Scottish Shortbread , Mayan "Doomsday" Trip 苏格兰牛油酥饼，玛雅“末日”之旅

Just returned from 2D1N trip to Hello Kitty Town and Legoland in Malaysia.Through this trip, realized my daughters have grown up faster than I thought.

Both of them feel the two theme parks sort of "boring". They have no intention for a 2nd visit, especially Hello Kitty Town. Nothing wrong with the two theme parks, it's just that they are designed for younger children, at least for the crowd younger than my two daughters.

Overall, it's a memorable family outing as we spent Mayan "doomsday" in theme parks and 5-star hotel rather than the bomb shelter at home. The world is intact, so are we!

Though it's a short trip to neighbouring country, we were exhausted due to the heavy jam at the customs. 30 minutes drive from hotel to home turned out to be 3 hours, and reached home at almost 2:00am in the morning. Well, after a good 10hr sleep, woke up and felt fresh again. Still have time for some Christmas cookies. Scottish shortbread is in my baking list due to its simplicity and popularity.

Christmas bells are ringing soon, let's celebrate and wish for a peaceful year ahead!



SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD
(Recipe adapted and modified from Famous Cuisine 名食谱)

INGREDIENTS
(makes 15 shortbread pieces)

- 240g unsalted butter (cold)
- 120g caster sugar
- 240g all-purpose flour
- 120g rice flour
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar for dusting


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degC. 
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, rice flour and sugar. 
3. Add the cold butter. With a knife, cut the butter into the flour mixture. With your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles coarse crumble like breadcrumbs.  
4. Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking tray. Smooth the top as best as you can. With a sharp knife, score the top of the shortbread into 1x2 inch rectangular shapes. Poke holes with tines of fork in each rectangular shape.
5. Sprinkle the shortbread with the caster sugar. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes until the top and bottom are lightly browned.
7. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.
8. Cut the shortbread into 1x2 inch rectangular pieces, along the lines scored.
9. Cool completely on the wire rack, then remove from the tray.
10. Keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.

Note:

1.  No need to grease the tray due to the rich butter content
2. When mix butter with flour mixture, try not to form a dough. Use fingertips to gently rub the butter into the flour. Butter should be kept cold or frozen.