Before you get started

  Whoah!!! Hold your horses there Nelly. I hope I've caught you in time to tell you something very important about the shortbread I told you about yesterday, that I'm sure you're about to make. I just made the other batch I mentioned and I realised there are a couple of bits of information I need to share.

  Firstly, unless you have a minuscule appetite and have no friends to share your delicious baccies with then the recipe is way too small. Double the quantities otherwise it's just not enough, especially the amount of effort involved. Actually, there's not a lot of effort as it's so simple so maybe it's just not worth heating up the oven for such a small batch as you'll only have to do it again soon. You get the idea.

Some shortbr... Hey! Where'd it go?

  Next is slightly more technical. The ideal shortbread is super light and crumbly. It's really hard to buy shop bought that has such a texture as the batches they make it in are too big. Because your mix is quite small, you can ensure a light, melty biscuit but there is a technique.

  Quite simply, once you add the flour to the butter/sugar, mix and work it as little as possible. The more robust the mixing, the more chance there is that the gluten will become activated and create toughness. Similarly, unlike with pastry, which has a bit of water to bring the mix together into a ball, this relies only on the gentle pressure of your hands or a rolling pin.

  Once I had added the flour and the butter/sugar together, I used a spatula to mix them together. I then took about a third of the mix and put it onto a floured surface where I gently pressed it out and patted it into shape before finally laying a sheet of cling film over the top and rolled it once (the cling film is to stop it sticking) to get the correct thickness. This method of minimal interference ensures it melts in your mouth more effectively than a bar of chocolate in a blast furnace. Divine.

Kirk out

RevoltingFood.com