Cherry shortbread

I used to work in an office where we got particularly nice biscuits in meetings.  I’m not saying the biscuits made us book more meetings but……well, nope, I think that’s exactly what I’m saying!  The prize on the plate was always the cherry shortbread ring – it could make any meeting palatable (it’s no coincidence it was shaped like a life saver).  I’m sure this golden snitch of a biscuit ensured punctual starts to meetings more than any other reason; you could get to the meeting room 10 minutes early and would rarely be the first one there!

Happy memories of the cherry shortbread ring drifted into my head this week, probably because I was sitting in a meeting room sans biscuits (I know – the horror!).  I decided to pay homage to this glorious biscuit and also tackle what I call a ‘pressed’ shortbread, something that’s been on my to-bake list for a while.  This method is where you tip the dough crumbs into the tin and then  press it into shape, which is where the real binding together of the ingredients takes place.

This is an incredibly flavoursome biscuit given the small number of ingredients.  And who knew it would taste even better when eaten sitting on the sofa, rather than around a meeting table?  You learn something new every day!

Ingredients

280g plain flour
60g ground rice flour
230g unsalted butter, from the fridge
115g golden caster sugar, plus 2-3 tablespoons extra for dusting
85g glace cherries, chopped small – you could use chocolate chips or chopped stem ginger instead, if you so wished

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C/ fan oven 150°C/325°F/gas mark 3.

Line the base of two 20cm round springform tin with baking paper (loose bottomed sandwich tins would also be good).

Place the plain and rice flour into a bowl.

Rub the butter into the flour until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs (this can be done with your hands, or in a food mixer).

Stir in the sugar and chopped cherries.

Press the mixture into the prepared baking tin and use your hand to ensure the mix is evenly distributed.

Prick with a fork and cut into segments – this will help to cut into pieces post baking.

Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until a very light golden colour.

Leave to firm in the tin for 30 minutes.

Use a sharp knife to rescore along the lines you cut pre-baking.

Dust (generously!) with caster sugar.

Leave to cool in the tin until it is firm enough to de-tin without breaking.

Snap along the score lines.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.