Shortbread stars
Short and rich biscuits shaped into stars, perfect for the festive season.
Ingredients
- 3 cups plain flour
- 200 gms butter
- 6-7 tbsp caster sugar and a little more for sprinkling on top
- 3½ tbsp semolina
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven at 130 deg C.
- Place the flour and semolina in a bowl and mix well.
- Cut the butter (at room temperature) into the flour and rub together to resemble fine crumbs.
- Add the sugar and bring together the mixture into a ball.
- Place the ball on a work surface and knead till smooth.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 3-4 mm thickness. (see notes below)
- At this stage, cut out the stars (or rounds) with a cookie cutter.
- Bring together the trimmings, roll out again and repeat till the entire mixture has been used up.
- Prick them all over with a fork.
- Place them on an ungreased baking tray and bake in the centre of the pre heated oven for 30-35 minutes or till cooked; or till very, very slightly golden around the edges( it will still be a little soft at this stage).
- Sprinkle the cookies with some caster sugar while still warm and leave the biscuits on the tray for a few minutes.
- Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing in air tight containers.
Notes
- I had made these during Christmas one year, so made them star shaped in keeping with the festivities.
- I did use the traditional ingredients of flour, butter and sugar, but I also added a fourth- a little semolina; it's a personal preference and I love the slight bite that it adds to these biscuits.
- This is an old recipe and I missed noting the number of biscuits the given quantity makes. So please proceed at your discretion.
- If it is quite warm when you are trying this recipe, you might find the dough a bit difficult to handle and roll out. In such cases, flatten the dough slightly into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for a few minutes until it is easier to handle.