Hazelnut Shortbread - Variation on a Classic Biscuit/Cookie

Shortbread is one of the British classics I grew up with. Goes perfectly with a cup of tea! Whatever flavorings one might add, the predominant flavor of good shortbread must be butter. And I do mean butter; margarine will not do. My grandmother (from England's Lake District) was particularly fond of hazelnuts, as am I; so I decided to change up my usual shortbread with some Bob's Red Mill finely ground hazelnut meal.

It was delicious, perfectly scrummy, and a subtle enough addition to not overpower the aroma of butter as they were baking. (I say "they" rather than "it" because I prefer to cut the shortbread into individual biscuits before baking.) When developing recipes, I always cut back on the sugar as much as possible. This barely sweet treat has less than 1/2 teaspoon sugar per biscuit (that's British English for "cookie").

06/20/16 Update: You might also like to try my Earl Grey Shortbread.

Hazelnut Shortbread

(Makes 25 biscuits/cookies)

1/2 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces/50 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 packed cup finely ground hazelnut meal
1 dip-and-sweep cup (5 ounces/142 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 With electric mixer, cream butter well. Add sugar, vanilla extract and salt; continue creaming. Beat in hazelnut meal, then beat in flour. Scrape out onto piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap, shape into disk, wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. On very lightly floured surface, roll or pat dough into 1/4-inch-thick 7 1/2-inch square. Cut into 25 1 1/2-inch squares. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 16 to 18 minutes; edges will be just barely starting to brown.