Cinnamon nut crunch shortbread
(Read article summary)Top a basic shortbread dough with cinnamon-sugar nuts. Almonds, walnuts, and pecans all work. Then sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of each piece for an extra-special touch.
I've been baking the recipes I've pinned so much lately that I've been neglecting the recipes in my "still need to make" file on my computer. Back to those recipes for this one. This is from one of my favorite cookbook authors and I've had this recipe in my file for a few years. The original recipe called for pecans but I had a ton of almonds in my freezer so I went with those.
This is a good basic shortbread and the addition of the cinnamon-sugar nuts cuts through the normal buttery taste of shortbread. The key to good shortbread is making sure you bake it long enough. If you underbake it, you won't get the "snap" in the texture and instead it'll be more chewy. You don't want to overbake it either, but if you do bake it a trifle longer than you should, it's still not so bad as long as it doesn't burn. I did end up covering the pan loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil about halfway through the baking time so the nuts didn't burn.
While I liked this version, Regan Daley's recipe for butter toffee crunch shortbread is still my favorite shortbread recipe.
Cinnamon shortbread dough
From Baking by Flavor by Lisa Yockelson
1-1/4 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup unsifted confectioners’ sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Nut crunch topping
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I used almonds)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Confectioners’ sugar for sifting over the baked and cooled shortbread (optional)
Bakeware
Fluted 9 1/2”-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom
