Alright, let’s talk about these here cherry shortbread biscuits. I ain’t no fancy baker, mind you, but I know my way around the kitchen, especially when it comes to makin’ somethin’ tasty for the grandkids.
First things first, you gotta get your stuff together. That means flour, butter, sugar – the usual suspects. Now, some folks get all highfalutin’ with their ingredients, but I say keep it simple. Good ol’ butter, not that margarine stuff, is what you need. And flour, just the regular kind, nothin’ fancy. Sugar, same thing. You get the picture?
Now, the secret to good shortbread, see, is the butter. You gotta use a lot of it. And it’s gotta be cold, real cold. I keep mine in the fridge till the last minute. Then, you gotta work it into the flour, but not too much. Just enough so it’s all crumbly, like. My grandma used to say, “Don’t be heavy-handed with it, girl! Treat it like a baby’s bottom.” And she was right, you know.
Then comes the sugar. Just dump it in there with the flour and butter. Mix it all up good. Now, some recipes call for fancy stuff like cornstarch or bakin’ powder, but I say why bother? My shortbread don’t need none of that. It’s good and crumbly just the way it is. At least that’s what my grandkids tell me, and them young’uns don’t lie, not about cookies anyways.
- Butter – A whole bunch, make sure it’s cold.
- Flour – Just plain flour, nothin’ special.
- Sugar – Regular white sugar, that’s all you need.
- Cherries – Those red ones, you know, cut them up small.
Okay, so you got your dough all mixed up. Now it’s time for the cherries. I like to use those bright red ones, the kind that come in a jar. Chop ‘em up real small, so they spread out nice and even in the biscuits. Just dump ‘em in the dough and mix it all up again, but not too much, remember? You don’t want tough biscuits. Nobody wants tough biscuits.
Now comes the tricky part. Rollin’ out the dough. You gotta be gentle, like I said before. Don’t go pressin’ too hard, or you’ll end up with flat, hard biscuits. And nobody wants that neither. I just roll it out a little bit, not too thin, not too thick. Just right, you know? Like how my ma used to do it. And she made the best biscuits in the whole county, that’s what everyone said. Yep, her biscuits could make a grown man cry, they were that good.
Then, you gotta cut ’em out. Now, you can use fancy cookie cutters if you got ‘em, but I just use a glass. Works just as good. Or sometimes, I use one of them bottle caps, like from a soda bottle. Makes little bitty biscuits, perfect for the little ones. You just press it down, and twist a little, and there you go. Perfect little circles.
Once you got ’em all cut out, you gotta put ‘em on a bakin’ sheet. I just use a plain old sheet, nothin’ fancy. And don’t put ‘em too close together, or they’ll stick. Then, you gotta chill ‘em. That’s important, see? It keeps the butter cold, so the biscuits don’t spread out too much when you bake ‘em. Just stick ‘em in the fridge for a bit, maybe half an hour or so. While you’re waitin’, you can clean up the mess you made. Or just sit down and have a cup of tea. That’s what I usually do.
Alright, now for the bakin’. I put ‘em in a low oven, not too hot. You don’t want to burn ‘em, you know. Just bake ‘em till they’re golden brown around the edges. It don’t take long, maybe ten or fifteen minutes. But you gotta keep an eye on ‘em, ‘cause every oven is different. And you don’t want burnt biscuits. Burnt biscuits are no good to nobody.
When they’re done, take ‘em out of the oven and let ‘em cool on the bakin’ sheet for a bit. Then, you can sprinkle a little sugar on top, if you want. Or just eat ‘em plain. They’re good either way. And there you have it, cherry shortbread biscuits. Easy as pie, ain’t it?
So go on, give it a try. You might surprise yourself. And if you mess up, well, that’s alright too. Just try again. That’s what I always say. And remember, the most important ingredient is love. That’s what makes ‘em taste so good. At least, that’s what my grandkids tell me, and I guess they are right.
Tags: [shortbread, biscuits, cookies, cherry, baking, recipe, homemade, dessert, easy recipe, simple baking]
