This Dairy Free Shortbread one seemed (and is) an easy one to start with :-)
The recipe is from this blog (with thanks), but as I found it missed out some steps in the method I thought I'd expand it here, convert into grams, and add some suggestions for extra flavourings.
*My friend is writing a wonderful book, working title - Love, Stamps, and Biscuits. Hence the philatelic decroations :-)
Dairy Free Shortbread – makes 12 x 2 ½ inch rounds
Preheat oven to 170ºC (fan 160º C) or 350ºF
Ingredients
140g / 5 oz / ¾ cup Flora Dairy Free (Flora Dairy
Free is quite soft and the original recipe recommends it, so if you use another
dairy free spread bear that in mind)
85g / 3 oz / ½ cup white caster sugar
170g / 6 oz / 1 ½ cups plain flour sifted
30g / 1 oz / ¼ cup fine semolina
Method
Beat the dairy free margarine either by hand/with a
hand mixer/in a food processor, until it goes a lighter colour. Beat in the
caster sugar adding approx. ¼ of it at a time until combined and the mixture
looks fluffy.
Add the semolina to the sifted flour and stir well,
then fold the flour/semolin into the creamed fat and sugar approx. ¼ of it at a
time, or if using a food processor use a slow speed to ‘stir’ the flour
semolina mix into the creamed fat and sugar. It will form a very soft dough.
Bring it together with your hands and gently form into a patty about an inch
thick.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 mins.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface to approx. 1
cm thick. Cut out biscuits in whatever shape you want and gently place them on
a baking tray (either well-greased and floured/covered with non-stick baking
paper/or a silicone baking liner so they don’t stick when baked). Bring
together any leftover dough and roll out and cut again until it is all used. Be
careful as the dough is still very soft and it’s easy to make the biscuits
misshapen. I use a palette knife to gently lift them.
Bake for approx. 15 mins until very lightly
coloured and firm to a light touch. They hardly spread but if you’re cutting
complicated shapes and want to make sure the biscuits really don’t spread then
they can be refrigerated again for approx. 30 mins before baking.
Gently place on cooling rack until cold, then eat
as is or decorate as desired.
Enjoy!
Some suggested flavour additions
‘Chocolate chip’ - stir in a handful (approx. 30g)
of dairy free chocolate chips or carob chips to the flour/semolina mix before
adding it to the Flora and sugar mix.
‘Cranberry and orange’ – stir in a handful of dried
cranberries (approx. 30g) and the fine zest of one medium orange to the
flour/semolina mix.
‘Fruit and nut’ – stir in a handful of dried
raisins/sultanas and chopped nut of choice (approx. 30g in total)
‘Lemon’ – stir in the fine zest of one or two
lemons (to taste) to the flour/semolina mix
