Whole Wheat Almond Shortbread

Do you believe in the saying 'Marriages are made in Heaven!!'? I can't say I do. But, having said that, I do believe that some marriages are definitely made in heaven. I say this to those marriages wherein the husband and wife are so much in love, have respect for each other and it is so much fun for others to just watch them. I know of such a couple. No, they are not my parents. And no they are not my in-laws either. They are my friend's parents. It is such a pleasure to see that couple who are  in 70s, that it brings happiness to just see them.

Don't panic, I am not changing the topic of this blog from food to something else. I wrote the above lines to say that there are two ingredients that are made for each other as well food wise. They are butter and sugar. Just mix them and either cook, or bake and just eat as it is. You cannot go wrong with this combination. Ever. That is one of the reason why shortbread cookies have their own place in the baked goodies section. It is just a mixture of butter, sugar and flour baked till done. No big deal there. But can this no big deal take you to virtual heaven? oh yes. (That is foodie in me talking. Don't take it literally.)

I did some modifications by cutting down the fat and using almond butter as part of fat which, is a good fat. You can use all butter and omit almond extract or you could use vanilla instead of almond extract if you wish.

One Year Back - Multigrain Banana Bread
Adapted widely from - Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat flour - 1 3/4 cups
Wheat germ - 1/4 cup (Or Wheat bran)
Light Brown Sugar - Packed 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup or 1 stick at room temperature (Or use margarine for a lower saturated fat)
Almond butter - 1/2 cup (I used homemade)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Almond Extract - 1 tsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 F. In a bowl, combine almond butter, butter or margarine and beat till creamy. Add brown sugar and continue to beat till creamy. Add salt, almond extract and slowly start adding flour and wheat germ. Keep beating till the whole mixture comes together like wet sand. It won't be like cookie dough. It will be more like crumble mixture. Lightly grease a 8" square pan (Or a 9" square pan or 10" spring form or a tart pan). Pat the dough into the pan and press firmly. Place in the oven and turn down the temperature to 300 F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a bench scraper, score the cookie in the pan into 4 by 4 rows and columns. Or even 5 by 5 if you want the pieces small. Take a fork and poke through each piece if desired. Put it back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or till lightly brown. Cool on the wire rack completely. Loosen the edges with a knife and when you turn it out, the whole thing will pop out. Separate and store in an air tight container for up to 1 week.

Original recipe had part whole wheat and part all purpose flour. Use all purpose flour if you wish. It also had all butter. I used part almond butter.

Enjoy. Pin It