Feb 2, 2010

Hungarian Shortbread

The light, crumbly texture of this shortbread owes to a clever technique: freezing the dough and grating it. This recipe is based on one in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan (Morrow, 1996).

Credit: André Baranowski

2 cups flour, plus more as needed
1 tsp. baking powder
1⁄8 tsp. fine salt
1⁄2 lb. unsalted, uncultured
butter (like Straus), plus more for
pan, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3⁄4 cup raspberry jam

1. Using a sieve over a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream butter in a large bowl, using a hand mixer on high speed, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and egg yolks; mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is light, about 4 minutes. With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture; mix until dough just begins to come together, about 1 minute.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; bring it together with your hands. Divide dough in half and form 2 balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap; freeze for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

3. Arrange an oven rack in center of oven; heat to 350°. Grease a 10" springform pan with butter. Remove a ball of dough from freezer, unwrap, and grate, using the large holes of a box grater, directly into prepared pan. Gently pat grated dough to even it out. Spread jam evenly over dough, leaving about a 1⁄2" border around edges. Grate remaining dough over jam layer; pat gently until surface is even. Bake until light golden brown, about 25–30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, on a rack, before cutting into wedges.

SERVES 8–10

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #109

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Ratings & Reviews (9)

by fiftytwosundays on 2008-11-18

this shortbread is fantastic. i definitely recommend baking the bottom crust first because if turns out uncooked if you don`t. 25 minutes should do it. then add the jam and topping and cook for the time the recipe says, it is easy and really tastes great. keeps well too.

by kdguice on 2009-12-08

easy, fast, cheap, clever- very impressive dessert! i did make homemade jam to put in the middle, though- i boiled strawberries with ruby port, figs, a bit of balsamic vinegar and sugar. sooooooo good!!!!

by S.minsloff on 2010-01-24

Simple and delicious, although extremely rich and very sweet.

by mrslarkin on 2010-02-01

Make this. It's fantastic. I grate my dough in the food processor. Instead of balls, form your dough into logs that'll fit through the feed tube.

by audra on 2010-04-09

I have made these many times and everyone loves them. I bake the bottom layer for 20 minutes as suggested by others to get a nice crisp crust on the bottom.

by davemx on 2010-04-10

I've tried making it twice and it turns out real bad. The butter separates and melts... Greasy yet tasty final product. Will try it again with the tweaks from you guys

by davemx on 2010-10-14

Same here, have tried it twice and the butter separates...
I thought it was just me!

Would like to try it again but I'm afraid it'd yield the same results.

Does anybody know what might we be doing wrong??

by rnelson on 2012-05-16

PERFECT. best shortbread.

by JHARRIMAN07 on 2013-02-27

These are amazingly good. I baked mine in a tart pan with a removable bottom, which gave the shortbread a lovely scalloped edge.

The shortbread is tender and sweet on the bottom and buttery-crisp on top. I love the technique of shredding the dough for a crumbly topping. (I'm going to try this with other recipes such as crumb-topped cakes or Rhubarb Pie.)

I followed the directions in regards to the raspberry jam filling. I think that this could just be the beginning. Apricot, strawberry, or blueberry with a bit of lemon zest thrown into the dough... the possibilities are endless.

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