BISCOTTI FROLLINI - SHORTBREAD BISCUITS

Shortbread biscuits: one dough that can be easily personalized with the flavors and and ingredients that you prefer.

Of course, I use a vanilla shortbread dough, but you can flavor it with lemon zest, almond or lavender.

This is an example of what you can prepare with only one dough:

- simple shortbread biscuits

- shortbread biscuits with jam

- shortbread biscuits filled with Nutella 

Ingredients

For the shortbread dough:

400 gr all-purpose flour

200 gr sugar

150 gr butter

2 medium eggs

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

(vanilla or lemon zest to flavor)

Nutella

Jam

Preparation

1. Put the flour in a large bowl, with the sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla flavor. Stir the ingredients together. Add two eggs and the butter (previously diced). Using your hands, knead until the dough is smooth.

Tip: be quick! The butter doesn't have to melt. As a rule, keep in mind that preparing this dough takes you no more than 10 minutes.

2. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and let in rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to about 0,5 cm thick ( if you want to fill it with Nutella or jam; otherwise roll it out to 1 cm thick).

4.  Cut the down into shapes. 

     STARS WITH JAM:

     Cut into shapes using a big biscuit cutter. Divide the biscuits in two part (eg. 10 + 10 stars).With a smaller cutter, make a hall in the middle of  10 stars. Arrange the full cookies on an oven tray covered with parchment paper; put some jam in the middle. Place the cut-out cookie on the top and gently sandwich them together.

     BISCUITS FILLED WITH NUTELLA

     With a biscuits cutter (heart-shaped or ''half moon''-shaped) cut the dough into shapes. Divide the biscuits in two parts (eg. 10 hearts + 10 hearts). Put some Nutella in the middle of 10 biscuits. Place another biscuit on the top and press carefully the edges.

   PLAIN SHORTBREAD BISCUITS

  Roll the dough out to 1 cm thick. Cut into different shapes, using biscuit cutters.

5. Bake for 20 minutes (or until pale golden-brown). Remove from the oven and let cool.

Optional: sprinkle the biscuits with icing sugar as soon as you take them out of the oven.