Entries Tagged as 'shortbread'

Martha Stewart’s Dried Cranberry Shortbread Hearts

March 12th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Dried Cranberry Shortbread Hearts

For my dad’s birthday I baked 4 different kinds of cookies. Dried Cranberry Shortbread Hearts were one of them. I got this recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookies. Since my dad’s birthday party was on February 14th, I wanted to make a heart-shaped cookie and thought this would do the trick.

The twist with the cranberry shortbread recipe is that you press the dough into a pan and cut the cookies out after baking. I found this to be wasteful. There a lot of cooked dough that is not used. Sure, we ate random pieces at home, but I thought it’d be better if you could get more heart-shaped cookies out of the dough. Also, I think the dough should be pressed into a larger pan to make a thinner cookie. These cookies were so thick, it made a kind of big cookie. And they were a bit dry. Not bad, I can see how some people would love these cookies, but they were not my favorite.
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Dried Cranberry Shortbread Hearts
This simple shortbread recipe is patted firmly into a baking pan; shapes are cut with a cookie cutter. For variation, other dried fruits or mini chocolate chips can be substituted for the cranberries. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen 1 3/4-inch hearts.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries or cherries

Heat oven to 325 degrees with a rack in center. Put butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined but not too creamy. Stir in dried cranberries.

Pat dough evenly into an 8-inch-square baking pan. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool on cooling rack, about 20 minutes.

Run knife around edges, remove shortbread, and transfer, right side up, to work surface. Cut out hearts with a 2-inch heart-shape cookie cutter. Trim any stray bits of cranberry from edges with a paring knife.

Cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

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Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts

February 8th, 2008 · No Comments

This post originally appeared on Chicagoist.

If your Valentine has a sweet tooth and you’re looking for something special to make for him or her on the big day, this chocolate-dipped shortbread may be just the thing. These cookies only have six ingredients, all of which we had in our kitchen already. Score! Love it when that happens.

Traditionalists will want to leave the chocolate plain, but if your Valentine is a nut-lover, sprinkle some chopped nuts on before the chocolate dries. Or, to make these cookies fun for kids, or just fun in general, sprinkle on some multicolored non perils.

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts

If you use a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, this recipe should make a few dozen hearts. Our cutter was pretty huge, so we only had enough dough for a dozen cookies, but really, how many cookies does your Valentine need?

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until combined. On slow speed, beat in flour and salt. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill until firm, at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/16-to-1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts with a heart cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to an ungreased baking sheet; chill for 30 minutes. (We also used a silicone baking mat, but it’s not required if you don’t have one.)

Heat oven to 300 degrees with a rack in the center. Press the tines of a fork into each cookie to make designs. Bake until just beginning to brown around the edges, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies on a cooling rack. One tip we’ve learned is to put some waxed paper or parchment paper under the cooling racks so that you won’t have a mess of crumbs, or later on so the chocolate, nuts, or sprinkles don’t end up all over your counter.

In the top of a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Or use our microwave method: just heat the chocolate in a bowl for a minute and then stir and keep heating while stirring every 20 seconds until all of the chocolate is melted.

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts

Dip half or one third of each cookie into the chocolate mixture. If desired, sprinkle with nuts or non perils. Transfer cookies back to the cooling rack to dry.

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Hearts

Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days … you know, because you’ve got better things to do on Valentine’s Day night besides eat cookies (wink!).

Our recipe was adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe.

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Laura’s Cranberry Streusel Shortbread Bars

December 15th, 2007 · 9 Comments

Laura
Photo via Erin

Laura’s Cranberry Streusel Shortbread Bars won top honors at my cookie party. Lots of people emailed or commented to request the recipe. Sorry it took so long for me to provide it, I was in California on business for much of this past week.

For the crust & struesel

  • 10 1/2 oz. (1 cup plus 5 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 3/4 tsp. table salt
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 14 1/4 oz. (3 cups plus 3 Tbsp.) unbleached all-purpose flour

For the cranberry topping

  • 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over, rinsed, and drained
  • 1 cup granulated sugar

Make the crust: Line a straight-sided 13×9-inch metal baking pan with foil, letting the ends create an overhanging edge for easy removal. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a stiff dough. Transfer about 2 cups of the dough to the prepared pan, and press the mixture evenly into the bottom. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes (or freeze for 5 to 7 minutes), until dough is firm.

Meanwhile, position a rack near the center of the oven and another near the top. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Bake the dough until the crust begins to set but does not brown at all on the edges (the center will not be firm yet), about 20 minutes. While the crust bakes, prepare the streusel and the topping.

Make the streusel: With your fingers, combine the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar with the reserved dough until crumbly. The mixture should hold together when pressed, but readily break into smaller pieces.

Make the cranberry topping: In a medium saucepan, bring the cranberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool 5 to 10 minutes — the syrup will continue to thicken as the mixture cools.

Make the bars: Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the hot crust. Scatter the streusel over the cranberries (don’t crumble the streusel too much or the texture will be sandy). Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the bars near the top of the oven until the streusel is golden and set, about 25 minutes. (Baking these bars at the top of the oven helps the streusel brown faster without overbrowning the crust.)

Place the pan on a metal rack to cool until the crust is completely firm, at least 1 hour. (For faster cooling, put the bars in the fridge once the pan is no longer piping hot, or even outside in the winter.)

When the bottom of the pan is cool, carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil sides and transfer them to a cutting board. Separate the foil from the bars by sliding a spatula between them. Cut the bars into 1 3/4-inch squares. They will keep at room temperature for 1 week.

Makes about 35 bars.

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