Ted Lasso's Shortbread Biscuits

 

The Engineer and I started watching Ted Lasso last spring, so of course I developed a fixation on the biscuits (shortbread, really) that Ted makes for his new boss. When having dinner with our friends Rob and Jen, I mused out loud that the recipe must be somewhere online, if I just bothered to look for it. And Jen sent me a link to this shortbread bakeoff, which led me to the official Apple TV+ recipe – and you can even get the cute pink boxes on Amazon! 

Since there are so few ingredients, this is the time to splurge on fancy European butter (just check that the nutrition label says 0g sugar, to make sure it’s lactose-free); I used Plugrà. These shortbread biscuits are superb – I can see why the boss was won over! I don’t think I’ll bother making any other kind now. 

2 sticks (8 oz.) lactose-free butter, plus more for the pan 

¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

¼ tsp. coarse salt 

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer). Let sit at room temperature until softened. Coat an 8- or 9-inch square metal baking pan with more butter (I had an 8-inch pyrex dish). 

Beat the butter on high speed with the paddle attachment until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. With the mixer running, gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until pale and fluffy. 

Stop the mixer. Sift the flour into the bowl, then add the salt. Mix on low speed until just combined. Transfer to the prepared pan and pat to an even thickness no more than ½” thick. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 °F. 

Slice the dough into rectangles or squares in the pan (I also made little indentations with the tip of a cake pop stick). Bake until golden-brown and the middle is firm, 45 to 60 minutes (you will need less time if you are using a bigger pan, since the biscuits won’t be as thick). Let cool completely. 

Re-slice, if needed, before serving.