January 6, 2021

Cheddar-Chive Shortbread

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Cheddar-Chive Shortbread

January 6: National Shortbread Day

We have posted several recipes for sweet shortbread cookies. But we wanted to try a savory one this time. Thanks to a recipe swap at our local library’s culinary club, we came across this cheddar-chive shortbread, which is a deliciously different treat for our teatime. It is more like a cracker than a cookie with its buttery and cheesy goodness! Savor the flavor of cheddar-chive shortbread, especially on National Shortbread Day.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 stick (½ cup) butter, softened
  • ½ cup spreadable cheddar cheese
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons flour
  • ¼ cup fresh chives, chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter and spreadable cheddar cheese. Stir in the salt, cornstarch and fresh chopped chives.

Mix in the flour and blend well until a dough comes together. Flatten into a disk and place between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll out into ¼- inch thickness. Chill in the refrigerator or freezer for half an hour to firm up the dough. The dough must be firm or the shortbread will spread.

Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter (we used a flower shape). Re-roll, chill/freeze and cut dough as necessary to make more shortbread cookies. Place on lightly greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Chill/freeze for 10 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until golden on the edges. Remove from the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and crisp up.

Notes

  • Keep the dough well chilled to avoid the cookies spreading while baking in the oven.
  • Search our blog for other (sweet) shortbread recipes.

 

January 6, 2020

Millionaire Shortbread

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Millionaire Shortbread

January 6:National Shortbread Day

Around the holidays and Hogmanay, we usually make some type of shortbread as an ode to Highlander’s Scottish heritage. As we wish for a prosperous new year ahead, we make millionaire’s shortbread. Well, this treat breaks any diet resolutions because it is an ultra rich cookie topped with decadent chocolate with a chewy caramel filling and a sweet shortbread crust (similar to a homemade Twix candy bar)!  But this dessert is so delicious that it is worth indulging on millionaire shortbread, especially on National Shortbread Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cold and chopped into small pieces
  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate (1 bar Baker’s brand chocolate)

Directions

In a bowl, combine the flour with sugar and salt. Cut in the butter pieces and mix until it resembles coarse peas.

millionaireshortbreadsteps1

Press flour mixture into an 8×8 inch square pan lined with foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. In a saucepan, over medium heat, stir the condensed milk with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.

millionaireshortbreadsteps2

Keep stirring until it turns into a light caramel color, around 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the shortbread cookie layer and spread evenly with a spatula. Cool completely.

millionaireshortbreadsteps3

In a bowl, melt the chocolate according to the package directions. Pour this over the cooled caramel layer.  Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

millionaireshortbreadsteps4

Chill it in the refrigerator until the chocolate layer is slightly hardened. Using the foil as handles, lift everything out of the pan. Cut off the edges to straighten. Then cut into 16 squares.

millionaireshortbreadsteps5

Notes

  • Make this millionaire shortbread on January 25 for a Scottish Burns Supper dessert. 
  • For a quicker recipe, substitute the sweetened condensed milk and 1 tablespoon of butter for canned dulce de leche. 
  • Search our blog for more shortbread recipes.
 

January 6, 2019

Kona Coffee Shortbread

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Kona Coffee Shortbread

January 6: National Shortbread Day

Shortbread is of Scottish origin but the cookie is very popular in Hawaii as fundraising items, souvenirs and local snacks. Some Scots settled in the islands in the 18th century and have left their culinary and cultural impact. In fact, Hawaii’s last princess, Ka’iulani, was half Scottish on her father’s side (her Anglo name is Princess Victoria Cleghorn).

Several companies in Hawaii produce shortbread in a variety of traditional and tropical flavors and shapes. Kauai Kookie (the factory is a mandatory stop when we visit the island) and Maui CookKwees make round, stacked discs. Honolulu Cookie Company has its signature miniature pineapple shapes. There are other companies that do drop/scoop/mound shapes as well. We tried to copy Big Island Candies and the Cookie Corner with their simple rectangular-shaped flavored cookies dipped diagonally in chocolate.

This Kona coffee shortbread recipe fits in with our Highlander and Islander (HI) Cookery blog (a Scot married a local girl) and is appropriate for observing National Shortbread Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Panera Bread)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ¼ cup sugar, granulated white
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons instant Kona coffee (or regular coffee), ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 ounces chocolate, melted

Directions

Cream the butter with the sugars. Finely grind the coffee granules to a powder then add to the butter mixture. Mix in the salt.

Gradually add the flour. Mix until a sticky but smooth dough comes together. Refrigerate for half and hour. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness between sheets of waxed paper. Refrigerate again to firm up the dough. Slice into rectangles (around 2 ½ by 1 1 ½ inches).

Place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet about two inches apart to allow for a little spreading. Refrigerate or freeze the baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Melt the chocolate in a bowl according to the package directions. Use a spatula to spread chocolate diagonally across the cookie, dipping the bottom and sides as necessary. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue dipping the rest of the cookies in chocolate. Refrigerate to firm up the chocolate. Serve at room temperature. When storing the cookies, place between sheets of small waxed paper to prevent the chocolate from sticking to other cookies.

Notes

  • We halved the recipe to share with another couple friend (also expatriates from Hawaii) when they visited us in Texas. The cookie dough is soft and needs to be kept cold when handling and rolling out. To minimize spreading, we freeze the cut cookies before placing them in the oven. Feel free to add finely chopped macadamia nuts in the recipe.
  • Learn more about Princess Ka’iulani from the Kaiulani Project website. 
  • Read highlights about the Scots in Hawaii from Coffee Times. 
  • Islander has attended the Hawaiian Scottish Festival and Highland Games to support Highlander’s clan. 
  • See a similar recipe for coffee and nut cookies on National Coffee Day on September 29. 
  • Search our blog for more shortbread recipes.

 

 

Next Page »