Tender and delicious with subtle flavors of fruit and almonds, this shortbread cookie (or tart crust) recipe is versatile and easy. It has been a standard pairing at the winery for our Vidal Blanc Ice Wine - even if it is perhaps a little sweet to be the perfect pairing. They are so delicious, we serve them together anyway!
Ingredients
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1 cup softened butter (salted or unsalted)
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1/2 cup white sugar (original recipe was 2/3 cup, but for pairing with ice wines, I reduce to 1/2 cup)
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1/2 tsp almond extract
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1 cup white flour
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1 cup whole wheat flour (may use all white flour)
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1/4 cup ground flax seeds (optional)
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1/4 cup ground almonds (optional)
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1/2 cup apricot jam (strawberry/raspberry jams pair well with red ice wine)
Directions
Shortbread:
Beat sugar, butter, and extract until creamy and then add flour and almonds – I actually throw everything in the food processor and pulse until the dough clumps. Chill dough approximately 2 hours. Shape dough into balls (or roll dough into a 1 ¼” diameter log and slice) and flatten them slightly.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Make indentations in the center of each cookie (easily done with a champagne cork!) and fill with jam. Bake 12-18 minutes on a cookie tray until cookies are slightly brown.
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-2 teaspoons water
Mix ingredients together until smooth and put into a quart-sized plastic bag which has a tiny hole at one corner. Use this bag to drizzle frosting on room temperature cookies.
