Friday, July 20, 2012

Almond Shortbread Wedges


Hello everyone ! How is it going? It's been ages,I know ! I really missed you all and the blogging, a lot.

photo (1)Almnd SB

I had a wonderful vacation in Kerala. Though I got back a couple of weeks back,it took me this long to jot down something here. I could give you zillion reasons for that,but I don't want to waste your precious time. In a nutshell,it goes something like this : a long jet lag,a birthday,a sick kiddo,a lazy mom,the heat etc. etc.


IMG_3354 for blogAlmnd SB (4)

Kerala was as breathtakingly beautiful as ever ! It was(it still is) monsoon season there,though it wasn't raining as it should have been, while we were there. Which means it wasn't hot, but very pleasant with some isolated rain showers to cool us off.We made maximum use of the weather and travelled a lot,unlike all our past visits.

photo (2)Almnd SB


Here is a picture from our trip, a paddy field laced by coconut trees,somewhere near
Kumarakom. Trust me,I will be back soon, with more beautiful pictures and a post.Till then, have fun by making these delish beauties, loaded with calories and almonds !

Kerala_near Kumarakam

IMG_3301 for blogAlmnd SB(6)

I made this before we left for the vacation.This is in fact a Christmas cookie. But who cares? I would munch on these cookies all year long if I had to! If you try this you will also agree with me,I am sure.This is a keeper recipe,dear readers !

IMG_3327 for blogAlmnd SB (5)

These cookies are so rich and buttery as any other shortbread cookie.My kids loved it,and my husband and I had a tough time in keeping our hands away from the cookie jar. In short,these cookies just disappeared from our kitchen counter, in no time.


IMG_3425 for blogAlmnd SB (3)


Preparation time: 1hr
Baking time: 25 min
Yield: 20 wedges
Adapted from: Very Merry Cookies

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter, softened- 3/4 cup
Powdered sugar- 1 cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Pure Vanilla extract- 2 tsp
All purpose flour- 1 3/4 cup

For topping

Sliced toasted almonds- 1 cup

Almond butter frosting

Softened butter- 2 Tbsp
Powdered sugar- 1 cup
Vanilla- 1/4 tsp
Almond extract - 1/4 tsp
Milk- 2-3 Tbsp


Method:

1.Preheat oven to 325 F.Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until soft. Add salt and mix again.
3.Beat in vanilla until combined, scraping sides in between.
4.Beat in as much as flour you can,scraping the sides.
5.Stir in any left over flour using a spatula.
6.Divide dough in half.
7.Pat each half into 6 inch circle,half inch thick, on the baking sheet.Leave about 3 inches between both the circles.
8.Cut each circle into 10 wedges,leaving wedges in place.
9.Bake for 25-30 min or until centers are just firm and edges are light brown.
10.Take out from oven, cut circles into wedges again while warm.
11.Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
12.Make the frosting by mixing together butter,sugar ,vanilla and almond extracts.
13.Add milk,a spoon at a time, to make it to a spreading consistency.
14.Spread the frosting over cooled cookies.Decorate with toasted almond slices.
15.Store in air tight containers.


16 comments:

  1. Good to see you back Nami and Kerala is always beautiful!Would never tire of seeing these fields.
    The shortbread looks sinfully delicious!

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  2. Welcome back !! U were missed hope u had a great time in Kerala , love the short bread :))

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  3. Welcome back dear... The shortbread cookies look so delicious

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  4. Hope that your holiday in Kerala was great. Wedges are simply yummy to look at.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  5. Welcome back.. we missed you.. Glad to know that you had a great vacation time...

    The wedges look so inviting!!

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  6. welcome back. hope things are better now N. take care. the wedges look awesome. beautifully decorated.

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  7. Hi!, these look awesome, love the beautiful photo of the paddy field

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  8. good to see you back Namitha, shortbread wedges look awesome, love the pic from kerala too, i so wanna go thr :)

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  9. looks fantastic. photos are so beautiful

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  10. Welcome back...Awesome looking shortbread wedges..Lovely clicks too..

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  11. Hi Namitha,
    Nice to hear that you were in Kerala.
    The pic looks good.I thought that farming has left Kerala long ago. Happy to see it through the photograph.

    The cookies appear nice. I am a novice when it is baking.
    I shall pass this to my colleagues who have interest in cookies.

    My apologies for not visiting your blog for a long time. It is a hard time for me to start pushing apologies to my blogging friends.

    I am doing it since the morning.

    Spider man says, "with great power comes great responsibility". I was busy with some business activities to which I am engaged and thus could not find time for my blogging.

    I have made my day manageable to equip my blogging freedom besides my regular work.

    I am sure to try new recipes by you from today.

    wishing you a great day ahead!

    Abhi

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  12. I luv almond short bread..luks stunning...

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  13. Loved ur space with lots of kerala dishes.....to try....happy to follow you....pls feel free to stop by mine and follow too...
    http://fitforataste.blogspot.com

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  14. beautiful shortbread to snack on looks wonderful

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  15. Welcome back. And such a lovely farm in Kerala! No wonder you came back fresh and full of energy to start off with a lovely cake!

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  16. I've always wanted to visit beautiful Kerala. Now I can't wait :D

    Delicious almond shortbread!

    Kiran @ KiranTarun.com

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