Ginger shortbread

Ingredients
150g unsalted butter, softened
150g plain flour
1 egg yolk
60g cornflour
75g icing sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt

Method
Chill your mixing or processor or electric mixer bowl for about 15 minutes as you measure out the ingredients. Sift the plain flour and cornflour together.

Cream the butter with the icing sugar using your desired (and cooled!) apparatus, which in layman's parlance means beating until pale, creamy and a little more voluminous. Mix in the sifted, gingered flours and the egg yolk. Beat until you get a peculiar substance with the appearance of soft marzipan. It will feel paste-like, too. Never you mind, just shape on a well-floured surface into three logs about an inch thick. Wrap tightly in clingfilm and chill overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Slice the logs into lozenges scarcely a centimetre wide, arrange on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. They will still be slightly soft and uncoloured. Convey to a wire rack, cool for 10 - 15 minutes before dredging - and I do mean dredging - in more icing sugar, sullied with ground cinnamon or not.

Makes 35 to 45.