Tuesdays with Dorie: Coffee Shortbread from Baking with Dorie

 My bake for this week was coffee shortbread.  This recipe went together quickly with a few simple ingredients.

After reading Dorie's instructions not to overmix, I was concerned that maybe I had undermixed when I tried to press the crumbly mix into the prepared pan.  Pressing a fork in to create marks for the wedges only pulled up the crumbs so I followed others' input and didn't even try to mark the dough until after baking.  It still seemed quite crumbly so I used a tart pan bottom pressed to the baked circle before inverting.  I had my doubts that it would hold together but it did.  

I made a quick, simple glaze after the wedges cooled and sprinkled it with espresso powder.

Cardamom is not a flavor that I use frequently but I followed the recipe as written.  When my husband and I shared a piece of the shortbread, we both found it to have complex flavor.  The lemon zest, espresso, cardamom and the sea salt all came through to make a really delicious shortbread with a soft and crumbly texture.  I plan to take the rest to a gathering on Friday and I'm looking forward to seeing how the flavors and texture bloom.  I will definitely make this one again in the future.

The next time you need a simple recipe for tasty shortbread, try this one from Baking with Dorie:  Sweet, Salty & Simple.