Apple and Carrot Shortbread

Aren't we all glad that the summer is now over? For all those months I hardly stepped into the kitchen; couldn't bear to be close to an oven in that heat ( Except the one time I baked for my mom ). I don't think I had cravings for anything other than chilled water! But now with the onset of the rains, things are getting better. I love my masala chai and its a perfect companion for a rainy afternoon. But then I found myself hoping I had some cookies to go with it.

I had bookmarked this recipe a while ago and wondered how apples and carrots would go together. Now I know- they are fantastic together! So with this rich nutty shortbread and the comfort of baking again, I am enjoying the start of monsoon. Hope you are as well :)




Recipe from 101 Cookbooks

1/4 cup / 2 ounces / 50g semolina flour
1 1/2 cups / 6 ounces whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
5 ounces (150g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup / 3 1/2 ounces (100g) light Muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)
2 ounces (50g) carrot, grated (about 1/4 cup)
1 ounce (25g) apple, grated (about 1/6 of a med. apple)
zest of one lemon
milk

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, or 180C. Sift the semolina, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir the carrot, apple, and lemon zest into the flour mixture, and mix until well coated and evenly dispersed. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms, then knead a couple times to bring everything together. Split the dough in two, flatten each piece into an inch-thick patty, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

When you're ready to bake the shortbread, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/2-inch thick/1cm. Use a metal cutters to stamp out cookies, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with a bit of milk and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown just a bit.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Notes- I used a mixture of all purpose flour and regular whole wheat flour. And I found my shortbread took almost 20 mins to be baked.