COCONUT SHORTBREAD
I was introduced to shortbread when I first moved to the UK, and on sinking my teeth into the crumbly little discs of buttery goodness, I was instantly obsessed. Shortbread adds crunch and texture to a dessert, and this one works brilliantly with my smooth and creamy Pandan and Coconut Panna Cotta (here ). You can cut as many discs from the chilled dough as you like (just baking a few shortbread at a time, if you prefer), and the dough will keep for up to five days.
Makes about 40 shortbreads
45g unsweetened desiccated coconut
170g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp coconut extract
½ tsp coarse sea salt
170g plain flour, sifted
Scatter the desiccated coconut on a baking tray and roast in a hot oven or toast in a dry frying pan for 5–8 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool.
Beat the butter and sugar with a hand-held electric whisk or in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts and the salt.
Gradually add the flour to the butter and sugar, continuing to beat until all the flour has been added. Stir in the toasted coconut.
Place a piece of cling film on a flat surface. Divide the shortbread dough in half. Place 1 half on the cling film and shape it to form a ‘sausage’ about 4cm in diameter along the width of the cling film. Roll the bottom of the piece of cling film up over the dough, and roll it up, keeping the dough as smooth and round as possible, then twist both ends of the film so that it looks like a giant sweet. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Place the dough ‘sausages’ in the fridge for at least 1 hour to firm up. Preheat the oven to 160°C /140°C fan/325°F /Gas 3 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
To bake, remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap and cut the dough into 1cm-thick discs. Place on the lined baking tray, leaving about a 2.5cm gap between them as they will spread out while cooking.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.