Our last recipe, the Nougat de Tours, left us with some spare sweet pastry dough. Given that this often happens when making pastry, we thought we'd show you how to transform it quickly and easily into Shortbread Spirals. Popular with adults and children alike, you're not likely to have to worry about even putting them away, let alone them going off.
The only additional ingredients you'll need are: a couple of tablespoons of cocoa, a sprinkling of castor sugar, and an egg white (or water if you've run out).
The only additional ingredients you'll need are: a couple of tablespoons of cocoa, a sprinkling of castor sugar, and an egg white (or water if you've run out).
Take your leftover dough and split it in half. Flatten one of them a little, add one to two tablespoons of cocoa, fold your dough over it to keep the cocoa from going everywhere, and knead it in. This is something you can even let children do. It's just like play dough, except tastier!
Roll out both halves so that they're roughly the same size. Brush the plain pastry with egg white (or water) and place the chocolate one on top. Smooth it out so there are no air bubbles. Brush the top again with egg white. (This is so your spiral sticks together.)
Lift the pastry and create a rounded edge to begin your spiral.
Then roll the pastry together, taking care to eliminate air bubbles as best you can. It's no big deal if you don't get rid of them all - we had a few! - as long as you don't mind a few small holes here and there in your spirals. In other words, try, but don't stress over it. They'll still taste good!
If your roll threatens to fall apart or lose its shape, unroll and brush again with egg white.
If your roll threatens to fall apart or lose its shape, unroll and brush again with egg white.
Run your hand over the roll and feel for bumps (air bubbles). See if you can gently squeeze them out. Then coat your spiral roll in castor sugar.
Cut off the ends as cook's privileges and reserve on the baking tray for "testing".
Cut your spiral roll into slices no thicker than one centimetre....
...then arrange them on a lined baking tray with at least an inch between them. Bake in a 180-200 degree oven for approximately ten minutes. (The plain pastry should give just a hint of turning golden brown.)
Serve as is, or half dip in melted chocolate for a special treat.
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