I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

October 31, 2011

Shortbread

















As promised last week, here's a rich buttery shortbread recipe- just right for dipping soldiers, or for scoffing in the afternoon with a cup of Earl Grey.

Shortbread is a lovely easy biscuit to make, with only 3 ingredients : Butter, Sugar and Flour. How simple is that? Just about everyone has these ingredients in their pantry, right?

This time of year, there's tins of shortbread all through the shops for Christmas- but trust me, it's so much nicer to make your own.

Crisp and crumbly, rich and buttery... mmmmmm.....
















1/3 cup Castor Sugar
250g Butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cup Gluten free Flour

Either:
Pop everything into a food processor and pulse quickly until a ball forms
Or
Using your finger tips, mix the butter, sugar and flour together until it looks like little breadcrumbs.
















Pull it together into a ball, and gently knead it together until it comes together smoothly and cleanly.
















Roll the dough out gently if you want to cut out shapes

















OR
Pat into a flat disc and dock with a fork.

Mark out wedges with a knife, then pinch the edges together to make a pretty pattern.
















Sprinkle with castor sugar for a bit of pretty glittery sweetness.

Place in a pre heated 160*c oven for about 15-20 mins for shapes, or about 40 mins for the round. The dough will be a lovely golden sandy colour, but still very soft.

















Leave on the tray for a few minutes, then if you want nice clean wedges, cut through the previously marked lines with a sharp knife. (A secret tip for clean cut shapes is to recut them straight from the oven if they've gone a bit wonky or swelled a little in baking- but don't tell anyone, OK?)

Leave on the tray to cool completely.

















Serve when you want something nice and rich, perhaps a bit Christmassy, but watch out for crumbs!







So my Dear Readers,








do you buy tins of shortbread at Christmas time, or will you make your own?






.

20 comments:

  1. These look lovely! Absolutely love shortbread, and have always made my own....dipped in chocolate no less! What blend of gluten free flours do you use?

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  2. I haven't had shortbread for years...
    So this year, I'll make my own, now that I have a recipe!
    Thanks Intolerant Chef!

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  3. More of a frisbee than a yo-yo, no?

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  4. I love making shortbread but havent....in too long! Must get organised and make a batch this year for, as you said, it only takes 3 ingredients!

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  5. These look beautiful! I love baking shortbread but I don't really like eating them. I always make my own for friends and family hampers at Christmas time :)

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  6. I find shortbread cookies usually dense and rich, so they are perfect for the cold weather, with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

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  7. OMG! GF Shortbread? And it's sooooo easy! THANK YOU!!! I'm bookmarking this recipe!! YAY!

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  8. Sigh..shortbread on November 1, makes it feel like Christmas is just around the corner! :) xx

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  9. The soldiers are so cute! And I usually make mine with rice flour too :)

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  10. Lovely! I make shortbread several times a year, it's so comforting with a nice cup of tea. I use dairy free butter in mine and Mama's all purpose almond flour. Works very well!

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  11. I had no idea this could be done with GF flour - I've always been a shortbread purist... which means I hardly ever indulge.

    Great post - I love the pretty wheel design you made - reminds me of the real Scottish stuff!

    It's a pleasure to meet your blog - and to get inspired by new ways of thinking about putting meals together sans gluten and lactose.

    - Catherine @ The Spring (in Brisbane)

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  12. Nom nom nom nom nom... Nothing better than plain, simple but BUTTERY shortbread. Good stuff! Time to go nuts with all the cookie cutter and shapes =D

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  13. I cannot believe that shortbread is so easy to make! I'm definitely going to be trying this!

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  14. weeee! Looks like such fun to make :) have never made my own. Never been a real fan, until last year that is!
    Heidi xo

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  15. I make my own shortbread and sometimes put ground almonds in it. I'll make this gluten free version for my mother, I know she'll love it. GG

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  16. Your gf shortbread looks amazing, tasty & wonderful at the same time too! ;)

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  17. I love shortbread but can't have wheat. So thank you for a delicious looking shortbread recipe.

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  18. Another month closer to Christmas Dear Readers! Festivities abound this time of year, and it's good to have some yummy gluten free goodies on hand. Are you ready for the Silly Season?

    Ina- Oooh, chocolate would be good too, yumm.. I pefer to use a supermarket blend of gfree flour. I know that I can get fantastic results by customising the starch/protein blend myself, but I want to make recipes that anyone can make with ingredients grabbed from the supermarket that are (usually) mainstream. That way I hope to get more people realising how good InTolerant cooking really is.

    Lindsay- Thanks honey, I hope you like it!

    Lee- Yes frisbee indeed! Maybe I'll make YoYo biscuits some other time :)

    Lisa- Three little ingredients, and only a few minutes to make, I hope you give it a go :)

    Cassandra- I prefer cooking sweets to eating them too, and often make just a half batch for visitors. Hampers are a lovely gift!

    Tigerfish- It's all that lovely butter, just perfect for dunking too :)

    Msihua- Super easy! Let me know how you go making it :)

    Celia- It's just around the corner Honey :) My girls started carols on October 31st, they just couldn't wait!

    Lorraine- Thanks! Rice flour has a nice texture, and such a lovely mild taste lets you really taste the butter, yumm...

    April- Everything's better with a cup of tea! I've had real trouble getting some almond flour here, but I bet it tastes great.

    Catherine- Most tradditional recipes use rice flour anyway, and don't require gluten to hold it all together, so it's a great one to swap out with GF flour. Thankyou so very much! I hope you find some recipes and ideas to love :)

    Winston- Thanks! Wait till I break out my cutter collection for Christmas- I have hundreds!

    Lucy- So easy indeed! Let me know how it goes for you.

    Heidi- Glad you've given shortbread a second chance! It's always fun to get your hands dirty :)

    GG- I hope she does, and the almond meal addition sounds lovely too.

    Sophie- Thanks so much! I hope you give it a try yourself.

    Kath- :D right back at ya friend!

    HotlySpiced- Thanks, why should we miss out? We're changing the world, one gluten at a time!

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  19. I have such a weakness for shortbread. How its so fragile and buttery? Oh delish!

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