Tuesday, May 1, 2012

BWJ - Hungarian Shortbread




Well, May has crept up on us quickly, and the weather has asserted that it is in fact autumn.  It is cool, often grey during the day, and the leaves have turned delightful shades of red and gold before they tumble to the ground and turn brown.  Thankfully, the really cold weather has not yet set in, so I can reconcile myself to getting up in the semi-darkness as it is really not too bad outside.

It is also the first Baking with Julia for this month, hosted by Lynette of 1 Small Kitchen and Cher of  The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler, and our recipe is Hungarian Shortbread.  This ain't diet food, with lots and lots of butter involved, but it is practically lean compared with our next recipe, Pecan Sticky Buns.  Hungarian Shortbread is a buttery shortbread encasing a layer of jam (in my case, apricot).  The shortbread is dredged with icing sugar immediately after baking, which forms a crackly, custard-like top on the shortbread.

I read someone else who made this thought that grating the frozen pastry was an unnecessary faff so they did it all in the food processor.  I tended to agree with them and did the same, skipping the resting time in the fridge.  My shortbread seemed just fine, despite the short shrift it got from me in the resting department.

The verdict on this recipe - tastes delicious (as well it might with all that butter and sugar), but is terribly unkind in the calories department.  However, I guess this group is not about conserving calories, so no more peeps out of me on that count - until the next recipe (yikes).

To check out how the other BWJ bakers went, visit the BWJ LYL section for this recipe.


27 comments:

Unknown said...

Nicely done!!! It was really buttery like you say without doubt but so gooood!!!

Cher Rockwell said...

That pound of butter was daunting, but these sure were tasty...
I don't think the sticky buns are going to be calorie kind either...

Jill said...

It looks great, and apricot jam sounds delicious. It wasn't a favorite of mine, and I think knowing how much butter was in it contributed to that. I haven't looked at the sticky bun recipe yet, but I'm scared of it now!

Anonymous said...

This shortbread looks outstanding - a unique twist on the usual biscuits I have seen :)
Thanks for the pic and recipe link!

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Elaine said...

So that's how it is supposed to look like on the top! Very pretty! I wondered why it said to dust with the sugar right out of the oven. I skipped that part because my husband doesn't like the extra sugar coatings and so if I want that I often will just sugar my piece. I try not to think of the calories after I bake with this group and take extra long walks instead. :)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I really want to make this because all of the Hungarian food that I've tried has been delicious.

Kari said...

What an impressive looking creation - not what I think of when I think of shortbread, but much nicer!

baker in disguise said...

I soo soo agree.. this was not the recipe if you wanted to go easy on butter and sugar... couldnt get myself to have more than one piece!! but with all that butter.. no wonder it tasted soo good!! but only one piece!! :)

Sweet and That's it said...

Delicious Shortbread!
Speaking of calories: I've made some little changes to save on fat and Kcal and was still delicious!
Greetings from Switzerland.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

LOL...why did you have to remind me of all the calories? I just hid mine in the freezer :)

Anonymous said...

my powdered sugar didnt form a crust like yours but I'm glad you found it tasty too!

Alice @ http://acookingmizer.wordpress.com

Hindy said...

I gave mine away, everyone raved and I never mentioned the pound of butter. I thought that best.
yours look delicious!

Cindy said...

Apricot is a great choice. this was a fun recipe to make. But like you say it is not diet food. Luckily I had plenty of hungry family members home when I made it.
I think I might make it again for bookclub next week.
Enjoy your fall weather--I love fall and all the beautiful colors. But spring is not bad either!
Have a great day.

Anna said...

I've got to admit, I loved the grating step! :D Yours look great!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Glad this turned out well for you! It is definitely not nice in the calorie department but oh so tasty! :)

Kathy said...

Yours looks perfect…I had to freeze the rest of mine before I overdosed on them! So yummy…

Blond Duck said...

I love regular shortbread so I know I'd love this!

loavesandstitches said...

You're right, this one is light compared to the next one, but they're both good ones. Looks goos!

Mary Hirsch said...

Yeah, I'm a little concerned about the calories. Last week-end I tried a new scone recipe: Banana Bread Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze. They were fabulous. I sent two to the neighbors and, over the week-end, managed to eat FIVE. Then I charged into the Hungarian Shortbread. Although I gave these away and stored some in my freezer, I still managed to "taste test" several. Needless to say, I look like the Michelin Man! But, this is our duty so soldier on......

Kris' Kitchen said...

Right! This ain't diet food...I had to go find helpers because before I knew it, I had eaten, well, way too much. So funny to think you are having Fall when we at my house are enjoying a lovely (HOT Arizona) Spring. Anyway, I enjoy your posts...always makes me smile.

yummychunklet said...

Your shortbread looks delicious. I'll have to try shredding the dough in the food processor next time.

Anonymous said...

Your shortbread looks great! It was very very delicious.

Maggie said...

I wish I wish I wish for a big enough food processor to do something like this - if I put it out there in the universe enough I fully believe I will get one this year :) I just have two mini ones so I had to grate it by hand and I had some troubles...Yours looks perfect and delicious with the apricot filling. Yum!

Gretchen @ Provecho Peru said...

They look delicious! I sure wish I had a food processor to avoid grating!

Kayte said...

OOOOHHHH...apricot filling, yes, yes, yes! Those look so pretty and dainty and delicious. We loved them as well. And, you are right...this group does not count calories (although I go with smaller portions and smaller amounts made 99% of the time). Great job.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

i am kinda terrified of the butter in the next recipe! i like that you used apricot jam here...it's one of my favorites.

Teresa said...

We really enjoyed this, too. Luckily, my nieces thought that grating the dough was the best part, so that wasn't a problem. I think apricot jam would be lovely with the shortbread.