Small Batch Orange Shortbread

Sometimes, you just need to get that sweet fix. But you don't want the whole tray of shortbread. For these moments, small batch baking is the perfect choice. I don't small batch much these days. But recently, I've been craving shortbread. Instead of buying it - boring - I made it, and so can you. 

Shortbread uses 3 staple ingredients found in your kitchen. Nothing fancy or unusual, just butter, sugar and flour. Some recipes will call for cornflour, swapping out some flour for it, and this will yield a slightly softer texture. However, the classic recipe calls for flour. 

Then, flavourings wise, it's down to you to decide what you're feeling. I had an orange I needed to use up, so the zest hasn't been wasted and instead has been mixed into these small batch shortbreads to give it a soft citrus zing. 

What makes these shortbreads small batch? 

This recipe yields just 6 shortbread sticks. Using just a loaf pan, you get a much smaller batch of shortbread and less risk of waste too.

If you don't have a loaf pan, you can shape these free hand onto a tray and the mixture will stay in shape. That's part of the brilliance of shortbread. 

How long will shortbread keep for?

Any shortbread needs to be kept in an air tight container and they will last for up to 5 days. They make a great make-ahead gift too. You can also chill the dough up to a week in advance and then bake when you are ready too. 

What if I don't have any oranges for shortbread? 

If you don't have an orange to hand, that's fine! Do you have any orange extract? Or have you got any lemons or limes hanging around? Any citrus fruit can be substituted in this recipe. So if you don't have an orange, zest a lemon or two limes to maximise on flavour. 

For this recipe, the shortbread is subtly flavoured with orange. If you want a stronger flavour, feel free to double the number of oranges. 

Small batch orange shortbread

Ingredients:

150g plain flour
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g caster sugar (plus some extra for sprinkling)
zest of one orange

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper for easy removal.
2. In a medium size bowl, place the flour, sugar, butter and zest and rub in the mix with your figures or a pastry cutter. The mix should come together to look like breadcrumbs. 
3. Keep mixing until the ingredients come together to form a soft dough. 
4. Then press the dough into the tin until smooth. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until slightly golden. Do not try to remove the shortbread from the tin immediately, if you do, it will break as it's very delicate at this point. 
5. While the shortbread is still warm, sprinkle over some caster sugar, then allow to cool completely in the tin.
6. Then remove from the tin and place on a chopping board. Slice the shortbread up into fingers with a sharp knife and then serve!