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Wooden table with several squares of filled shortbread.

Hungarian Shortbread (easy and buttery)

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4.6 from 5 reviews

This is the best recipe for Hungarian Shortbread ever! Filled with quince paste, it is unbelievable crunchy due to the genius idea of adding an egg yolk to the dough. It can be made in advance and filled with other jams or pastes.

  • Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: 9 squares

Ingredients

Units
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (225g) butter, room temperature
  • 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 11 oz quince paste or raspberry jam

Instructions

  1. In a bowl beat butter until light and creamy.
  2. Add egg yolks and mix well.
  3. Add sugar, beating a few minutes until almost incorporated.
  4. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Incorporate with a wooden spoon or spatula; it will be a tad sticky.
  5. Divide in two and wrap in plastic. Freeze until hard but not rock solid, about 45-50 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 375ºF / 190ºC.
  7. Line a 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, leaving 2 sides unlined.
  8. Using a wide holed grater, grate one of the dough pieces, letting it cover the bottom of the pan. Press lightly to avoid holes or parts with no dough.
  9. Cover the bottom dough with quince paste or jam. If it’s too stiff, soften it with a few tablespoons orange juice or water. Be careful to not tear the dough.
  10. I put paste by tablespoons and then spread it with the back of a spoon.
  11. Grate the rest of the cold dough, letting it fall as evenly as possible. Press very lightly if you want, but not much.
  12. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 350ºF / 180ºC and bake another 30 minutes, or until it’s golden, dry and it looks crunchy.
  13. Let cool on wire rack, but if some parts of paste or jam are stuck to the sides, unstuck them while still hot with a non-serrated knife.

Notes

Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 

Grater: use a large (or coarse) holed grater. Otherwise, you'll probably make a mess in the process.

Filling: use a store-bought, good-quality jam. 

Freezing: you can't skip this step if you want to achieve the right consistency.

  • Author: Paula Montenegro
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Freezing time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Bars
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: International

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/9
  • Calories: 462
  • Sugar: 36.8 g
  • Sodium: 84.3 mg
  • Fat: 21.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 65.6 g
  • Fiber: 0.9 g
  • Protein: 3.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 95.2 mg

Find it online: https://vintagekitchennotes.com/quince-hungarian-shortbread/