You cannot beat this shortbread recipe for being quick and easy AND inexpensive.
After making it an umteen number of times, I can swear by it. It is is certainly, by far, the easiest and the fastest of all the bread recipes I have ever tried.
And if you prefer, you can make drop biscuits, which are just as nice. It goes really well with guava jam or
mango jam and margarine.
Serve with eggs and bacon (or sausage).
Shortbread
Click the photo for a larger view.
You will need:
4 Cups all-purpose flour (omit salt and baking
powder if using self-rising flour)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp double acting baking powder
1 C margarine
2 large eggs
8 Tbs sugar
1 C Milk
Measure out and combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Use a fork to get rid of any lumps present.
Then cut the margarine into the flour (you can use the same fork). To cut, you simply mash the butter into small pieces while mixing in the flour. Cut and mix until the margarine is pea-size and more or less spread throughout the flour.
Beat eggs in a small bowl. Stir sugar in beaten eggs. Then stir milk into egg mixture. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture. Stir until just completely mixed (see photo). Do NOT over stir. You do not want your dough to become smooth.
Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch pans or one
13x9 inch pan. Use a fork to spread dough evenly
in the baking pan(s). Place the bread in oven at
350 degrees and set the timer to 30
minutes (40 minutes for 13x9 inch pan.)
You now have some free time to do something else.
Check your bread when the timer goes off. It should be golden brown and ready in 30 to 35 minutes (or 40 to 45 minuter for larger pan.)
Remove pan from oven. You can leave the bread in the pan and just cut out a piece at a time to eat. Eat with margarine and mango jam (which is also great with other bread recipes).
Short Bread Biscuits
You can use a half of the shortbread recipe above to make a small pan of bread and the other half for biscuits.
To make biscuits, use a fork to drop 1 1/2 inch (across) balls of the dough on to a cookie sheet (you can also use a baking pan). Use the fork to pat the top of the dough balls down slightly. The size doesn’t have to be exact – just eyeball it.
Space the balls about one-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Use a spatula to remove biscuits from the cookie sheet.
Finally...Enjoy!
Remember to always read the entire recipe BEFORE beginning and remember to always plan ahead.
When transferring dough from the mixing bowl into the pan, try wetting your fork with water periodically to help stop the dough from sticking.