Peanut Butter Shortbread (aka fusion baking at its best..)

I had a peanut butter craving this afternoon, and thought about making some of those chocolate/peanut butter ball things; they're a bit gloopy for me, so I had a brainwave - shortbread with peanut butter. As I doctor most recipes that I follow, usually successfully (except for the recent blueberry macarons...) I guessed at these quantities and they were perfect. Crisp and buttery with no gloopiness. And passed the Fudgelet test!

***  (Easy)

You need...

200 g plain flour
50 g rice flour or fine maize meal (or more plain flour if you don't have)
175 g sugar
150 g butter
several large tablespoon scoops of crunchy peanut butter

Do this...

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. When it comes together, transfer to a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball and roll to about 1.5 cm deep. Press out biscuit-sized shapes with a pastry cutter and put on a baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 170C. When firm and golden, cool on a wire tray.

Butterflies and fairies...

Cakes!

You need...

• 125 g sugar - unrefined granulated (better taste, more goodness left in)
• 125 g butter or your usual butter substitute, at room temperature (no hydrogenated fat)
• 2 large eggs - (preferably free range from a local source)
• 125 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• few tablespoons hot water

Do this...


Put everything in a bowl or mixer, roughly chopping the butter if it's still a little hard, and mix fairly gently until it is all blended. Spoon the mix into cake cases in a bun tin, half-filling them, and then bake in the oven at 180C until golden and firmish on top. Cool.