Shortbread made with brown sugar is called the Canadian shortbread. Cool! brown sugar creates a deeper, richer flavour, and a less soft texture. If you plan to make cookies rather than a disc, increase the butter by another ¼ cup. You could use regular sugar or berry sugar in addition to the icing sugar instead of brown sugar. Adapted from Rosy Levi Beranbaum’s Scottish Shortbread Wedges from Rose’s Christmas Cookies (1991 edition).
| 1 c | cold unsalted butter |
| ¼ c | icing sugar |
| ¼ c | brown sugar |
| 2½ c | flour |
Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, wrap and put back in the fridge.
Process the sugars together in a food processor, until the sugar is very fine. I was using demerara sugar; this took about 2 minutes. Add the butter and pulse until well mixed (Rose says ‘until the sugar has disappeared’). Add the flour, and pulse until there are no dry flour particles. It will be crumbly. Put the mixture into a large plastic bag and knead for a few minutes until it holds together.
Divide the dough into equal parts and pat each half into an ungreased 8-inch round cake pan. Using the times of a fork, make a pattern around the edges that looks like rays of sunlight radiating. Prick the rest of the disc all around. Bake for 60-70 minutes until pale golden. The shortbread will be a bit darker in colour due to the brown sugar.
Cool in the pans on a rack for at least 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate or a flat cookie sheet and place on a cutting board. While still a bit warm, carefully cut the disc into 8 pie shaped wedges. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Keep in a tin at room temp for up to a week or freeze.
Note: I added a ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate and cranberries to one of the discs, then baked in a square tin.