Hungarian Shortbread (easy and buttery)
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.
Servings 9 squares
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 11 ounces quince paste apricot or raspberry jam
Instructions
- In a bowl beat 1 cup unsalted butter until light and creamy.
- Add 2 egg yolks and mix well.
- Add 1 cup sugar, beating a few minutes until almost incorporated.
- Add 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Incorporate with a wooden spoon or spatula; it will be a tad sticky.
- Divide in two and wrap in plastic. Freeze until hard but not rock solid, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC).
- Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. See Notes below.
- 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.
- Cover the bottom dough with 11 ounces quince paste or jam. If it’s too stiff, soften it with a few tablespoons orange juice or water. Be careful not to tear the dough. I put the paste in tablespoons and then spread it with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
- Grate the rest of the cold dough, letting it fall as evenly as possible. Press very lightly if you want, but not much.
- 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.
- 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
Prepare the pan: line the greased pan with strips of parchment paper. When ready to cut and serve, they will help you remove the whole loaf. The strip (or strips) must be as wide as the pan. 1 strip: cover the bottom and two short sides. The two long sides will be greased but not lined. 2 strips: make a crisscross pattern and cover the bottom (twice) and all sides. One strip will be wider than the other.
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 to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend tracking how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Grater: use a large (or coarse) holed grater. Otherwise, the process will be messy.
Freezing: you can't skip this step if you want to achieve the right consistency.
