I love cookies in general, and the sweet, crumbly, buttery goodness of shortbread is a particularly simple yet classy form of this delicious dessert. In this recipe, the walnuts and maple syrup both add a deep, rich layer to the dough - a perfect match for hot tea on cold nights! I couldn't resist immediately sliding a tray of these into the oven, but you could also make the dough in advance, form it into a log, and freeze it for those nights when the sweet tooth strikes...as long you as remember to floss afterwards!
Maple Walnut Shortbread
veganized from Martha Stewart
Makes 3 dozen cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (sea salt is best here)
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
1 cup Earth Balance at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
First, toast those nuts. Spread them out evenly on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven at 350 F for 6-10 minutes. Watch them like a hawk! As soon as they start to get a little golden, take them out - no one likes burnt nuts.
Once the nuts have cooled for about 10 minutes, grab your food processor. Dump in the flour, salt, and walnuts, and go to town. You want a pretty fine mixture without any large walnut chunks.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my food processor?
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream your butter until it's super soft. Add the sugar and keep mixing until it's a lemony color and very smooth. Now add the maple syrup and go at it again for another minute or so. Add the dry ingredients and mix one last time, stopping as soon as everything is evenly incorporated. You should have a slightly sticky dough that isn't crumbly or runny. Cover your bowl with a dish towel and pop it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
Heavenly.
Once your dough is nice and chilled, preheat the oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Carve out hunks of dough and form them into 1-inch balls. Once they're all neatly lined up on the baking sheet, use the bottom of a glass to flatten them out to about 1/2 inch thick. I had some leftover walnuts so also stuck little chunks on top of my shortbread to dress it up a bit! Throughout all this, you might need some extra flour to keep the dough from stick to your hands or the glass.
Pre-rolling!
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges of your shortbread start to turn a nice golden brown. If you'd like, you can dust them with powdered sugar once they cool, or just pop the warm nuggets straight into your mouth as they are. Enjoy!
