Turkish Shortbread Cookies

As we were lazing on the couch tossing ideas for my blog one afternoon, hubby says to me "It is the International Shortbread Week" next week so you should make some to celebrate it.

There is no such week, of course, but I googled it just to be sure regardless. Recognising my lovely better half's communication patterns by now, this meant he wanted me to make some and he rarely gives me a wishlist so the "International Shortbread Week" it is.

Here is the thing, I have been diagnosed with lactose intolerance three years ago and had to give up one of the few pleasures I have in life since. Butter!

So you can imagine my agony watching Merly Streep slurp away the fish cooked in "beurre blanc" in the movie "Julie&Julia" and my despair every time I pass by an Italian gelateria or see "homemade" shortbread cookies in the local patisserie.

But there is always hope. Thanks to my lovely friend Evy who has introduced me to the dairy free margarine Nuttelex, although I still cannot eat ice cream (let's face it, lactose free and soy alternatives do not taste anything like the real thing and sorbet is not ice cream!), I can now bake my cookies and eat them too.

I find our version of the shortbread cookies (un kurabiyesi) is not as buttery as the Australian version. It might be just my imagination or simply the amount of flour used in the Turkish version. But it is a fact that the direct translation of "un kurabiyesi" is flour cookies, in honour of the main ingredient, so it might as well be a bit of both. The Greek have a similar recipe they call "kourambiethes" which has a slightly nuttier taste as they mix crushed almonds in the dough.  

Un kurabiyesi is an all time favourite of mine. Not much else can give me the simple joy of biting into a warm homemade cookie as it crumbles into a sweet powdery dust in your mouth.

This was the only cookie I ever craved for growing up and my mum rarely made it for me because it was not a very healthy option for my waistline. 

I remember trying to make the dough myself once when I was about 13. I ended up with crumbles of dough as I did not wait for the butter to soften and ate half of the mixture without even cooking it. I ended up with not a very happy tummy but what can I say, I was really desperate. 

Luckily, I have learned over the years that some things are worth waiting for and if you put the effort in, there is nothing more delicious than reaping up the rewards.

So I wish you all a "Happy International Shortbread Week!" 

Un Kurabiyesi

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour
1 cup of icing sugar
250gr of margarine or butter (at room temperature)
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 cup of icing sugar (for dusting)

Here is how:

Preheat the fan forced oven to 160 degrees (Add 10-20 degrees if you have a gas or no-fan oven) and line a shallow baking tray with greased baking paper.

Put the margarine in a bowl and sift 1 cup of the icing sugar on top. Combine the icing sugar with the margarine until it forms into a creamy batter.

Sift the flour into the mixture and add the vanilla extract (if using.) Slowly knead the mixture into a soft and sticky dough.

Take walnut size pieces from the dough and roll them into small rounds with your hands. Slightly flatten them by pressing between your hands and place them side by side on the baking tray. (Since there is no baking powder in the dough, the cookies will not rise or enlarge but it is best to leave 1-2 cm gap in between.)

Put the tray in the oven and cook for about 25-30 minutes or until the cookies are cooked thorough but not browned.

Take them out of the oven and wait for them to cool slightly.

Dust the cookies with 1/2 cup of icing sugar by using a small strainer and serve.

Afiyet Olsun!