Orange Glazed Shortbread Food

CRISP ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Beat the butter, then cream it with the sugar and orange zest until light. Stir in the flour and baking powder and mix together to form a dough.
• Divide the mixture into 10 balls, arrange on a baking sheet. Press each ball fl at with the tip of a round-bladed knife. Chill for 15 mins, then bake for 12-15 mins until light golden. Leave on the baking sheet for 2 mins before releasing with a palette knife. Slide onto a rack to cool. Will keep stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
• Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Blend together butter, superfine sugar, zest, and salt in a bowl with a fork. Sift flour into butter mixture and blend with fork until mixture forms a soft dough.
• Transfer dough to an ungreased large baking sheet and pat into a 10- by 5-inch rectangle. Prick dough all over with fork and sprinkle with coarse sugar (if using), pressing it gently into dough with your fingertips to adhere. Score dough crosswise with back of a knife into 6 rectangles (do not cut all the way through), then score each rectangle into 2 triangles.
• Bake shortbread in middle of oven until edges are golden but center is pale, 12 to 17 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes, then cut into 12 triangles along scored lines while still warm. Transfer triangles with a long spatula to a rack to cool completely.