Walnut Shortbread Recipe
Summary: A quick and easy dessert or breakfast treat.
Ingredients
- 1 stick of butter, softened 1/3 cup powdered sugar, unsifted 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup all purpose flour, unsifted 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped I toast the walnuts in the oven as it preheats for 10 minutes before chopping in a nut grinder on the coarse setting.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a shortbread mold or pan. With a wooden spoon, cream the butter and powdered sugar together in a medium size bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat into the mixture. Add the flour, a 1/3 of a cup at a time, beating into the mixture thoroughly. Press the dough into the prepared pan. When using a mold with designs it is important to press the dough into the mold to get the best impression in the finished shortbread. Press the chopped walnuts into the dough gently to cover the surface. With a fork, pierce the shortbread at regular intervals all over the surface. This will disturb the walnuts, but they can be gently pressed down after piercing the shortbread. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven. Let cool 10 minutes before turning out onto a board. Cut the sections or pieces while the shortbread is still very warm. Best served the same day as baked. I prefer when they have cooled to enhance the light, crisp shortbread qualities. Perfect with tea, chai, or a glass of cold milk. Any time of day, shortbread is a great treat.
My rating: stars
I love to make French bread. I’ve been working on it for over 10 years. My love for this basic but versatile bread ignited when I was fortunate enough to spend a couple of weeks in Paris. A baguette was a daily purchase and devoured with runny, stinky cheeses with a glass of wine or two. My go-to recipe is from Baking with Julia written by Dorie Greenspan. The book is based on the PBS series hosted by Julia Child. I’ve altered the techniques and personalized the process. I’m not as violent with the shaping of the dough as Julia. I’ve tried it her way, but yeast is a living form and deserves respect rather than a spanking for rising to the job at hand…so to speak. The most difficult step in the process for me was learning to cut the mandated slashes down the baguette. Like most lessons in life, the answer took practice, patience and perseverance. I’ve burned out more than one KitchenAid mixer that were supposed to knead bread. Don’t waste your time or money…not happy. I’ve tried different salts. I’ve tried different flours. I’ve tried different yeasts. I’ve tried filtered and unfiltered waters. My hard learned method starts with my Zojirushi bread machine and my kitchen scale. Tare the scale with the empty dough bucket, weigh out the water and flour, add the salt and yeast. Start the dough setting. Humidity rules the day…you may need to add a bit more flour. Take it from there. Want to get started? My favorite resource is King Arthur Flour. Find them at ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=bb4e86b8-cbaa-4086-bcfa-2c21d2893be0)
