Last week Apple announced at the second season of Ted Lasso at its ‘Spring Loaded’ event. But perhaps more importantly, part of Ted’s famous shortbread recipe was revealed.
Ted Lasso was the surprise hit of 2020. Funny and warm, it has won over a huge audience, including those of us who aren’t particularly fond of sports.
But there has been a mystery throughout the series. And no it’s not that Rebecca is played by Hannah Waddingham aka the Shame Nun from Game of Thrones.
No, the true mystery as been the recipe behind Ted’s shortbread biscuits, which he uses to melt the cold dead heart of Rebecca.
But it seems part of this recipe was revealed during Spring Loaded. Quite literally.
iOS developer David Smith spotted this Easter egg during the event. He got a screen grab of part of the recipe, which was strategically cut off at the bottom.
Smith said in a blog post that he managed to decipher the cropped line:
“Looking closely at the fractional letters visible I’m pretty confident that this first line reads:
1 1/2 cups / 340 grams cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces plus more for greasing pan.”
But while shortbread is indeed made with an offensively delicious amount of butter, this does not equate to the whole recipe.
But Smith is quite sure he has worked the rest out.
Some Google sleuthing led Smith to a New York Times recipe for Bittersweet Brownie Shortbread by Melissa Clark.
“Searching for this exact string then leads you to this recipe,” Smith said in his post.
He also confirmed this was the only place he could find this exact part of the recipe partially revealed by Apple.
How to make Ted Lasso’s Shortbread
If this truly is the inspiration for Ted’s recipe, you’ll only need part of it if you want to make it at home.
This is the ingredients list detail by Melissa Clark in her New York Times recipe:
- 1 ½ cups/340 grams cold unsalted butter (3 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for greasing the pan
- 3 cups/385 grams all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
And here’s the method:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees (note: that’s 176 degrees celsius for us Australians). Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and line with parchment paper so that there is a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides.
- Prepare the shortbread: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Beat in butter on low speed until dough just comes together but is still a little crumbly. (Or pulse together ingredients in a food processor.)
- Press dough into prepared pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven.
From there Clark goes onto describe how to make the brownie, which sounds equally delicious. But if you just want the shortbread you should let it cool, pack it into a cute box and give it to someone you’re trying to win over.
Disclosure: the author owns shares in Apple.