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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

TWD/BWJ Hungarian Shortbread

I really have no Idea why this particular treat is called Hungarian Shortbread. I will just call it excellent!
I made one big mistake --I  only made half the recipe! It was barely out of the oven and family would cut off a small square and say things like 'this is delicious' or 'best dessert ever'. Of course they would continue taking small bites until most of the pan was gone.  Please I begged save me a square that I can photograph tomorrow! Being the kind ones they are I have a few small squares to photo at first light tomorrow.

I was late making this treat I thought we had another week to procrastinate. But here we are the first Tuesday in May which happens to be May 1st! In waiting till the last minute I garnered many ideas from fellow bakers. Little helps that they thought just may improve the recipe. Now I really don't have time for failures so I took all the advice of my fellow TWD bakers because they are smart!!

I made my rhubarb jam with rhubarb freshly picked from my garden. I feel bad for those that had to pay $4.89 at Walmart for rhubarb! I cooked it longer than the said time and it was still much more runny than jam so I put it in a fine mesh sieve and it was the perfect consistency in about 30 minutes. I also added a drop of red food coloring to make it a more pleasing color.
I made my short bread as directed, and grated it into an 8 inch square pan. I cooked this layer for about 15 minutes as suggested by other bakers.
I spread my 1/2 cup of rhubarb jam over the par baked crust. I then used a box grater to grate the rest of the dough over the filling. It was easy, easy. I cooked it till light brown. Just after removing it from the oven I sprinkled plenty of powdered sugar over it.
A delicious dessert that everyone loved. I'll make it again with different kinds of jam. But the garden fresh rhubarb was an excellent addition to this sweet treat.
Our Hostess this week is Cher and Lynette check their blogs for the complete details.

19 comments:

Sweet and That's it said...

When I read your description of how you made the rhubarb jam & the sieve... It was like reading my own post.... So funny! But it worked perfecly!
Now the big question: why didn't the book mention that the jam was going to be runny? My first thought is: "Ups I've must have made something wrong"...but in this case...

Your shortcake looks delicious... I'm definitely going to make it again.
I loved it, and though I'd reduced the butter by 1/3 it still was great!
Thanks for baking along!
Greetings from Switzerland.

Cakelaw said...

I enjoyed this too. I can't wait to see your home picked homemade rhubarb jam - what fun!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Lucky you having a plentiful rhubarb crop! I'm the only rhubarb lover in the family so I made a half batch, too :) They were yummy, weren't they???

Anonymous said...

LOL too bad it got eaten so quickly! My hubby knows not to touch stuff until I get pictures - even though it takes all his strength sometimes. :)


Alice @ http://acookingmizer.wordpress.com

Hindy said...

Lovely! And good on you for making the jam. We're still weeks away from rhubarb here.

Elaine said...

I also halved it and now wish I had made the full because it is already gone at my house. I usually bake mine in the morning, so I can get photos before it gets cut into. Too cute, but totally understandable that everyone couldn't stop eating yours!

Kathy said...

This was such a delicious treat! I wish I halved the recipe though…I had to freeze part of what I made. Yours looks perfect…and so delicious!

Anonymous said...

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO delicious - I could SO go for a couple of these right now with a cuppa!
Mary x

Abby said...

We loved this one, too! The little pieces your fam left are gorgeous!

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Wonderful pictures - i liked that you prepared the rhubarb jam with rhubarb from your own garden, I am definitely jealous there...Great post, it is nice to read that it was liked by everyone!

Anonymous said...

I know! I didn't bake enough too. I'll need to bake some more. Your shortbread looks great.

Jenn said...

Looks yummy! Next time I will make the jam. USUALLY I make everything, but this time time did not allow.

It is amazingly good, and sounds wonderful to change the filling with th seasons.

Eliotseats said...

I really want to grow rhubarb but have had NO luck. These look great! I bet they didn't last long. (Great idea with the sieve!)

Cher Rockwell said...

I can't imagine paying for rhubarb! My parents have always had a patch behind their house for me to raid.
Great job and lovely pictures :-)

Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl said...

Cindy, I'm so jealous you have rhubarb in your garden. It's not $4.89 here, more like $2.99. But I love making strawberry rhubarb preserves. I've made one batch this season, and it's mostly all gone. I have one small jar left...perhaps I should make this shortbread? It looks delicious!

Gretchen @ Provecho Peru said...

Lovely red layer in your shortbread!! They look delicious!

Unknown said...

Ohh! Garden rhubarb! I'm jealous.

Kayte said...

Weren't these wonderful?? I can't remember when I have enjoyed a cookie more actually, it just hit all the right notes for me. Yours are absolutely beautiful. I love rhubarb but the guys don't care for it, so sometime, when I am certain I won't eat the whole pot of jam myself in one sitting, I will try it with the rhubarb...my mother always put the extra red in it also. Sometimes she put red hot candies in her rhubarb pie that gave it a nice touch as well.

Teresa said...

I had the date wrong, too. Oh, well, we'll get the post up for the Pecan Sticky Buns on time...

I used freshly picked rhubarb from my parents' garden - perfect timing in one respect, because it had just taken off. I used a bit of instant tapioca to thicken it and it worked just fine.

Yours looks great!