Almond And Cherry Shortbread
Almond and cherry is a classic combination and whilst I normally make it in a cake form, I thought I would try something different and combine those flavours into my favourite shortbread recipe. I loved seeing the photos of last weeks oat biscuits, thank you for sharing!
I have opted for a naturally dark glacé cherries rather than the bright red alternative. There is no difference in the flavour, I just prefer the colour.
I love a buttery shortbread, and this one will not disappoint. Because of the high butter content I recommend chilling the cut out biscuit dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. This will help stop the biscuits spreading too much as the butter will melt slower whilst baking.
Almond and Cherry Shortbread
225g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
225g plain flour
110g cornflour
1 teaspoon almond extract
75g glacé cherries, roughly chopped
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 175ºC and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment
Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy and add the cherries and almond extract. Beat again until all combined.
Sift in both the flours and add a pinch of salt. Beat again until the flour is incorporated and the mixture comes together into a rough dough.
Tip onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead to make sure everything is combined.
Transfer to a sheet of baking parchment and lay another sheet on top, roll the dough out (with it between the two sheets) to 1cm thickness.
Using a cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can and then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Once chilled and firm, transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the biscuits start to turn golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
Dust with a little extra caster sugar if you wish, and there you go!
Perfect with a cup of tea, or serve alongside some berries and ice cream for a bit of texture. I hope you feel inspired to give this ago - enjoy!
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I would like to dedicate this post to my wonderful Lamb, who would always request an almond and cherry extravaganza for his birthday. This will be the first birthday I won’t be able to give a treat to him, as he died last year. I will be baking with almonds and cherries and be thinking of him anyway.
