Ingredients
2 1/2 cup flour, all purpose
1 lb butter, soft
1 cup fruit sugar
1 cup sifted rice flour
1/2 lb belgian chocolate
Directions
Spread the all-purpose flour on a cookie sheet and place under a
pre-heated broiler about 4-5 inches from the element. Roast the
flour, watching it all the time until it is medium brown. Turn the
flour with a spatula to brown the other side. The entire procedure
takes about three minutes and gives the flour a rich nutty flavour.
Let the flour cool.
Mix the soft butter with the fruit sugar and add the sifted rice
flour. Fold in the roasted flour and blend well. Chop the chocolate
into chunks just a little smaller than a sugar cube. Mix them into
the dough, taking care you don't soften the chocolate too much. Shape
as desired. Bake at 300F for 1 hour. Cool, then store in an airtight
container. Yield depends upon size and shape.
Servings: 48 servings
Phipps Famous Shortbread Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
We are able to read the history of written recipes far back into history, certainly as far into history as the ancient Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that is, generally, these old cookbooks were just very simple hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the oldest recipe discovered, according to academics is a series of ancient tablets in Sumerian which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. As we move on, we find a couple of interesting recipe books which date from the fourteenth century ; a cookery book called `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these two books are unconnected to the indian food that we all know today, but rather accounts of the types of food on the menues of the rich and wealthy people of that time. Later, in the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought back many spices and herbs from the holy land, including spices like basil and coriander. The introduction of these new culinary ideas led to a torrent in recipe publications, most of which still exist in private libraries. During the next few centuries, the powerful and wealthy competed with each other to lay on the most exotic meals, and consequentially the best chefs and their recipe collections were at a premium. However, it was during the nineteenth century that haute cuisine and recipe books really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to assembling, verifying, and publishing recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the advent of the 20th century, cook books were in high demand, mostly due to better eduction, people having increased leisure time and having more disposable income. The revolution that is television gave us cooking programs and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to search through thousands of recipes just like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Phipps Famous Shortbread recipe.
