Ingredients
125g Matthews Maizebite Pastry Flour
125g Matthews Organic White Plain Wheat Flour
65g Granulated sugar
200g Butter cut into small cubes
1 Egg
1tsp LittlePod Pure Vanilla Extract or 1/2tsp of BakeryBits Madagascan Whole Pod Vanilla Powder
Egg wash for glazing
Pearl Sugar Crumbs and chopped almonds for topping
Variation:
Omit the vanilla and substitute:-
80g Chef's Drops 42% Surabya Vegan Milk Chocolate
1/2 tsp Fiori Di Sicilia Essential Oil
Finnish shortbread are not actually Finnish! Now that's out of the way they are shortbreads and 100% tasty.
The Danes say they invented these traditional Christmas biscuits and call them Finnish bread (Finskbrød in Danish) where as the Swedes maintain that they invented these tasty Yuletide treats and call them Finnish sticks (Finska pinnar in Swedish). The Finns could not give a hoot, and are just happy to tuck into the shortbreads whilst letting their fellow Scandinavians discuss their origins.
These are easy to make and disappear quickly as they are rather moreish. The key to a good Finnish shortbread is to chill the dough enough before rolling and cutting out the Lego-brick sized shortbreads so that they keep their shape while baking.
I've used two flours here, one is Matthews Plain Flour and the other is Matthew Maizebite which is a golden yellow coloured flour containing a proportion of maize flour which gives these shortbreads (or any biscuit) more bite, crunch and warmer colour. For the delicate vanilla flour, you can use either the extract or our excellent vanilla powder. The shortbreads are topped with light and crunchy pearl sugar crumbs.
Method
Put both flours and the sugar in your mixing bowl and gently mix them together.
Add the butter and work it into the flour until it has a texture like crumbs trying not to heat up the butter too much so that it melts.
Gently whisk the egg together with the vanilla extract then pour this into the mixing bowl and bring the mixture together to a dough being careful not to overwork it.
Put the dough into an airtight container and place it in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably two.
When ready to bake, turn on the oven to 200°C (185°C fan).
Take the dough from the fridge and roll it out to about 1.5cm thickness.
Using a dough scraper or cutter chop out the shortbreads into roughly 6cm long and 2cm wide pieces, arranging them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Make an egg wash by beating an egg with a tablespoon of milk and brush the tops of the shortbreads.
Sprinkle some pearl sugar crumbs and chopped almonds on top and bake for 10-15 mins (depending on your oven) until golden around the edges.
Transfer onto a cooling rack and let them cool before enjoying.
Variation
For a chocolatey citrus taste.
Replace the vanilla with ½ tsp of Fiori Di Sicilia.
Just as the dough is starting to come together add 80g chopped Chefs Drops 42% Surabya Milk Chocolate.
Some of the chocolate pieces will ooze out from the sides and others will hide pleasingly inside the shortbreads.
The combination of the chocolate and citrus taste is a classic combination that just reminds me of Christmas.
