Skip to main content

Blackberry-Almond Shortbread Squares

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 12

Ingredients

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds (2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound blackberries (about 4 cups)
Freshly grated zest of 1 orange

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 × 13-inch baking pan. Line with parchment; butter the lining. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 minutes; let cool. Grind in a food processor until fine.

    Step 2

    Whisk together the flour, nuts, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside. Put 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the almond extract. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches; mix until a crumbly dough forms.

    Step 3

    Press all but 1 cup dough onto the bottom of the pan. Toss the berries with the zest; scatter over the dough. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon sugar; crumble the reserved dough on top. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Cut into 12 squares; dust with sugar.

The cookbook cover with a blue background and fine typeface.
Reprinted with permission from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics by Martha Stewart Living Magazine, copyright © 2007. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of The Crown Publishing Group. Buy the full book from Amazon.
Read More
Like banana pudding cake and beer can chicken.
Use the beer, not the can, for this citrusy take on a classic that nods to mojo criollo.
This summery cake from Bake Club just happens to be gluten-free.
Attention, martini drinkers and spritz drinkers: Please for a single line.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.
Brown-butter banana cake with banana cream and crunchy vanilla wafers for good measure.
Like swordfish steaks with tomatoes and Peruvian-style tofu.