Friday, June 6, 2008

Banana Nut Shortbread


I love shortbread. Like really love shortbread. Maybe because I grew up with my mom and grandma making it, or maybe because yes it's just that delicious. My mom has always made it at Christmas, and my grandma's shortbread is one everyone fights over (I still need to try out her recipe). Their shortbreads are quite different though, with my mom's being light, extremely crumbly and topped with half of a maraschino cherry, and my grandma's being covered in sugar and more sturdy. Both are yummy.


I was really curious to try out this recipe, wondering if it would be anything like shortbread since there's half of a banana in it. Impressively it was quite like shortbread in texture, but it didn't have a strong banana taste. There was way too much nutmeg, so I recommend halving it which is reflected in the recipe below. And it was easy to roll out (a huge plus in my books).


I really loved trying this recipe out, but I doubt I'll make it again because the flavour just didn't do it for me (maybe it was the extreme nutmeg). So why am I posting it? Well it's worth trying if you're an adventurous shortbread lover, or just looking for something different. And if you're fancy, you can add dried banana chips, walnut halves and/or maple icing to these. The Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookies magazine has a few different shortbread recipes, and I can't wait to try out the other ones - carrot cake, peanut butter candy, and strawberry.


Other cookies I've made:
Earl Grey Tea or Matcha Shortbread
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Russian Tea Cakes (Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies)
Strawberry Shortbread Cookie Bark

Banana Nut Shortbread
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookies 2007

Makes about 36

1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup mashed ripe banana (1/2 medium banana)
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

Beat butter, banana, and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours or freeze about 20 minutes until firm.

Preheat the oven to 300F. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in butter mixture using a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together. Add chopped nuts. Knead dough until smooth; form dough into a ball. Divide dough in half.

Roll each dough portion into an 8 inch x 6 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each rectangle into sixteen 2 x 1 1/2-inch rectangles. Place rectangles 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven about 30 minutes or just until bottoms begin to brown. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool.

26 comments:

priscilla joy said...

I love shortbread too! This looks delicious, it reminds me of the holidays whenever we make it(not often).

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Experimenting with new flavours beats any other activity out there. I finally found an easy, no fail shortbread cookie from my brother that is now my "go to" recipe. Until then I had no success with shortbread at all and it is our favourite!!I have also passed on an award to you if you care to drop by sometime:D

grace said...

i've started seeking out every shortbread recipe i can find, so i'm glad i check your blog on a regular basis! this version sounds stellar!

Fitness Foodie said...

I like the thought of banana shortbread. Nice pics.

jennifer said...

would adding more banana severely change it's texture? maybe cutting down on the nutmeg and adding more banana would help. i like your idea too of adding nuts or banana chips.

jennifer
www.oyecookie.com

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I too love shortbread; but BANANA shortbread?? now that sounds even better!! so sorry that the flavor didn't deliver though :0(

Patricia Scarpin said...

I love the idea of baking cookies with banana. These look wonderful!

Artifax said...

I love the idea of banana shortbread! Might have to give this a try this summer.

Deborah said...

I must be living under a rock - I've never even thought of doing different flavors of shortbread! The other flavors you mentioned all sound delicious as well!

* said...

Wow! You have such a neat blog!

giz said...

It's good to get outside the box and experiment. Most of my experiments end up as dismal failures but one day I'm sure I'll create the perfect recipe.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Another shortbread lover her. That looks so good.

Anonymous said...

mmm...yummy. I love anything banana :)

test it comm said...

I like the sound of adding bananas and walnuts to short bread!

Wheeler's Frozen Dessert said...

Looks awesome!

Anonymous said...

That's too bad that they didn't work out for you, but they look beautiful! Did you use fresh nutmeg or ground? I wonder if one would be better than the other.

Johanna GGG said...

shortbread always looks good but I am not so keen on the taste - a bit plain and I ate too many of them while working in scotland - but I do like the look of these despite your misgivings and I think it is always interesting to see other recipes even if we wont make every one - it stimulates the creative juices

Anonymous said...

Huh, I never thought you could put something as moist as a banana into shortbread. Sounds good though!

LisaRene said...

Shortbread is my favorite cookie! I hope you do make your grandma's recipe and post about it. Your Strawberry Cookie Bark looks quite tasty considering it was an "oops".

Anonymous said...

I love shortbread as well! Though I've never been quite successful at baking them. gRRRR... I like the fact that you dared to experiment with the flavours. Never heard of banana shortbread before!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I love the sound of these. Banana sounds too moist for shortbread, but it looks like it turned out beautifully.

sarchan said...

I would never think banana shortbread. This is certainly an interesting recipe (and--for shortbread--healthy-ish). Intriguing.

Anonymous said...

wow, this sounds so yummy! i love shortbread but i've never even heard of banana shortbread before...i need to try this!

LisaRene said...

Ashley, I just stumbled upon the website for the Kansas Wheat Commission and found a very informative article about the science of scones. Thought you would find it interesting as well.

http://www.kswheat.com/upload/Fat%20Functions%20-%20Scones.pdf

Mansi said...

these looks awesome! perfect for my 4pm snack:)

Anonymous said...

These sound amazing. I just found your blog so far haven't found a thing I don't like. I will be trying these.

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