Mr. Farmer contemplated what he’d like for me to bake (in the order of cookies) and his response was Lorna Doones. “Really?” I replied.
Challenge! Yes, I love a good challenge. I thought to myself, “If Lorna can do this, so can I!”
What I found out about Lorna was that she may not have been a baker at all, but the main character in a romance novel, A Romance of Exmoor, by R. D. Blackmore, published in the 1860’s. OOOOOOOOOhhhhh!
Then in 1912, Nabisco (National Biscuit Company) invented a cookie and named it “Lorna Doone.” How intriguing! Lorna must have “turned some heads”, so to speak, if a cookie was named after her! 🙂 Well, I must say it is a rich and fancy cookie! AND EXPENSIVE! It’s a MUST READ!!
All the ingredients (only 4) were in my possession. “OK………….I’ll give this shortbread challenge a go!”
You can see in this picture I got them a little close. I used a biscuit cutter. Of course a stamped cookie cutter would have been ideal. (I’m realizing now as I write I could have used this lovely colonial heart stamp with a hand holder. Next time!)
Everything about this recipe is simple….really simple. And absolutely buttery delicious……uhh….except for the rolling out stage. Honestly, it is a challenge, but…..if I can do it, anybody can. Proceed with calmness and patience. 🙂 And, yes, follow the directions quite carefully.
So when it came time to roll out the dough, it was crumbling. I didn’t know whether to add more butter, let it refrigerate longer, add water. I needed Ree over my shoulder whispering confident messages in my ear. She wasn’t there, so I pretended. She hadn’t steered me wrong before!
I took about half of the dough, pushed it together forming somewhat of a ball and laid it down gently on the counter. With the rolling pin and my hands, I proceeded slowly in the rolling until the dough became a thick sheet. It wasn’t the easiest roll out job I’ve ever done, but let me tell you, this strategy worked and I was quite proud of myself as the dough was actually hanging together!
The cutting was easy. Moving the fragile circles to the cookie sheet was a delicate slow process. It worked!
Will I try this recipe again? Absolutely (or I wouldn’t be sharing it with you.) If you like shortbread cookies, they are quite buttery and delicious. They keep well and freeze easily
Won’t you give them a try?
- 2 sticks plus 2 T salted butter, softened
- 1 C sugar
- 2 C flour
- 1 scant C cornstarch
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Cream butter and sugar together. Sift flour and cornstarch in and blend together with pastry cutter until all ingredients come together. (Add more butter if ingredients seem too dry.) I didn't.
- Form dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 min.
- Roll onto lightly floured surface and cut into rounds. Place on cookie sheet and bake approx 20 min or you see a bit of brownness on the edge--just a bit. 🙂
Yes…..it was a challenge, and well worth it!
Mr. Farmer loves them! I’ll pack them in his lunch as he is a busy farmer making certain the corn and bean seed gets into the ground.
Won’t you take on a challenge today?
