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What quick desserts do you swear by? Food52 co-founder Merrill Stubbs adapted this shortbread recipe from her grandmother and calls it “the easiest, most foolproof recipe in the world.” And wouldn’t it make a great holiday gift? Here’s how to make it (with just three ingredients!)…
Brown Sugar Shortbread
By Merrill Stubbs, from Food52 Baking
You’ll need:
1/2 cup (110g) salted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar
1 1/3 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
Using an electric mixer or creaming vigorously with a wooden spoon, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and pale. Add the flour and stir just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to an 8-inch cake pan (square or round) and press it into an even layer with your fingers. Prick the dough evenly across the surface with a fork. If you’re using a square pan, score the dough into 6 rows and 4 columns (for 24 cookies) or into 8 rows by 4 columns (for 32 cookies) using a very sharp knife. If you’re using a circular pan, score the dough into 16 or 24 triangles.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 325F.
Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the dough is a very light golden brown and the surface looks dry; watch carefully so it doesn’t get too dark. (The shortbread will get darker as it cools in the pan, so you’ll want to pull it out just before it has reached the desired color.) Remove from the oven and immediately cut it using the scored lines as guides. Let cool in the pan before separating the pieces. The shortbread will keep in an airtight container for several days.
Thank you so much, Food52! Delicious, as always.
P.S. More recipes, including pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate blackberry pudding.
(Reprinted with permission from Food52 Baking: 60 Sensational Treats You Can Pull Off in a Snap, by the Editors of Food52, copyright © 2015, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photographs copyright © 2015 by James Ransom. Thanks to Franny Eremin for helping with this series.)
