Marble Shortbread

by Diana 

Shortbread has been one of many happy British discoveries. It’s probably one of the first recipes I learnt when arrived to the UK and my greatest tutor was none less than The Ritz London Book of Afternoon Tea (a low-budget-student-pre-owned £0.01- Amazon deal of course). I remember buying it as I wanted to recreate an afternoon tea for my parents-in-law when they visited us for the first time since we emigrated about 9 years ago.

As I adopted aspects of British culture I noticed how shortbread became one of those so embedded indulgences that I use as self-compassion reward over my midday cup of coffee twice a week or so - when working in the private sector of course, where such indulgences can be afforded to keep up the good spirits. It’s surprising what you can achieve by applying some generosity over buttery tea treats. There is something about butter that is quite comforting but I can’t yet put my finger in what exactly it's all about. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that it’s a milk product hence we unconsciously associate it with breastfeeding and maternal love or is that too much of a psychodynamic interpretation? I wonder about the vegans's opinion on the subject. I'll keep thinking about it. Enjoy the recipe though, another one with a chocolaty twist.

© The Teaspoon

Ingredients 

50 g caster sugar
125 g unsalted butter
25 g rice flour
200 g plain flour 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 tablespoons Nutella - I used Ovomaltine crunchy cream spread we brought from Germany a while ago. 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 190C/395F
Line a baking dish or a cake tin with parchment paper or simply butter and flour the tin.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl using an electric mixer and then your hands to try to bring them together. The mixture will be slightly crumbly.
Compact the mixture in the prepared baking dish/tin and use a fork to make holes or patterns on the surface - this will allow it to ‘breathe’ while it bakes. Use a knife to gently cut the unbaked shortbread so it’s easier to separate into pieces after baking.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes.
Allow to cook down completely, break into precut pieces and store in a tin - in case of leftovers.
Enjoy!

© The Teaspoon

© The Teaspoon

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