52 cookies :: week 5 :: twice baked shortbread

someone leaked that I was looking at "healthy" cookies for this week. it was not well received around the dinner table. so I'm banking that idea. and going with another...

I love shortbread. especially with a cup of tea. it was a go-to for me during university - and the whipped variety a mainstay of my childhood. in an effort to try some new recipes, I had marked this one from Smitten Kitchen a long while back and decided to pull it out this week. (my friend J sent me a really wonderful lemon shortbread recipe recently - that is on deck - but I decided to try a simpler one first.)



Twice-Baked Shortbread
Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and still warm
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or the scrapings from half a vanilla bean
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
sugar for sprinkling

Grease a pan with a removable bottom - such as a 9" springform pan.

In a mixer with paddle attachment, mix the melted butter with the sugar, vanilla of choice, and salt. Add the flour and beat until just mixed. Pat and spread the dough evenly in the pan. Let rest overnight (no need to refrigerate).

The next morning, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Bake the shortbread for 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, leaving the oven on. Lightly sprinkle the surface of the shortbread with sugar. Let the shortbread cool for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the shortbread from the pan. Use a thin sharp knife to cut it into wedges. Place the pieces slightly apart on a silpat-lined baking sheet and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack.

K: I LIKE THE WHOLE THING!!!! IT WAS GOOD & A LITTLE SWEET!!!!

E: First of all they were kinda 2 salty 4 me, 2nd of all make a bigger batch. (u only made 12!!!!) but overall they were delicious!!!!!!!!!

D: Yu-um. I love shortbread. Dense yet soft and just a bit flaky. My review is starting to sound autobiographical. You'll probably laugh when I say that I wish it was a bit more crusty.



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ahhhh!  E's sensitive palate picked up that I accidentally added 1/2 tsp salt instead of a 1/4 tsp.  (given I rarely add salt to anything - they are both quite sensitive to it.)

yes - I like it a little crusty too sweetheart. I'm blaming it on our oven. which has not been heating up effectively - nor seemingly hitting the right temperature accurately. time for a tune-up.