And I'm trying not to feel like I wasted my afternoon off.
The cookies turned out okay, but the process was painful. I think my first mistake was doubling the recipe. The recipe says "This can be doubled using one pound of butter and four cups flour solidly packed." (The single recipe calls for one cup of butter and two cups of flour.) Well, I guess I misinterpreted "solidly packed" because I had way too much flour. The dough was so dry and crumbly there was absolutely no hope of rolling it out. (Next time -- if there is one! -- I think I should mix the butter and sugar together first and then add less than the full amount of flour to ensure the dough isn't too dry.) At that point, I had two choices of course: dump it all in the garbage or add some butter. I really hate to be wasteful, so I decided to add butter, but had lost all enthusiasm knowing the shortbread would not be tender after all that mixing... Nevertheless, I forged ahead. I added a blob of butter I had softened in the microwave and mixed it in. It looked better. Then I rolled and cut squares with a ruler and knife because I don't have any cookie cutters in appropriate sizes or shapes. At least that part was quick. But not as appealing to me (or fun) as the scallop-edged circle and square my mom always used! Anyway, I got them in the oven and was careful not to overbake them, so they turned out in that sense. They are a little tough though and I think they're a little short on sugar because of all the extra butter and flour in them... but they're okay. I guess I learned some things today, but it may be quite awhile before I attempt to make shortbread again!
P.S. The girls don't even like the baked shortbread (they did like the raw dough). Now I really feel like cleaning the living room would have been a better use of my time!
