Shortbread is one of those things which I’ve always bought but never considered making myself. I’m still not quite sure what drove me to attempt it, but the results were pretty damn good. Not perhaps as good as Walkers Shortbread, but much more fun to make them yourself than to buy a box at the supermarket.

After thirty minutes of wrestling with my KitchenAid (involving a stuck paddle, a husband, hammer, screwdriver and vegetable oil), I was able to start work on the dough. Make sure you prepare your tins in advance, as this really does come together very quickly and you don’t want to overwork the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl whilst mixing so that everything is mixed evenly. Only mix until the last traces of flour disappear. You’ll be pressing the dough down into the tins, and too much handling will toughen the shortbread.

You really do need to take the shortbread out of the tins at the specified time. I went out, left the shortbread in the tins to cool completely, and found that it went a bit chewy in places. I think it would have stayed crumbly if I had followed the instructions properly.

Still, despite my playing fast and loose with the Rules of Shortbread, it was really, really good. Very buttery, slightly crumbly, with a nice subtle almond flavour. The chocolate dipped and drizzled on top makes it really luxurious. An alternative topping could be some flaked almonds pressed in lightly before baking with some granulated sugar scattered over as soon as the shortbread comes out of the oven.

Chocolate-dipped Almond Shortbread

110g ground almonds
160g light brown Muscuvado sugar
280g plain flour
25g cornflour (cornstarch)
225g salted butter, at room temperature (or unsalted butter, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g milk chocolate (or if you prefer, use dark chocolate)

Two 9″ tart pans or two 8″ sandwich tins.

Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.

Cream butter until soft and fluffy. Add sugar, continue creaming until sugar is incorporated and the mixture is once again fluffy. Add the extracts and beat until blended in.

Sift together the flour and cornflour. Stir in the almonds. Add this to the creamed mixture and continue beating (if using a stand mixer) until incorporated and all the flour is moistened.

Divide the dough equally between the rwo tins. Press down evenly and prick each randomly, about 15 times. Score each round into 16 triangles.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until deep golden brown. Cool on a rack for five minutes, then turn out onto a cutting board. Cut along score lines and cool the pieces fully on the rack.

Chop the chocolate finely and melt it. Either dip the wedges into the chocolate or drizzle it decoratively over the shortbread.

Makes 32 pieces.