Christmas Recipes > Christmas Shortbread

How to make Christmas shortbread:




Ingredients

4oz caster/superfine sugar
8oz butter
12oz plain flour, shifted
Pinch of salt

to decorate:
2oz icing sugar
silver balls
glace cherries
angelica
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

- Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until combined (though creaming is not necessary).
- Sift in the flour and salt and work together to form soft dough.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured board.
- Knead lightly for a few moments until smooth but avoid over handling.
- Chill for 10 - 15 minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and cut into shapes with Christmas cutters.
- Place on greased baking tray.
- Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven 180oC/350oF/gas mark4 for 10 - 15 minutes until pale golden brown.
- Leave on the baking tray to cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Mix the icing sugar with a little water to make a glace icing and use to ice the biscuits.
- Decorate with silver balls, tiny pieces of cherries and angelica.
- Store in an airtight tin.
- These can be wrapped in cellophane and tie then with narrow ribbon  or coloured string to decorate the Christmas tree.


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Land For Food Production

Sat May 15, 2010 9:18 pm // 8 comments // granny_nuts


I wonder just how much land it would take to feed a family of, say, 4? I know that if my family didn't buy fruit and veg we wouldn't have enough to eat but is self sufficiency down to amount of land or method of growing? Last year I overcrowded my small veg plot with counter-productive results like mildew and snail infestation that went unnoticed until we came to pick the tomatoes (all holes!). I wonder if anyone has ever been totally self providing or whether the local market and barter played...