LULLY LEMON AND GINGER SHORTBREAD

I was feeling a little under the weather for most of the last week and so on the weekend I decided that I wanted to make something that was super quick and simple to prepare using lemon and ginger, two ingredients that always make me feel a little better when I'm run down. Shortbread was the answer to my prayers, a simple bake that only uses a few ingredients but the result is a deliciously buttery biscuit that is the perfect accompaniment to your medicinal pot of piping hot tea.

Not really much you can do with the recipe other than to say that you just want to make a traditional shortbread then you can leave out the lemon and ginger. Simples! Feel free to mix everything together with a wooden spoon in a bowl if you don't have a food processor but I find that using a food processor makes the shortbread even more crumbly and delicious! Recipe below will make around 12 pieces depending on how big you want to cut your wedges;

Lemon And Ginger Shortbread

150g Slightly Softened Butter

75g Golden Caster Sugar

Zest Of 1 Large Lemon

12 Pieces Of Crystallized Ginger

260g Plain Flour

1. Begin by turning your oven up to 150 degrees (130 fan) and greasing a 22cm round loose bottomed tart tin.
2. Place the butter into a food processor and blitz  for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl if the butter sticks to the sides.
3. Add in the sugar, lemon zest and ginger and continue to blitz until the pieces of ginger have broken down and everything is well combined.
4. Tip the contents of the food processor into a bowl along with the flour and stir everything together until the mixture comes together.
5. Tip the mixture into the tart tin and press the mixture into all parts of the tin so that it forms an even layer covering the whole base. 
6. Prick the mixture all over with a fork and place in the oven to bake for 40 minutes until slightly golden in color.

Remove the tin from the oven and then leave to cool completely whilst the shortbread continues to firm up slightly. Push the shortbread out of the tin leaving it sat on the base and then cut the shortbread into 12 delicious triangles. All our need now is a big pot of tea to serve alongside your shortbread and you are good to go. This shortbread is classically crumbly and buttery with that added little burst of flavor of the sharp lemon and ginger making an appearance on your taste buds right at the last minute to really make you stand up and listen. Who knew you could bake something so lully with so little?