Jeweled Shortbread Food

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.

JEWEL BOX COOKIES

Steps:

• COMBINE flour and sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until coarse crumbs form. Add beaten egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until dough holds together.
• SHAPE into small balls using half teaspoonfuls. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Make small indentation in center of each cookie. Chill 20 minutes.
• HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Fill each cookie with scant 1/4 teaspoon jam, jelly or preserves. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until just golden around the edges.
• For added sparkle, unbaked cookies may be rolled in coarse bakery sugar crystals before being placed on cookie sheet to chill.

CITRUS SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 12 1/2-inch baking sheet pan, line with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
• Finely grate the skin (zest) off all 3 clementines, making sure you peel only the orange skin and not the bitter white pith. Puree the zest with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a food processor until minced, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Whisk the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium, until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add the clementine-sugar mixture and beat for another minute. While mixing on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not overwork the dough. Transfer dough to prepared pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible. Cover with plastic wrap, then press and flatten using your hands over the top to smooth and even out the dough. Cut the dough into bars about 1 by 3 inches with a sharp knife, while still in the pan. Prick a decorative pattern in the shortbreads with a fork or a wooden skewer. Bake until golden, about 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and then re-cut the bars along the previous cuts. Let cool completely on racks. Store the cookies in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
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WHIPPED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add flour and cornstarch, beating until well blended. , With hands lightly dusted with additional cornstarch, roll dough into 1-in. balls. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press lightly with a floured fork. Top with nonpareils or cherry halves. , Bake at 300° until bottoms are lightly browned, 20-22 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

JEWEL NUT BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a lightly greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake 15 minutes. , In a large bowl, whisk together egg and salt; stir in remaining brown sugar. Stir in nuts, cherries and chocolate chips. Spoon evenly over crust., Bake until topping is set, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

SUPER-EASY SHORTBREAD (3 INGREDIENTS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
• Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
• Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
• Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
• Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
• Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!

JEWELED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Cream icing sugar and butter until fluffy.
• Combine flours and add to the butter mixture, in small portions.
• Stir in mixed candied fruit.
• Turn batter out into a 9 x 13 pan. Press to the sides and smooth with the back of a spoon.
• Score into bars with a sharp knife and prick the surface with a fork.
• Bake 10 minutes at 350*, then lower the oven to 300*. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven and immediately cut along the scored lines.
• Cool, then store in an airtight container.
• Dust with icing sugar before serving.

DIABETIC SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Cream butter with sugar in mixing bowl til soft and fluffy.
• Stir in rice flour and all purpose flour until blended.
• Roll on lightly floured board.
• Cut into 1 1/2" rounds.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Prick with a fork (to form design if desired).
• Bake 325F 25 mins til golden.

SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In lg bowl, combine flour and sugar.
• Cut in butter until you have a fine crumbly mixture.
• Knead dough until smooth, about 7-8 minutes.
• Pat dough into ungreased 15x10 pan.
• Pierce with fork all over.
• Bake at 325* for 25 minutes, until light brown.
• While warm, cut into squares.

SHORTBREAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Heat the oven 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Put the flour, butter and sugar into a mixing bowl. Use your hands to combine the ingredients until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then squeeze until it comes together as a dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to ½ cm thick. Cut the dough into fingers and place on a lined baking tray. Use a fork to create imprints, then sprinkle with the remaining caster sugar.
• Chill the dough in the fridge for 20 mins, then bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Remove the shortbread fingers from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for 10 mins.

RUBY JEWEL CHRISTMAS COOKIES (WILLIAMS-SONOMA)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together, set aside.
• Combine the flour and granulated sugar in a food processor/mixer and process just to blend. With the machine running, add the butter 2-3 pieces at a time and process until the mixture looks crumbly. With the machine still running, add the egg yolk mixture and process until blended and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape or roll it into a flat disk about 3/4 in thick. Wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Line a miniature muffin pan with paper liners or line a cookie sheet with parchement paper.
• For Cookie Cutters: on a lightly floured surface, with a cold rolling pin, roll out the dough to 3/4 in thick, cut cookies out and place on baking sheet about 1 in apart.
• For Muffin Liners: with lightly floured hands, shape the dough into ¾" balls and flatten a little then place the balls into the muffin liners about 1 in apart.
• Using the end of a wooden spoon dipped in flour, make an indentation in the center of each cookie, but do not press all the way through the dough. Using a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, fill each indentation with about ¼ teaspoon jam.
• Bake the cookies until the edges are golden, 15-20 minutes.
• Let the cookies cool completely in the pans on wire racks. Transfer the cooled cookies to wire racks and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

JEWELED COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture. Stir in raisins, nuts, cherries and pineapple; mix well. Shape into 2-in. rolls; wrap in waxed paper or foil. Freeze at least 2 hours. , Cut into 1/4-in. slices; place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.