cooking (1993) by Laurie Colwin

Colwin said classic Scottish recipes use rice flour to give the shortbread a "slightly grainy crispness that is very delicious," but that you can eliminate the rice flour and use 1 cup (120 grams) of all-purpose flour instead. I have rice flour around, so I used it. 

¾ cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup white rice flour (35 grams) or Thai white rice flour (25 grams) (see note)
⅛ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
113 grams (4 ounces; 1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375 degrees.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
    3. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Work in the dry ingredients.
    4. Dump the dough onto an ungreased cookie or baking sheet, and pat it into 8-inch circle. It’s a very soft, delicate dough, so be patient with it. Score the dough with a sharp knife, making 8 equal wedges (see the first picture above). Press the tines of a fork into the edge of the dough all the way around.
    5. Bake until the edge is golden brown, about 15 minutes. While the shortbread is still warm, cut it into 8 wedges along the scores with a sharp knife, pressing down gently so as not to mar the cookie or baking sheet. Cool completely to firm up before serving. Makes 8 cookies.