Irish Cream Shortbread

I love good, buttery shortbread, and this recipe from King Arthur Flour, delivers just that! If you do not have a shortbread mold, you can still make this recipe by using an 8 inch cake pan. I found my shortbread mold at Amazon. They have a very nice selection of molds if you are interested. This Irish Cream Shortbread recipe is a perfect finish for my Irish themed month. It would make a lovely addition to an afternoon tea or coffee or as a quick sweet to brighten your day!

Bon Appetit!

Tips:

If you use salted butter, make sure to reduce the salt to a 1/8 teaspoon.

I like to use Kerrygold Irish butter for this recipe.

When mixing in the flours, the dough will not come together. It will be crumbly. Press the crumbly dough together firmly, and shape your dough into a disc for easy pressing into the mold.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) soft butter
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (1/8 if using salted butter)
1 teaspoon Irish whiskey or 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (unbleached flour is fine)
1/4 cup white rice flour

Directions:

Prepare your shortbread mold according to the manufacturer's directions by lightly greasing the mold. If you use an 8 inch round cake pan, lightly grease it with a cooking spray. Beat the butter until it's smooth. Beat in the sugar, salt, and whiskey (or vanilla) until fluffy. Mix in the flour and rice flour. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Remove the dough from the fridge. You may need to let dough sit on the counter top for approximately 20 minutes, so that the dough is workable.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Press dough firmly into the short bread mold (or cake pan). Prick the dough all over with a fork to prevent it from puffing. Bake it until the shortbread is golden (30 to 36 minutes). Check the shortbread at 18 minutes; if it is puffing, use a flat spatula to press the dough into the mold. Continue baking. Remove from the oven when golden, and cool it for 15 minutes. Then loosen the edges of the shortbread with a table knife before turning the mold over onto a flat surface. Tap the bottom of the mold several times, until the shortbread is removed. Cut the shortbread into 8 wedges using a serrated knife. Store the shortbread (in an airtight container or by wrapping it). It will last a week, but you can freeze for longer storage.