Thursday, March 31, 2011

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.
Whole Wheat Almond Butter Shortbread

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.
Whole Wheat Almond Butter Shortbread

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

Whole Wheat Almond Butter Shortbread

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

20 comments:

  1. Shortbreads look yumm. I think combination of almonds and sugar is divine too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yummy and healthy...perfect
    Lovely clicks

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fabulous shortbreads, ur new template looks great..

    ReplyDelete
  4. looks soft & moist. came out very well..

    ReplyDelete
  5. looks great! I love that you used homemade almond butter :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Who'd have thunk? Healthy shortbread! Love it so much...thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Perfect and healthy bread,luks delicious...

    ReplyDelete
  8. That looks so delicious and healthy :) Never thought i would find a healthy short bread recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Delicious and healthy !! nice clicks !!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Champa, shortbread cookies looks good, specailly the ingredient list tells me that they are pefect. Now a qustion for u about almond extract I bought it(wilton brand) last year but never used it, it smelled really bitter kind when I smelled it so I didn't risked my bake with that but U use it so wanted to know does it smell that way or did I got a wrong batch....

    ReplyDelete
  11. and new look of your blog looks nice & bright

    ReplyDelete
  12. Spice,
    Wilton almond extract (the one that is clear) is not natural. Almond extract does make it slightly bitter if you use too much of it. I use a different brand which is pure almond extract. When I use in less quantity, it is not bitter. You could use vanilla extract or even cardamom in this recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Champa, if U don't mind can U share the brand U use & from where do U get it & also what I wanted to know was does the smell of this extrct(just from the bottle) is bitter.

    ReplyDelete
  14. nice look to the blog...nice and bright!
    The shortbread cookies look awesome..
    Smitha
    Smitha's Spicy Flavors

    ReplyDelete
  15. Spice,
    I have used McCormick and it is pretty good. If you have ALDI near your place, they have a brand called stonemill essentials that one is pretty good too. It doesn't smell bitter, but is very strong and nutty.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks Champa,I'll get McCormick easy to get at any grocerry store....

    ReplyDelete

If you have a question and you leave it as a comment, I'll surely answer the question to the best of my knowledge. Thanks for visiting.