Ginger & Lemon Shortbread

Shortbread is an ideal foodie gift to give at Christmas as it has a pretty good shelf life if stored correctly, that's if it lasts that long! Whilst I appreciate shortbread in all it's traditional wonderfulness, I couldn't help but want to add a hint of flavour and texture to this wonderful treat. I experimented with a few recipes and my final version was really a culmination of everything I tried with my own twist using lemon & stem ginger.

This shortbread will go to a fellow food blogger at Vanessa Kimbells Food Blogger Gift Exchange tomorrow at Fortnum & Mason. I hope whoever gets it will like it!  I am very excited to be taking part and meeting other foodie fanatics like me!

Ingredients:

• 115g soft unsalted butter
• 50g caster sugar plus more for sprinkling
• 175g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 75g stem ginger, finely chopped

You will need a 20cm round tin, preferably loose bottomed. Lightly grease with butter

Method:

• Pre-heat your oven to 170c or 160c fan
• Beat together the butter and sugar
• Lightly stir in the flour and salt and start working it to form a dough like mixture. Be careful not to overwork the mix as the butter may get too greasy.
• Add the finely grated lemon zest (I use a microplane for this, but any fine grater will do) and the sticky sweet stem ginger. Give it a rough mix with your hands
• Tip the mix into the tin pressing with your fingertips to even it out.
• Using a fork, crimp the edges all the way round and then make several pricks all over. I like to score the mix into 8 wedges before it's cooked.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes till lightly golden
• Remove from oven and cut into 8 wedges.
• Sprinkle over a tbsp or so of caster sugar
• Allow to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and then remove from the tin and allow to cool completely
• Store in a airtight container or tin. It will keep nicely for a good week