EXTRA BUTTER DRAW RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the butter in a large bowl and soften with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and mix together. Be careful not to incorporate too much air or to overwork the mixture.
• Sift over the flour and semolina, then stir until well mixed. Knead briefly with your hands until smooth, then shape into a neat disc.
• Draw a 23cm circle on a sheet of baking paper. Roll out the dough to fit the circle, keeping the edge neat. Crimp the edge with your thumb, then, using a palette knife and ruler, mark 8 equal segments. Finally, use a fork to prick the dough – try to do this as neatly as possible, pressing the fork right through the dough (this will prevent it from rising).
• Chill for 20 minutes until firm. Preheat a flat baking sheet in the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3.
• Transfer the shortbread and its paper to the baking sheet and bake for 55 minutes until pale golden, being careful not to let it brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Loosen the base from the paper by running a palette knife underneath. Cool until crisp enough to move, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Put the butter in a bowl and beat it with electric beaters until soft and creamy. Beat in the sugar, then the egg and vanilla, and finally the flour to make a dough. If the dough feels a bit sticky, add a little bit more flour and knead it in.
• Pull pieces off the dough and roll them out to about the thickness of two £1 coins on a floured surface. The easiest way to do this with small children is to roll the mixture out on a baking mat. Cut out shapes using a 9cm biscuit cutter, or a use the rim of a small glass and peel away the leftover dough around the edges. Press some clean toys gently into the biscuits, making sure you make enough of a mark without going all the way through. Re-roll off-cuts and repeat.
• Transfer the whole mat or the individual biscuits to the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins or until the edges are just brown. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then serve. Will keep for three days in a biscuit tin.