Try this tasty cherry walnut shortbread recipe.

Among all the variations on the Classic Canada cornstarch shortbread recipe I made, this one seems to be a real popular one. For some reason the moisture from the cherries combined with the crunch of the walnuts along with the buttery shortbread combine perfectly to satisfy almost everyone that has tried them. The quantities I provide below for the cherries and walnuts are just suggestions. I found this ration to work well. I chopped up the cherries and crushed up the walnuts into smaller pieces so that there is nice equal distribution of cherry walnut yumminess throughout the shortbread but, maybe you like chunks! It’s all good! 🙂

ingredients

1 c flour
1/2 c corn starch
1/2 c icing sugar
3/4 c butter
1/2 c crushed walnuts
1/2 c Marachino cherries chopped

Cherry walnut shortbread directions

Cream together first four ingredients.
Add in crushed walnuts and maraschino cherries.
Roll into 1 inch balls.
Flatten balls with fork onto a cookie sheet.
Chill for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300F.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown around edges and bottom.

Notes: Again, I’m not a cook and I’m sure there are many techniques to baking that would make the above recipes tastier. In any case, I hope you enjoy the recipe and the results.

Some variations on the classic shortbread recipe involve adding in extra liquid. With those recipes I find you get a shortbread that spreads out more than usual. If you don’t want this then I suggest reducing the amount of butter a bit or increasing the dry ingredients a bit.

For the savory shortbreads I would suggest limiting the sugar content. I will keep working on the ratio of sweet to savory for those but the do smell wonderful when you take them out of the oven!

Tea Pairings: Good question. Honestly, I think shortbread goes with anything! And tea goes with anything too! So, it’s a match made in heaven. I have tried different teas with each of the shortbread varieties with no particular pairing methodology behind the pairing. Each tea I have used can stand on its own.

Modifications: OMG! There are so many modifications to the classic shortbread recipe which is from the Canada brand of corn starch. A picture of this shortbread recipe on the back of the Canada brand cornstarch box can be found in the figure below. I’m considering trying adding loose leaf tea leaves into the classic shortbread batter after it is creamed together. For example, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Lavendar, any herbal tea. Once I have gone through the 12 days of shortbread I’ll include a list of recipes of shortbread variations I have yet to try such as caramel, toffee, skor, sea salt, white chocolate macadamian nut, carrot cake, pumpkin spice, cranberry and pistachio. I’m also considering more savory variations using other types of cheese like brie, havarti, smoked cheeses, maybe even some cream cheeses.

References:

17 Incredibly Perfect Tea and Biscuit Combinations, Emma Cooke, March 2016, buzzfeed.com, URL: https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmacooke24/digestives-and-breakfast-tea-is-life
The best tea and biscuit pairings, Niamh Ollerton, Nov 2016, lovefood.com, URL: https://www.lovefood.com/news/56428/tea-biscuit-pairings-breakfast-tea-chocolate-hobnob-earl-grey-ginger-nut

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Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!