Americas Test Kitchen Millionaires Shortbread Recipes

MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square pan.
• Sift flour into a bowl. Rub in butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Mix in brown sugar and shape dough into a ball.
• Press dough into the prepared pan. Prick all over with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, combine condensed milk, butter, and brown sugar in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until caramel comes to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Pour caramel over cooled crust and refrigerate until firm to the touch, about 1 hour.
• Place chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes.
• Spread melted chocolate over cooled caramel. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes. Cut into bars.

MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges; set aside.
• Combine 1 cup butter and sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt; mix to combine (mixture will be crumbly). Press into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven; let cool while making caramel.
• Stir all Caramel ingredients together except vanilla in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 20-25 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 236-239°F. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. (Caramel may be speckled with brown bits.) Pour caramel over baked crust and spread evenly (mixture will be very hot). Let cool 1 1/2 hours.
• Microwave chocolate at 50% power in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Spread over cooled caramel; sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until chocolate is just set. Let bars sit at room temperature 20 minutes before cutting.
• To cut into sticks, remove from pan using foil overhang. Cut bars in half into 2 (9x6 1/2-inch) rectangles. Cut each rectangle into thirds to make 6 (1/2x3-inch) rectangles. Cut each of these rectangles into 8 (3x3/4-inch) sticks.

MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, pushing the foil neatly into the corners and up the sides of the pan, using two pieces if necessary to ensure that the foil overlaps all edges (the overhang will help removal from the pan). Spray the foiled pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt; process until well combined and no lumps of brown sugar remain. Add the butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms. Add the ice water and egg yolk and blend until moist clumps form. Dump the dough into the prepared pan and press with your fingers into an even layer (dust your fingers with flour if the dough is too sticky). Pierce the dough all over with a fork and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, golden syrup, vanilla and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and boil gently, whisking constantly, until the caramel is thick and the temperature registers 225 degrees F, about 6 minutes. Pour the caramel over the warm crust; cool for about 15 minutes, or until caramel is set.
• Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is about 75% melted. Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the remaining chocolate, until smooth (if necessary, place the chocolate back in the microwave for a few more; just be sure not to overheat or the mixture will curdle). Spread the chocolate over the caramel layer. Refrigerate the bars until the chocolate is set, at least 1 hour. Using the foil overhang, lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into small squares and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Note: The shortbread layer will crumble a bit when you cut it; that's just the nature of it.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: These can be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.

MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Line a 13x9" baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving some hanging over edges of pan to lift out after baking.
• In a bowl or mixer bowl combine flour, powdered sugar, and kosher salt. Add melted butter and stir with rubber spatula or mix until flour is mixed and dough is crumbly.
• Press evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Using fork, pierce dough at 1-inch intervals all over. Bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and firm to touch.
• Remove from oven. While still warm, use a flat metal spatula and press surface of shortbread slightly to compress (optional). I find this helps when cutting later. Set aside.
• Stir all caramel ingredients together in large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring frequently with heat-proof rubber spatula to avoid any scorching on bottom for 20 minutes, or until mixture reaches 240°F (soft ball stage on candy thermometer).
• Carefully pour over shortbread while hot and spread to even thickness. Let cool completely for 1 1/2 hours, or until caramel is firm to the touch.
• In a small microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate and oil in microwave for 30 second intervals on high, stirring in between until melted. Stir to incorporate the oil until smooth.
• Pour over caramel and shake pan to cover to edges and look smooth or use a spatula or knife and spread back and forth across the surface (as pictured). Refrigerate shortbread until chocolate is set, about 10-15 minutes.
• Lift out of pan using parchment overhang onto a cutting board. Slice lengthwise down the middle and cut each half into 8 bars each for a total of 16 rectangle bars, or cut into squares.

ATK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet and line it with a piece of parchment. On top of the parchment, place a 9 or 10" springform RING - you do not need the bottom of the pan. In a mixer, blend all dry ingredients. Slowly add butter, blending until incorporated - 5 to 10 minutes - until the mixture looks like clumps. Sprinkle mixture inside the closed springform ring and press down into a solid 1/2" disk. Smooth with the back of a spoon. Use a 2" round cookie cutter to remove the center of the disk of dough - this allows for dough to bake evenly so center is not undercooked. Remove 2" circle of dough and replace cookie cutter so that the shortbread does not spread into that area. Also release the lock on the springform ring, allowing for dough to spread outward slightly during the baking process. Bake for 5 minutes only at 450 degress, then turn heat down to 250 degrees and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the top barely becomes golden. Turn oven OFF, but it should remain closed. Take springform ring and cookie cutter off of dough. Using a large, sharp knife, score the dough into wedges HALF WAY through the dough. Also poke each wedge with a skewer 8 to 10 times to release steam. Return to over that is turned OFF, with a wooden spoon keeping the door slightly ajar. Cookie should remain in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool for a full 2 hours, then cut into wedges and enjoy. Store in an airtight container.