Union Jack shortbread recipe
Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone mats (ideally, make sure these trays fit in your fridge or freezer).To make the shortbread, beat together the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl until smooth and combined. This can be done with an electric whisk or use a spatula to repeatedly press the butter and sugar together against the side of the bowl to combine. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste. Add the flour and use a spatula to mix into a smooth dough. You may find it easier just to use your hands after a while. Aim to minimise how much you handle the dough though – the less it is worked, the less the gluten develops which makes for a more melt-in-the-mouth final result.Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a very light dusting of flour and roll out until the dough is about the thickness of a pound coin (or a Euro!).Stamp out rectangle shapes with a 5.5x8.5cm/2¼x3½in cutter (or similar size) and transfer to the baking trays. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes.Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Bake for 12 minutes or until a pale golden colour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.To make the icing, add the egg white to a bowl and whisk with the icing sugar until smooth. To check for the right consistency, run a knife through the icing – it should take around 15–20 seconds to return to a smooth consistency. You may need a little more icing sugar or egg white to adjust the consistency slightly.Transfer a quarter of the icing to a separate bowl and stir through the red gel food colouring. Transfer another quarter of the icing to another bowl and stir through the blue gel food colouring. Leave the remaining main bowl of icing white.Put around a teaspoon of white icing into one piping bag and the remaining white icing into another piping bag (you may find it easier to split this larger amount between a couple of piping bags). Transfer the blue icing and red icing each to their own piping bags. Use scissors to cut a very small opening in the smaller piping bag of white icing and the two red and blue piping bags. Cut larger openings in the piping bag(s) with the larger amount of white icing (this is for ‘flooding’ or filling in within the border). With the smaller piping bag of white icing, pipe boarders all around the edges of the biscuits. Then, use the larger white piping bag to fill them in with white icing, making sure you get an even coating on each biscuit. Let that dry, then use the red and blue piping bags to draw the Union Jack flag – use our image above as a guide. Finally, decorate with your choice of edible sprinkles and/or glitter. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone mats (ideally, make sure these trays fit in your fridge or freezer). Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone mats (ideally, make sure these trays fit in your fridge or freezer). To make the shortbread, beat together the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl until smooth and combined. This can be done with an electric whisk or use a spatula to repeatedly press the butter and sugar together against the side of the bowl to combine. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste. To make the shortbread, beat together the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl until smooth and combined. This can be done with an electric whisk or use a spatula to repeatedly press the butter and sugar together against the side of the bowl to combine. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste. Add the flour and use a spatula to mix into a smooth dough. You may find it easier just to use your hands after a while. Aim to minimise how much you handle the dough though – the less it is worked, the less the gluten develops which makes for a more melt-in-the-mouth final result. Add the flour and use a spatula to mix into a smooth dough. You may find it easier just to use your hands after a while. Aim to minimise how much you handle the dough though – the less it is worked, the less the gluten develops which makes for a more melt-in-the-mouth final result. Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a very light dusting of flour and roll out until the dough is about the thickness of a pound coin (or a Euro!). Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a very light dusting of flour and roll out until the dough is about the thickness of a pound coin (or a Euro!). Stamp out rectangle shapes with a 5.5x8.5cm/2¼x3½in cutter (or similar size) and transfer to the baking trays. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes. Stamp out rectangle shapes with a 5.5x8.5cm/2¼x3½in cutter (or similar size) and transfer to the baking trays. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Bake for 12 minutes or until a pale golden colour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Bake for 12 minutes or until a pale golden colour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. To make the icing, add the egg white to a bowl and whisk with the icing sugar until smooth. To check for the right consistency, run a knife through the icing – it should take around 15–20 seconds to return to a smooth consistency. You may need a little more icing sugar or egg white to adjust the consistency slightly. To make the icing, add the egg white to a bowl and whisk with the icing sugar until smooth. To check for the right consistency, run a knife through the icing – it should take around 15–20 seconds to return to a smooth consistency. You may need a little more icing sugar or egg white to adjust the consistency slightly. Transfer a quarter of the icing to a separate bowl and stir through the red gel food colouring. Transfer another quarter of the icing to another bowl and stir through the blue gel food colouring. Leave the remaining main bowl of icing white. Transfer a quarter of the icing to a separate bowl and stir through the red gel food colouring. Transfer another quarter of the icing to another bowl and stir through the blue gel food colouring. Leave the remaining main bowl of icing white. Put around a teaspoon of white icing into one piping bag and the remaining white icing into another piping bag (you may find it easier to split this larger amount between a couple of piping bags). Put around a teaspoon of white icing into one piping bag and the remaining white icing into another piping bag (you may find it easier to split this larger amount between a couple of piping bags). Transfer the blue icing and red icing each to their own piping bags. Use scissors to cut a very small opening in the smaller piping bag of white icing and the two red and blue piping bags. Cut larger openings in the piping bag(s) with the larger amount of white icing (this is for ‘flooding’ or filling in within the border). Transfer the blue icing and red icing each to their own piping bags. Use scissors to cut a very small opening in the smaller piping bag of white icing and the two red and blue piping bags. Cut larger openings in the piping bag(s) with the larger amount of white icing (this is for ‘flooding’ or filling in within the border). With the smaller piping bag of white icing, pipe boarders all around the edges of the biscuits. Then, use the larger white piping bag to fill them in with white icing, making sure you get an even coating on each biscuit. Let that dry, then use the red and blue piping bags to draw the Union Jack flag – use our image above as a guide. With the smaller piping bag of white icing, pipe boarders all around the edges of the biscuits. Then, use the larger white piping bag to fill them in with white icing, making sure you get an even coating on each biscuit. Let that dry, then use the red and blue piping bags to draw the Union Jack flag – use our image above as a guide. Finally, decorate with your choice of edible sprinkles and/or glitter. Finally, decorate with your choice of edible sprinkles and/or glitter.