Some time ago, a dear demi-French colleague of mine who was visiting his grandmother brought us some delicious Breton shortbread biscuits (maybe they were even Breton galettes… I don’t know) … well, very good, very buttery and very beautiful.
So the idea of remaking such a good and different shortbread had been going around in my head for a long time. And I searched for many many recipes in search of one that could recreate that flavor (I should write a request for help to the Brussels sprout to figure it out) and in the end I came across a classic. And like all classics, it is very good, sure to be a success and… simple. A classic by Maurizio Santin that I am proposing again for you to make at home. Here is the recipe for Breton shortbread biscuits, the ones with the hard-boiled yolk, very good to eat plain or covered in chocolate.
I will give you the original recipe, but I made half of it so as not to be invaded by biscuits in the middle of summer. So do your math!
Ingredients:
- 465 gr of soft butter
- 150 gr of icing sugar
- 2 gr of fleur de sel or Maldon salt
- 1 hard-boiled egg yolk
- 425 gr of flour
- 85 gr of starch
Slowly knead by hand (or in a food processor using the special hook) the sugar, butter, egg and half of the flour.
When the dough begins to be smooth, add the remaining flour.
Let it rest for 1 day in the refrigerator before using.
Form rolls of the preferred diameter (about 4-5 cm). Prepare some sheets of transparent film on the work surface and sprinkle them with plenty of brown sugar, or granulated sugar and roll the dough so that it adheres well on all sides.
At this point, wrap the rolls of dough in cling film and put them in the fridge for a couple of hours. Once cooled, cut biscuits of 1-1.5 cm wide with a knife.
Bake on a baking tray lined with baking paper at 170° until golden brown. I made them both plain with brown sugar and with chocolate chips and granulated sugar.
They are really good and have an ancient flavor… and familiar!
p.s.: I still have to try and cover half of it in chocolate. It will be for autumn, for the next Breton shortcrust pastry:-)
