The Very Versatile Shortbread

Shortbread is the LBD or Little Black Dress of cookies. You can have it plain or make the batch  with a variety of different ingredients. They can even be made savory too as a go with for chili or soups. The extra  plus is that shortbread is easy to make. Even kids can bake them without too much fuss and trouble.

The cookie was the subject of an article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. It's an easy and simple recipe as it has been for centuries. It was first made during medieval times in Scotland using the same ingredients as today. Mark Bittman who wrote the article uses the  basics.It's unsalted butter (although you can use salted) sugar yolk flour cornstarch and salt. For healthier cookies  you can sub in whole wheat flour as opposed to white and sub in two tablespoons of honey instead of refined sugar. Baking is only for ten minutes and the recipe is just a simple mix.

Here comes the fun Shortbread can be jazzed up in a variety of ways. Mr. Bittman suggests dipping the cookies (which can be made in rounds or bars known as fingers)I like it that way too, especially with a rich dark chocolate.My mother and I made them this way for several Christmases. The taste is amazing, a perfect melding of butter and rich cocoa.You can also add chocolate chips as well. You can also make them citrus-y .Add lemon or orange zest to the dough. Other twists include cinnamon (nice) or vanilla. For savory shortb read reduce the butter and add olive oil and rosemary. You can also make Parmesan ones and ones laced with black peppers.

Shortbread  is the  most versatile cookie to bake., You can either go savory or sweet or try your own combo. The result will always be interesting  and tasty with a melt in your mouth feel.