Sometimes, you just feel like doing a spot of baking. This vanilla shortbread is something that I made when I felt just like that! It’s simple to make, and I didn’t do anything fancy with it either – I baked it in my brownie pan and just cut it into fingers once it came out of the oven. Just lovely! Enjoy with a cuppa or on a picnic, as it’s great for all occasions. 

The recipe originally comes from the BBC Good Food website. I’ve elaborated on the method, as the original is quite brief (not that making this is particularly complicated!).

Ingredients

325g plain flour

200g chilled salted butter

125g/4½oz golden caster sugar

2 tsp good-quality vanilla extract

2 large free range egg yolks

Method

1. Tip the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the bowl, then whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

2. Add the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks and whizz to a small dough.

3. Either roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into shapes, or press into a greased tin or brownie pan. I kept mine in nice thick fingers, but you can make it to your preferred thickness.

4. Bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. If baked in a tin or brownie pan, cut into slices when still hot and then leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy! 🙂