Ingredients
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Shortbread
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter, A little bit colder than room temperature, but not frozen A little less than ¾ cup of white sugar. I fill to ¾ of the last ¼ cup. 1 ½ t vanilla 2 ⅓ cup flour ½ t white salt (the Morton-umbrella-girl kind) |
The Rest
⅔ cup granola Of course I like Homemade Granola Mola, but any granola without fruit will do. 1 jar (10-12 oz) of your favorite jam Raspberry is the original recipe. Strawberry-guava is what is pictured. |
What To Do
Pre-heat over to 350°F to prep for baking
Making Shortbread
Sift together salt and flour into a glass bowl and set aside. I do find that sifting is useful for consistency (no flour bombs in the finished product), and it is just plain fun.
Cut the block and a half of butter into chunks, and add with sugar and vanilla into the Kitchen Aid. Set it on low/medium and mix until it just comes together. You may have to push the butter out of the mixer attachment if your butter is very cold. It's better if the butter is a little too hard than too soft.
Switch the mixer to a lower speed and slowly add the flour to the sugar/butter/vanilla. Mix until it just barely forms a dough ball. I do this in thirds.
Take ⅔ of the dough and press it into a 9" x 9" Pyrex pan. The pressed dough should be about ¼" tall, and try not to handle it too much.
Jammy Granola Part
In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ⅓ of the dough with the granola. Use your hands to mix it together. The dough will eventually start to coat the granola a little bit and also break up into little balls of sugar/butter/flour goodness.
Slather your favorite jam over the pressed shortbread in the Pyrex pan, but leave about ¼" border to the edge. It will seem like a lot of jam to use the entire 10-ounce jar, but don't skimp. I trusted the Contessa and so should you.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Cool completely (overnight recommended) and then cut into squares.
Bring to work and impress your colleagues with your mad baking skills. Even your relatives and the church ladies might be impressed.
Making Shortbread
Sift together salt and flour into a glass bowl and set aside. I do find that sifting is useful for consistency (no flour bombs in the finished product), and it is just plain fun.
Cut the block and a half of butter into chunks, and add with sugar and vanilla into the Kitchen Aid. Set it on low/medium and mix until it just comes together. You may have to push the butter out of the mixer attachment if your butter is very cold. It's better if the butter is a little too hard than too soft.
Switch the mixer to a lower speed and slowly add the flour to the sugar/butter/vanilla. Mix until it just barely forms a dough ball. I do this in thirds.
Take ⅔ of the dough and press it into a 9" x 9" Pyrex pan. The pressed dough should be about ¼" tall, and try not to handle it too much.
Jammy Granola Part
In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ⅓ of the dough with the granola. Use your hands to mix it together. The dough will eventually start to coat the granola a little bit and also break up into little balls of sugar/butter/flour goodness.
Slather your favorite jam over the pressed shortbread in the Pyrex pan, but leave about ¼" border to the edge. It will seem like a lot of jam to use the entire 10-ounce jar, but don't skimp. I trusted the Contessa and so should you.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Cool completely (overnight recommended) and then cut into squares.
Bring to work and impress your colleagues with your mad baking skills. Even your relatives and the church ladies might be impressed.
Notes and Talking Story
- JAM is very different JELLY in both sweetness and consistency. Do not substitute.
- That said, this is a very forgiving recipe for those of us who sometimes don't measure exactly.
- The original recipe included dusting with confectioner's sugar at the end. This made it too sweet for us.
- The original recipe also included ¼ cup of almonds, but our granola already has nuts in it. Nuts are optional for this.
- I use Homemade Granola Mola, because we always have it in the house, and it tones down sweetness.
- I use a glass Pyrex because I don't have a good sense of when something is finished. This way I can see when the crust is beginning to turn that lovely golden shortbread color.