Author Notes: These are a shortbread lover’s version of Irish Soda Bread, studded with currants and caraway seeds and a bit of whole wheat flour. They are heavenly with some blue cheese and a glass of prosecco, or a cup of good black tea, or just all by themselves. —calendargirl
Food52 Review: WHO: Calendargirl is an artist living in Washington, D.C. She was part of the team that catalogued Julia Child’s kitchen for the Smithsonian!
WHAT: The best things about soda bread — in cookie form.
HOW: Make an easy shortbread dough, chill it, cut it, and bake it. Enjoy with a cup of tea or a glass of Prosecco.
WHY WE LOVE IT: We love how calendargirl takes two Irish classics — soda bread and shortbread — and creates the perfect hybrid. The result: a sweet-savory cookie, studded with currants and caraway seeds, that we’d gladly eat any time of day. —The Editors
Makes: 3 to 4 dozen shortbreads, depending on size
Ingredients
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1
stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold
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1/4
cup sugar
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1
scant cup all-purpose flour
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2
tablespoons whole wheat flour
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1/8
teaspoon fine sea salt
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1/3
cup dried currants
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1
generous tablespoon whole caraway seeds
Directions
- Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add all other ingredients and mix until they are well combined, another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove dough from processor and roll out on lightly-floured surface into a free-form shape, roughly 7 x 10 inches and about 1/4 inch thick. I like to roll out the dough on waxed paper or parchment.
- Transfer the dough to a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350° F and using a sharp knife, cut the dough into desired shapes. Rustic rectangles work well, and it is not necessary to re-roll the scraps if you are satisfied with some irregular edges, which I think are especially nice for these. As long as your cookies are roughly the same size, they will bake evenly.
- Place the shapes on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake about 10 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are light brown. Let the shortbreads cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
/47076e37-13cd-4a44-9f3a-b3d48215dd43--wildcard_currant-caraway-shortbread_food52_mark-weinberg_5656.jpg "Currant-Caraway Shortbread 2")
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Photo by Mark Weinberg
/c62ef404-cd4a-471c-a93a-04ba9133f8b7--2012-01-15_18.38.14.jpg "Currant-Caraway Shortbread 3")
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