Browned Butter Shortbread Food

BROWN BUTTER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C and get a 9"X13" pan out- no need to grease it.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a regular medium-sized bowl add the flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Mix on low/medium speed until the butter is mixed in and pea-size pieces of butter are left OR mix by using your hands to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. If you grab a handful of the dough you should be able to squeeze it in your hand into one piece.
• Transfer the dough to the pan and press down evenly. Use a rolling pin or glass to roll the shortbread dough to ensure it's tightly in the pan. Using a butter knife score the shortbread, basically marking the shortbread - you are not cutting all the way through, into whichever size pieces you want. Scoring up, down, and across. Prick all over with a fork. If your fork sticks and pulls some of the shortbread up then gently use your clean finger next to the fork as you press down to kind of hold the shortbread in place.
• Bake for approximately 18-25 minutes, or until golden brown on edges. Once baked cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle sugar on top and shake pan side to side to distribute evenly. Cut on the previously scored marks and store them in an airtight container. Last for up to a week.

SALTED BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as needed. Add flour and mix just until combined. Add chocolate chunks and mix just until incorporated. (Mixture will look crumbly.)
• Divide dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper, waxed paper or plastic wrap and use your hands to form the dough halves into logs about 2 to 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours. I hastened this along in the freezer (30 minutes, tops) but did feel that the cookies were better after resting longer. (But do know that it works!)
• When you're ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Lightly beat the egg and unwrap the chilled cookie logs to brush it over the sides. Sprinkle the coarse sugar on the open wrapping and roll the logs into it, coating them.
• Using a sharp serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. You're going to hit some chocolate chunks, so saw gently, squeezing the cookie to keep it from breaking if needed. Arrange cookie slices on prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart (they don't spread much) and sprinkle each with a few flakes of sea salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to get golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring the cookies you don't eat immediately to a wire rack to cool.

3-INGREDIENT BROWN-BUTTER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until milk solids begin to brown, about 6 minutes (do not burn). Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Chill until just firm, about 30 minutes.
• Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour and salt, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, just to blend (do not overwork dough).
• Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment. Form dough into a rectangle. Place second sheet of parchment over dough. Roll out dough to a 8x6" rectangle about 1/2" thick.
• Remove top sheet of parchment. Transfer dough on parchment to a rimmed baking sheet. Using a fork, pierce dough all over, spacing 1" apart. Bake shortbread, rotating halfway through, until golden brown and firm to the touch, 55-65 minutes.
• Cut shortbread lengthwise into 1" strips on baking sheet while still warm. Cut each strip crosswise into thirds. Let cool completely.
• Do Ahead
• Cookies can be made 2 days ahead; cover and store at room temperature.

BROWN-BUTTER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Prepare an ice-water bath with a medium metal bowl set inside. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Immediately pour butter into bowl in ice-water bath and whisk in milk. Stir mixture constantly with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides of the bowl, until mixture begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.
• Remove bowl from ice-water bath and let stand until mixture thickens to the consistency of room-temperature butter, about 30 minutes.
• Beat butter mixture with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat for 2 minutes more. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour.
• Butter a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough evenly into bottom of pan using plastic wrap. (Make sure dough is flat; a small offset spatula may help.) Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut through dough to make 8 wedges using a sharp paring knife and a ruler. Cut a round from the center using a 2 1/4-inch ovenproof cookie cutter; discard dough. Return cutter to hole. Prick wedges all over with a wooden skewer. Refrigerate, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle sanding sugar evenly over shortbread. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until golden brown, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes. Let cool in pan set on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove shortbread from pan, and cut along lines into wedges. Let cool completely on rack.

BROWNED BUTTER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a heavy two-quart saucepan, melt all the butter over low heat. Cook butter 8 to 12 minutes, stirring consistently, until butter solids at bottom of pan are a rich brown color and butter has a nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn the butter.
• Pour browned butter into a bowl; refrigerate until almost firm, about a half hour.
• In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat sugar with cooled browned butter.
• Mix flour and salt into butter mixture by hand -- don't overwork the dough. It will be crumbly.
• Pat shortbread crumbs into pan of choice. I like to use a square pan.
• Bake shortbread 40 to 45 minutes, until browned around the edge. Watch carefully lest they burn. Let cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes.
• Remove shortbread from pan to cutting board. While still warm, cut the whole in half, in half again, and in half again until you have small squares. These are rich, and shouldn't be large.

BROWNED BUTTER GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat and do not take your eyes off it. Watch it carefully as it begins to separate and brown and smell richly nutty. Immediately remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Cream the cooled butter and make sure to include all the rich goodness from the bottom of the saucepan.
• Add the icing sugar and slowly cream together.
• Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.
• Add the ginger and mix just until evenly distributed in dough.
• Turn the dough out onto an 18" x 12" sheet of parchment paper. Form into an 18" long and 1 1/2" diameter round or rectangular log. Wrap in the parchment paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Working fairly quickly, remove from parchment paper and with a sharp knife slice into 1/4" disks or rectangles and place 1/2" apart on parchment papered baking sheets.
• Bake 8-10 min at 375°F (190°C) until bottoms are just turning golden.
• Cool on rack and keep in airtight container or freeze and serve as needed.