Yield: 16 wedges
Recipe: 152/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 26
After being on an unplanned baking break for some months, this weekend I spontaneously decided to open up my book again and bake something new. I leafed through it and decided to make these demerara shortbread wedges as it was evening and I was looking for some cookie-type dessert to go with my evening tea, something that wouldn’t take too long to prepare. This recipe was simple to make which is always a bonus and a good way to get back into it. I don’t think I’ve ever used demerara sugar in baking so I wasn’t sure how the texture of this coarser sugar would be, especially in shortbread, but I was curious to try it.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup packed demerara dark brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
I baked this shortbread for about 57 minutes, which in hindsight was probably a few minutes too many. In any case, I quite enjoyed these shortbread wedges. The flavour is a bit akin to caramel due to the molasses flavour in the demerara sugar, and the texture is lovely. Buttery and crumbly, just perfect. You can definitely feel the coarser texture of the demerara sugar with each bite, but it is rather pleasant. This dessert is not too sweet which makes it very enjoyable and easy to eat more than one. My husband and I certainly did some rapid damage on these shortbread wedges. I recommend this recipe if you are wanting a simple-to-make yet lovely and not-too-sweet dessert.
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease a 9-inch pie plate.
- Beat the butter for two minutes, until it is fluffy and light.
- Beat in the demerara sugar for two more minutes.
- Stir in the salt and nutmeg, then add the flour. Blend until evenly combined.
- Coat your fingers with some flour to prevent sticking, and press the dough into the prepared pie plate. Sprinkle the shortbread with turbinado sugar, then cut through the dough to make 16 wedges.
- Bake the shortbread for 50-60 minutes, until the edges of the shortbread have browned. Let the shortbread cool for 10 minutes, then cut through where the 16 wedges were previously cut. Let the cookies cool completely in the pan before removing to store.
Notes from Anna:
- Dark brown sugar can be used as a substitute for demerara sugar. It will work just as well.
Happy baking!
Valerie
Valerie 