Lovely Lemon Pistachio Shortbread

 

Who can resist a delicate little cookie full of soft, crumbly, buttery goodness? Not me. I have my weaknesses and little, crumbly, buttery cookies happen to be one of them. I know shortbread is traditionally a “holiday-ish” sort of cookie, but with all the craziness that happened around me this past season, I just never got around to making shortbread at all. So neglectful. It’s one of my favorite cookies because of its mild sweetness, addictive texture and the fact that it’s versatile. You can make just about any flavor of shortbread, sweet or savory. Whatever citrus, herbs or spices you have on hand would work beautifully. Take an opportunity to experiment with interesting flavor combinations, or if you’re a purist, stick with the classic buttery standard.  

Well, I definitely wanted something light and flavorful, preferably chocolate-free (did I say NO chocolate?), that incorporated a nut of some variety. So, with a few sweet and tasty meyer lemons and some chopped pistachios, I made a quick batch of delicious lemon pistachio shortbread. I’m telling you, these are sooo good. Crisp, yet soft, with  just a touch of lemony sweetness. Very, very habitforming. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. Even better with MY cup of coffee in the morning.  I know, I know. Cookies for breakfast??? Bad. I don’t usually have cookies for breakfast…..but once in awhile I can’t resist! 

Lemon Pistachio Shortbread 

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s “Basic Shortbread” recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups of all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter an 8 1/2-inch round cake or springform pan. Sift together flour and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium cream butter until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar and lemon zest and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 2 minutes more. Add lemon juice and beat until just incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat on low, scraping bowl if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed.

Pat dough into prepared pan. Use a paring knife to score dough into wedges and poke all over in even intervals with a wooden skewer or fork. Sprinkle chopped pistachios over evenly over the top.

**Bake until firm in the center and just starting to color, about 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Cut into wedges. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature for about 3 weeks.

**The recipe says to bake for 50 minutes but my shortbread was ready to come out at 40 minutes. I used an 8-inch round cake pan. Adjust baking time according to your oven and the type and size of pan used.

 

 

Tagged as: basic shortbread, lemon pistachio shortbread, martha stewart shortbread, versatile cookie