Christmas Recipes
Smoked Almond Chocolate Shortbread
A rich, buttery crust is topped with almonds, a dense, fudge-like chocolate and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Yield: 2 dozen bars
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) smoked (or roasted) almonds
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter, softened + additional for pan
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate Caramel
- 11 ounces (about 2 cups) milk chocolate, chopped or chips
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or smoked salt (optional)
Instructions
Shortbread
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 9 inch pan with parchment paper or foil; butter the interior of the paper or foil.
- Grind smoked almonds in food processor until the consistency of coarse corn meal.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together ground almonds, flour, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and almond extract with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add flour mixture in two batches mixing until crumbly, but sticky dough forms.
- Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared pan.
- Bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let cool completely on wire rack.
Chocolate Caramel
- Place chocolate in a medium size glass or stainless steel bowl; set aside.
- In a medium size saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook mixture over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat. Add butter, cream and salt.
- Return to heat and simmer over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour mixture over chocolate; let stand for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth; let stand to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Pour mixture over shortbread.
- Allow to cool for about 30 minutes and then refrigerate overnight or at least 5 hours.
- Sprinkle with sea salt or smoked salt, if desired.
- To cut, run a knife around edges of pan to loosen the parchment or foil; carefully lift the paper out of pan. Cut bars with knife dipped in hot water and remove paper or foil.
- Store bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Attribution
Recipe and photo used with permission from:
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin