Shortbread Wedges Recipes

BASIC SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Butter an 8 1/2-inch cake or springform pan; set aside. Sift together flour and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Cream until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, about 2 minutes more. Add vanilla, if using. Add flour mixture, and combine on low speed, scraping with spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Pat dough into prepared pan. If rolling out dough to cut into shapes, form into a flat disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until firm and just starting to color, about 50 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack before packaging. Will keep 3 to 4 weeks in an airtight container.

SHORTBREAD WEDGE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper leaving enough overhang around the sides to easily lift shortbread out. (Tip: Parchment is used so you can easily remove the shortbread and not cut it while it's in the pan. I like to use a square of parchment and I cut a 1-inch slit in the center of each side. This helps reduce the amount of creases when lined in the pan.)
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and salt and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour and cornstarch and beat on low speed for 1 minute as the mixture begins to combine. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 1-3 minutes or until the dough clumps together. (It will eventually, just keep mixing it.) If you're adding dry add-ins (see above), this is when you'll add them.
• Divide dough in half. If you want to be totally accurate, weigh the halves to make sure they're even. Recipe makes almost 1.5 lbs of plain dough (will weigh more if you added add-ins). Press each half of dough into a prepared cake pan. You want it nice and compact in the pans. Sprinkle with optional coarse sugar. Dock the surface all over with a fork to prevent air bubbles.
• Bake the shortbread for 28-30 minutes or until very lightly browned on top and around the edges.
• Remove from the oven, place pans on a wire rack, and cool shortbread for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove the shortbread from the pans by picking it up with the parchment paper on the sides. Cut each into 8 large, 12 medium, or 16 small wedges. You want to make sure you cut the shortbread while it's still warm. Enjoy warm or cool shortbread completely on wire racks.
• Cover and store shortbread at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you added a topping such as glaze, icing, buttercream, or melted chocolate, refrigerate after 2 days.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Spray bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with nonstick spray. Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and salt and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; beat on low speed just until blended.
• Transfer 1/3 cup dough to work surface. Shape into 1/2-inch-thick disk, place on plate, and freeze until hard, about 1 hour. Press remaining dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Spread jam over dough in pan, leaving 1/3-inch plain border. Refrigerate while dough disk freezes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Using large holes of box grater, grate frozen dough evenly over jam. Bake shortbread until dough edge is deep golden and grated dough on top looks dry and baked through, about 50 minutes. Cool shortbread completely in pan.
• Release pan sides. Cut shortbread into wedges. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In mixing bowl, cream butter. Add flour and sugar; mix just to combine (chill 10 minutes if too soft).
• Pat into an 8-inch round cake pan; crimping edge with a floured fork. Bake until firm and slightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes (drape with foil if browning too quickly). Immediately score into eight wedges; cool completely. Turn out of pan; slice with a serrated knife.

GINGER-CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix butter, powdered sugar and ginger with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour and cranberries.
• Pat dough into 9-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
• Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet on wire rack. Cut into 16 wedges.

CANDIED GINGER SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Prepare basic shortbread, sifting ground ginger and white pepper with the flour and salt. Add 1/2 cup crystallized ginger to creamed butter mixture before adding flour mixture. At the end of step 2, sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger and sanding sugar. Bake until firm and just starting to color, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into wedges. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1 week.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. and butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. In a food processor grind fine the hazelnuts with the flour and the sugar, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it is combined well. Press half the dough evenly onto the bottom of each of the pans, cut through each round of dough with a small knife to score 16 wedges, and bake the shortbread in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until it is pale golden. While the shortbread is still warm, cut through the rounds again and let them cool in the pans on a rack. Choose 2 plates slightly smaller than the pans, put a plate directly on the surface of the shortbread, and invert the shortbread carefully onto it.
• In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water melt the chocolate with the shortening, stirring until the mixture is smooth, and transfer the mixture to a deep narrow cup or glass measure. Dip the points of the shortbread wedges into the chocolate mixture, coating them halfway and letting any excess drip off. Transfer the shortbread wedges as they are dipped to rack set over a sheet of wax paper and let them stand until the chocolate is set.

MOCHA SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt. Stir in coffee, and set aside.
• Beat butter until smooth. Add sugar, and beat well. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.
• Pat dough into an ungreased 8-inch round pan. Bake until firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove shortbread from oven, let sit for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges. Let cool completely. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.

BUTTER SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Lightly grease an 8-inch cake round cake pan In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and two sugars until fluffy Sift the flour and salt into the butter and sugar mixture.
• Add the extract and water mixture and bring everything together to form a soft dough Press the dough out evenly in the pan.
• Prick the dough well and score into 8 triangles with a knife.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cookie is pale golden and crisp.
• Sprinkle with the extra sugar, then cut along the marked lines to make the fantails. Leave the shortbread in the pan to cool before cutting and removing from the pan Store in an air tight container.