Like most folks, I have a go-to list of tried-and-true cookies that I bake and give year-round. While I like them all, my shortbread cookie is my go-to fave for all occasions — its flavor and shape variations make it truly evergreen. For example, the triangle version was the recipe of choice for my holiday cookie swap, and I brought the round version to The Big Summer Potluck blogger getaway hosted by my talented friends Pam Anderson and her daughters Maggy and Sharon.
From The Everyday Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge (c) 2015. Published by The Taunton Press. Photograph by Tina Rupp. Instructional Photographs by Sloan Howard.
To make wedges, press the dough evenly into the bottom of a fluted tart pan. Use your fingertips along the fluted edge to ensure the dough completely fills it.
Wedges: Step 2
A bench scraper works well to score the salt-sprinkled dough. Be sure to press all the way through to the bottom of the pan.
Wedges: Step 3
With the tines of a fork, prick the wedges twice, starting at the widest part of the wedge. Dip the tines into flour if the dough gets sticky.
Rectangular Shortbread: Step 1
To make rectangular shortbread, press the dough into a straight-sided pan, then use a bench scraper to score it.
Rectangular Shortbread: Step 2
Using a fork, press the tines into the scored dough at an angle.
Rounds
To form rounds, roll out the dough evenly and then use a 2 1/2-inch (6 cm) cutter. Press one end of a straw into the cut-out rounds, then transfer the rounds to a baking sheet.
