Mincemeat Shortbread

We had our Christmas party at work last week and I did a little baking. As I had some of my homemade mincemeat left (see previous post) I decided to do something a little different to mince pies. This mincemeat shortbread is really easy to do, delicious and can be made just as well with shop bought mincemeat. I'll put up the recipe for my other bit of party baking - White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies - next week :)


Mincemeat Shortbread


Ingredients:
4 oz Butter, softened
2 oz Golden Caster sugar
6 oz Plain flour
4 tbsp Mincemeat

Method:
1. Grease a 7" round sandwich tin with butter. Preheat the oven to 170 C or Gas 3.

2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream together.

3. Beat in the flour and mincemeat. The mixture should come together into a large, soft ball if you work it with your hands gently. If not, add a splash of milk or a little more mincemeat to moisten it.

4. Press the mixture into the prepared sandwich tin, flattening it out with your fingers.

5. Mark around the edge with a fork, score 8 - 10 slices into the surface and prick the dough all over with a fork (see picture).

6. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes until nicely browned.

7. Take tin from the oven. The cooked biscuits will still be quite soft. Use this opportunity to cut along the scored slice lines with a sharp knife. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes longer and then turn the biscuits on to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.