One of the blog recipes that gets a lot of love is shortbread. It’s probably the easiest to make using simple 4 ingredients with staples that almost everyone would have. Absolutely no special equipment is required – just an oven and a pan. While it can never be improved, it’s like Mary Poppins – “practically perfect in every way,” it can be reinvented for a different taste.
That’s what I did – played around with the ingredients to make a fruit version. The results were excellent. It started with almonds. Almonds and fruit are practically kissing cousins. The pit in a peach smells almost like an almond. In a food processor I combined a cup of sugar with a cup of almonds and ground it finely. Then, I added flour, butter, and a pinch of salt – in other words, the basic shortbread ingredients except for the almonds.
Now for the good part - about two-thirds of the dough got patted out in a small baking pan. Next a dollop of preserves was added and topped by the remaining dough. What kind of preserves you ask? Well, the truth is I made a double batch of the dough, one with raspberry and one with blackberry. When they made an appearance at a party the next day the results were split right down the middle. While everyone said both shortbreads were marvelous, raspberry and blackberry received equal love. As soon as our figs are ripe, I’ll make fig preserves and try that as the filling. Maybe it’s not a berry, but my grandmother’s favorite “store bought” treat was Fig Newtons and it will make me smile to give fig preserves a shot. This recipe will make you smile too. Easy as pie – well – easier. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour, cut into small pieces
1 stick butter
½ tsp salt
8 oz fruit preserves (I have used both raspberry and blackberry)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor combine sugar and almonds until finely ground.
Add flour and salt to combine.
Add butter to make a crumbly dough.
Pat about 2/3 of dough into and 8x8 baking dish. (Line with parchment paper for easy removal)
Spoon preserves on top in dollops. (Don’t try to spread it out, it will make a mess.)
Top with the remaining dough.
Bake for 30 minutes until sides are lightly browned.
Cool before cutting.
Last Friday I got to cook LIVE ON THE AIR for the first time since February of 2020. It was so much fun to see Meryll and Lelan and Vicky again. It felt like coming home. Zoom cooking was okay, but this was wonderful. Thank you, my sweet friends, at Talk of the Town! If you missed it here is the segment.
