Whipped Shortbread Thumbprints
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“I bring my grandmothers’ old recipes up a lot because they are so important to me, almost like being able to ask them questions about baking from beyond the grave. When I somehow misplaced my maternal grandmother’s handwritten whipped shortbread recipe I was totally devastated. I looked everywhere to no avail. So, I began to try other recipes. Again and again, none were as light, as toothsome, as buttery, and no other seemed to hold its shape properly. Finally, I reached out to my aunts. When my aunt Sandra sent me the recipe I recognized it at once and I cannot thank her enough!
If you don’t own a piping bag and a star tip, you can also roll these into balls instead, but they look so much more impressive piped. I encourage you to try.” Jam Bake – Camilla Wynne
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Whipped Shortbread Thumbprints
Ingredients
- 230 g (1 cup) soft unsalted butter
- 63 g (1/2 cup) icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste optional
- 210 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 32 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup jam preferably Apricot-Cocoa Nib Jam from Jam Bake!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter and icing sugar until pale and very creamy. Add the vanilla paste, if using, and beat in. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and beat on low until combined, scraping down the sides to make sure everything is incorporated.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a #5 star tip. Pipe rosettes onto the prepared baking sheets. With a wet finger, make a depression in each rosette then carefully fill each one with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
- Bake until firm to the touch (they should be barely golden at most), about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for many weeks, although it seems highly unlikely considering how good they are. They can also be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to two months.
- SUB IN! Summer Pudding Jam, Tutti Frutti Jam, Ispahan Jam, or a good quality store-bought apricot jam. These are also great without the jam, topped with an amarena cherry or a slice of candied kumquat!
Notes
