Step 1

Whip butter and sugar - Add your softened butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and orange zest (optional) to a medium sized mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to cream the ingredients together until pale and fluffy, about 60 seconds or until it’s all lightly creamed together. We’re not trying to whip air into the butter.

Step 2

Add flour to form dough - Add half the flour and use a spatula to mix until a dough forms and no dry ingredients are showing. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and repeat. You want to make sure the dough is mixed really well and that there are no dry ingredients showing. Try not to overmix though otherwise you’ll end up with tough cookies without a delicate crumbly and tender texture.

Step 3

Preheat at a fan-forced oven to 130C / 265F (150C / 300F for no fan).

Step 4

Preparing the baking tin - Spray the sides and bottom of a 22cm x 31cm / 9 x 13-inch baking tin with oil spray and line with baking paper, leaving some overhang for ease of lifting out later.

Step 5

Forming the biscuits - Pour the biscuit dough into the tin and use your hands to press as flat as you can. You can even use the bottom of a flat cup or measuring cup to get it perfectly flat for uniform looking biscuits. Be gentle and mindful not to press down too hard otherwise the cookies will be dense.

Step 6

Baking - Bake for 15 minutes, take out of the oven and use a large knife to cut into 8 x 3 bars. Then use a fork to dock each bar 3 times. Place back into the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Step 7

Cooling - Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before gently run in the knife back over where you cut the bars. Take apart and serve.

Step 8

Prepare baking trays - Line two half-sheet baking trays with baking paper.

Step 9

Forming the dough log - Pour the biscuit dough onto your workbench and bunch together forming a rough log shape. Transfer to a large piece of baking paper and begin shaping it. I used a bench scraper to form my dough into a neater rectangle shape that is about 20cm in length, 6cm in height and about 3-4cm in width. Get the sides as evenly flat as you can. Lightly wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Step 10

Preheat at a fan-forced oven to 130C / 265F (150C / 300F for no fan).

Step 11

Cutting the biscuits - Take the dough log out of the fridge and unwrap. Allow to sit for 5 minutes at room temperature to soften slightly. Use a sharp knife to slowly cut into 1cm wide biscuits. Place on the baking tray, spacing about 2cm apart to allow them to spread slightly. I used the flat end of a skewer to indent holes into my cookies which is purely for decoration.

Step 12

Baking - Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely.

Step 13

Rolling out the dough - Form the dough into two flat oval shapes using your hands. Place one dough disc on top of a large piece of baking paper and place another large piece of baking paper on top. Roll out to about 1/2cm / 0.20-inch in thickness. Repeat with the other dough disc.

Step 14

Chill the dough - place the rolled dough onto a large baking tray and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Step 15

Preheat at a fan-forced oven to 130C / 265F (150C / 300F for no fan).

Step 16

Cutting out the biscuits - use any cookie cutter shapes you like to cut out your cookies.

Step 17

Baking - Place on the baking tray, spacing about 2cm apart to allow them to spread slightly. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden.

Step 18

To prepare the chocolate coating - Add the chocolate and oil into a heat proof bowl and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted. Alternatively, you can bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer and place the bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water and stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly before using.

Step 19

Coat in chocolate (optional) - I like to dip some of my shortbread into melted chocolate allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Place them on a baking tray to set before serving.