Shortbread, three ways

Matcha trees, wholegrain fingers, and toasted milk swirls

Hello!

We are deep into holiday baking here, the oven working overtime and the bulk of my containers packed with treats ready for gifting. Every year I bake through a list of festive treats — a mix of familiar favorites and new-to-me recipes, just to keep things interesting.

Shortbread, that stalwart, versatile cookie, always pulls double or triple duty. I like it as cutouts or whipped, plain or dipped and drizzled, demure or intriguingly flavored. Its simple ingredient list — butter, sugar, flour (along with the requisite salt and maybe a flavoring or two) — earns shortbread yet more favor with any busy baker.

A perennial inclusion in my annual friends-and-family cookie box is the matcha shortbread from my cookbook, Baked to Order. Cut into cute trees, they add festive energy to any dessert platter or teatime spread. I typically keep them plain, but a drizzle of chocolate or some sparkly sanding sugar certainly wouldn’t be out of place.

As a bonus for my paid subscribers, I’m also sharing recipes for salted khorasan (kamut) shortbread fingers and toasted milk shortbread swirls with brown butter coffee glaze. Each celebrates a special ingredient I use often in my baking, which I hope will convince you to add them to your arsenal.

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Using good quality matcha powder will make all the difference in this recipe. Look for 100% pure matcha with a vibrant green color, preferably culinary grade, at your local Asian supermarket or online supplier.

Matcha Shortbread Trees

Makes about 32 3” trees (I use this cutter) | Adapted from Baked to Order

Ingredients:

• 227g unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 80g icing sugar

• 8g culinary-grade matcha powder

• 4g kosher salt

• 10g pure vanilla extract

• 250g all-purpose flour

Method:

Mix the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a handheld mixer), combine the butter, icing sugar, matcha powder, and salt. Mix on low to combine, then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth and well-combined, about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and beat well to combine. Turn the mixer down to low and add the flour, mixing just to combine. Use a flexible spatula to fold from the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well-mixed and there are no pockets of unincorporated flour. (If the dough is very soft and sticky, cover and chill for about 10 minutes before proceeding.)

Roll the dough and cut the cookies: Transfer dough to a piece of parchment paper and pat into a square about 1-inch thick. Place another piece of parchment on top and roll dough to a 13” square, a generous ¼-inch thick, lifting the top piece of parchment occasionally to avoid creases in the dough. Slide the dough onto a baking sheet (still sandwiched between pieces of parchment). Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F. Have two baking sheets at the ready (no need to line with parchment yet; you can use the sheets sandwiching the dough).

While still sandwiched between parchment sheets, flip the chilled dough over. Peel off the bottom layer of parchment, then place the parchment back on and re-flip the dough (this will help the cutouts release more easily). Remove the top piece of parchment and line one of the prepared sheets. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes as desired, gathering and rerolling the scraps once (after the second re-roll, I just bake off any additional scraps for snacking). Place cookies on prepared sheets about 1½ inches apart. Chill until firm, while the oven finishes preheating.

Bake the cookies: Bake one sheet at a time until the tops of the cookies are dry and the edges are set but not yet brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely on the baking sheets. Cookies will keep for several weeks in an airtight container, though the color may fade with time.

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Today’s recipes for salted khorasan (kamut) shortbread fingers and toasted milk shortbread swirls with brown butter coffee glaze are available below for paid subscribers. To access the recipe as well as all 60+ past recipes in the archive, consider upgrading to a paid subscription for $5/month. Thank you for supporting my work!

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Khorasan (or kamut), an ancient grain from Persia, boasts a buttery, smooth flavor that can truly shine in simple shortbread. Find khorasan flour in specialty food stores, or reach out to a local grain mill to see if they carry it. Here in Ontario, you can find Khorasan at 1847 Flours or Almanac Grain.

Salted Khorasan (Kamut) Shortbread Fingers

Makes 16 fingers