Chocolate Almond Shortbread Food

CHOCOLATE ALMOND SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Pulse almonds with flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add butter and pulse just until a dough forms.
• Press dough evenly into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan with your fingers. Cut dough into 16 squares with a sharp knife, then cut squares diagonally to make a total of 32 triangles.
• Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and run a thin knife around edge of pan to loosen cookies while hot. Recut hot cookies into triangles, then cool completely in pan. Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.

ALMOND SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Blend and pulse the 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor with the sugar until mixture resembles coarse sand. (If there are a couple small chunks of nuts that is fine.) Add the butter, vanilla and almond extracts, and the salt, and pulse until creamy. Add the flour and continue to pulse to make a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out into a 9-inch tart pan and spread it out evenly with an off-set spatula. Dip the spatula in a little warm water to help smooth and even the surface of the shortbread. Cover and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and dock (prick) the dough all over with a fork. Generously sprinkle the top of the shortbread with sugar. Toss the remaining whole almonds in the egg white; evenly arrange and press the nuts into the dough around the edge of the pan. Bake until golden brown and set, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Cool the short bread in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tart ring and cut the shortbread with a sharp knife into wedges, each with a nut. Cool shortbreads on a rack completely. (Alternatively present the shortbread as 1 large cookie. Cool the shortbread in the pan completely and remove the tart ring. Cut the shortbread into wedges as desired.) Serve. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F
• Pulse almonds with flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very finely chopped.
• Add butter and pulse just until a dough forms.
• Press dough evenly into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan with your fingers.
• Cut dough into 16 squares with a sharp knife, then cut squares diagonally to make a total of 32 triangles.
• Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a rack and run a thin knife around edge of pan to loosen cookies while hot.
• Recut hot cookies into triangles, then cool completely in pan.
• Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.
• **Note: Cookies can be made 5 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Makes 32 cookies.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, then add vanilla & mix well.
• In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar & cocoa, then add to creamed mixture, beating about 3 minutes or until dough holds together.
• Pat the dough into a 9-inch by 4-inch rectangle, then cut into 2-inch by 1 1/2-inch strips.
• Place strips 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Prick each strip several times with a fork.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until set.
• Set sheets on wire rack(s) to cool for 5 minutes, then remove shortbreat to wire rack(s) to cool completely.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• With mixer beat butter and sugar until creamy.
• Beat in almond extract and salt.
• Mix in flour and blend into a soft dough by hand.
• Press dough into an ungreased 8x8" pan, top with almonds, pressing into dough bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown around edges.
• Use a dull knife to cut into squares while still warm when cool use a spatula to transfer slices to a rack to completely cool.