Shortbread

Source: The New Best Recipes

Ingredients

1¾ cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
¼ cup Rice Flour
⅔ cups Superfine Sugar
¼ teaspoon Salt
16 Cold Unsalted Butter

Method

Heat oven to 425°F. Line an ungreased 9-inch round cake pan with a round piece of parchment paper and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set both aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flours, all but 1 tbsp of the sugar (reserve for sprinkling), and the salt at low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes and toss with ¼ cup of the flour mixture in a small bowl. Add the butter and any flour remaining to the flour mixture in the mixer bowl. Mix at low speed until the dough is pale yellow and resembles damp crumbs, about 4 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and toss the mixture lightly with your fingers to fluff it; rub any remaining butter bits into the flour mixture with your fingertips. Turn half the crumbs into a 9″ cake pan and even lightly with your fingers. Press heavily with a second cake pan. (I think you need a sheet of waxed paper between the dough and the top pan).
Add the remaining crumbs and press as before. Working quickly, smooth the top of the dough with the back of a spoon. Insert a paring knife between the dough and the pan. Leaving the knife stationary, rotate the pan counterclockwise to free the edges of the dough.
Unmold the dough onto a rimless or inverted baking sheet lined with parchment. Peel the parchment round from the dough; smooth the edges if necessary.
Place a 2-inch plain, round biscuit cutter in the center of the dough and cut out the center. Place the extruded round to the side, then return the biscuit cutter to the center of the dough.
Place the shortbread in the oven; immediately reduce the temperature to 300°F. After baking for 20 minutes, score the top of the shortbread into 16 even wedges with a thin knife, then pierce a design with a skewer.
Return shortbread to oven and continue to bake until pale golden, about 40 minutes longer. Slide parchment with the shortbread onto a cutting board, remove the biscuit cutter from the center, sprinkle the shortbread evenly with the reserved 1 tbsp sugar, and cut at the scored marks into wedges.
Slide the parchment with the shortbread onto a wire rack and cool to room temperature, at least 3 hours. (The shortbread can be wrapped well and stored at room temperature for up to 7 days.)

Notes

If you don’t have superfine sugar, you can put regular in a food processor for about 30 seconds.