Brown Butter Shortbread Squares With Roasted White Chocolate
34
- Prep Time30 mins
- Total Time2 hrs
- Makes25 squares
Topped with roasted white chocolate, these brown butter shortbread squares have a deliciously nutty flavour.
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
80 g finely chopped roasted white chocolate, (see Kitchen Tip)
25 g finely chopped cacao butter
Instructions
MELT butter in a medium saucepan (preferably not non-stick) set over medium. Cook, stirring often when butter becomes foamy, until it smells nutty and turns dark brown, 5 to 6 min. Pour through a fine sieve into a large bowl and freeze until semi-firm, 40 to 50 min.
POSITION rack in centre of oven, then preheat to 300F. Lightly spray an 8x8-in. square baking pan with oil.
USING an electric mixer on medium, beat semi-firm brown butter until fluffy, about 2 min. Gradually beat in sugar, salt and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour until just combined. Scrape dough into prepared pan. Press down into pan, then smooth top. Bake until centre of shortbread turns light golden, 35 to 40 min. Transfer pan to rack to cool, about 10 min. Carefully cut into 25 squares in the pan. Let cool completely, about 40 min.
LINE a baking sheet with parchment paper and set a rack on top. Arrange shortbread squares on rack. Temper chocolate and cacao butter.
SPOON chocolate mixture over shortbread until tops are covered. Let stand for 10 min to firm slightly. Use remaining chocolate to drizzle lines over shortbread. Let stand until chocolate is firm, about 30 min.
STORE in a covered container up to 1 week, or freeze up to 1 month.
How to roast white chocolate
Spread 170 g chopped white chocolate in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 250F, folding and smoothing out chocolate with an offset spatula every 10 min, until chocolate is a deep golden colour, about 1 hr. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 min, then refrigerate until hardened enough to chop, about 1 1/2 hr more. Alternately, you can purchased roasted white chocolate bars at gourmet candy stores.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 105, Protein 1g, Carbohydrates 8g, Fat 8g, Sodium 27mg.
