1, 2, 3 Shortbread (and Shortbread with Dates)

In my first book, Teach Yourself to Cook from Scratch without Recipe Books, I included a recipe for 1, 2, 3 Shortbread, so-called because of the proportions of the ingredients (1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, 3 parts flour). The recipe is simple to follow, and the dough is very forgiving. If it tears or breaks as you transfer it to the baking tray, simply push gently back into place and smooth it lightly with a dry finger.

Once you have made this easy shortbread, you can take it a step further. For example, you might like to cut the dough into small circles, then after baking and cooling, sandwich pairs of them together with jam or butter icing. My personal favourite is to bake them with dates as in the second recipe, below.

1, 2, 3 Shortbread

Ingredients

1oz (25g) sugar

2oz (50g) butter, finely chopped or grated

3oz (75g) flour

Method

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 3/170°C/325°F and grease a baking tray. Place all the ingredients in a bowl, and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Squeeze it all together and knead until smooth. Roll out thinly (to about ⅛ inch/3-4mm thick) and cut into shapes or form into a large circle. If you wish, you can press the edges into a fancy pattern, and mark the top into sections by pressing a knife just a little way into the dough. You may also like to sprinkle a little extra sugar over the surface. Prick all over with a fork, then bake for about 25 minutes until pale brown. Leave to cool slightly on the tray for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Shortbread with Dates

Follow the recipe above, but divide the dough into two equal pieces. Roll half out into a rectangle, place on a baking tray and cover with finely chopped dates or other dried fruit. Roll the second half of the dough out to a similar size and carefully place on top of the dates. Gently cut into small rectangles, then prick each piece several times with a fork. Sprinkle with sugar if desired, then bake for 30-35 minutes until pale brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.