Japanese Shortbread Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Beat on low for one minute, then on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Drop cookies by spoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Watch that the edges don't brown too much. Cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• The layers will be prepared and arranged in the following order, from bottom to top:.
• Shortbread Crust.
• Jam Layer.
• Pistachio Layer.
• Chocolate Top.
• Shortbread Crust:.
• Heat oven to 350 Degrees F. Grease a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan.
• Pulse flour and sugar in a food processor to combine. Add cold cut up butter to work bowl and process until mixture is the texture of coarse meal.
• Add egg and pulse until mixture begins to hold together. Note: the mixture should still be crumbly but evenly moistened by the egg.
• Sprinkle the moistened dough evenly in prepared pan. Gently press the dough with floured fingertips evenly along bottom and sides of prepared pan.
• Bake 20 to 22 mninutes until crust is brown at edges and golden in the center. Transfer to wire rack; cool while making filling.Jam Layer.
• Stir jam in a small bowl until smooth and spreadable; spread evenly over bottom of crust. (Note: an offset spatula is a great tool for spreading.)Pistachio Layer.
• Process almonds, sugar, pistachios and flour in food processor, scraping sides of bowl until almonds are very finely ground. This mixture should look like dry bread crumbs. (Note: Grinding nuts in a food processor with flour and sugar prevents the nuts from becoming too moist and turning into nut butter.).
• Add butter and 1 egg. Process until smooth. Add remaining 2 eggs, almond and vanilla extracts and food coloring; process to blend. This mixture should be smooth and creamy in appearance.
• Carefully spoon filling over Jam Layer and gently spread to cover.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes until filling is golden brown and firm when pressed lightly in center. Cool completely on wire rack.Chocolate Top.
• Spread melted chocolate evenly over Pistachio Layer. Refrigerate 10 minutes until chocolate is set.
• Score top of bars to guide knife as you cut 1 1/4 inch squares. Makes 8 dozen.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
• Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
• Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
• Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
• Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
• Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla; add flour and mix well.
• Put through cookie press and form cookies onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.