Wait, we’re a meat company, why would be offering ya’ll a shortbread recipe? Because this shortbread uses our leaf lard (available at select cooperating retailers) and it’s, well, DELICIOUS! The other reason is that it comes to us via the amazing Phoebe Lawless, owner of Scratch Baking, and she was generous enough to let us share it with you.
From Phoebe….
This salty/sweet Australian treat takes traditional shortbread to a lofty and totally-worth-the-trouble level. The addition of leaf lard actually cuts the richness so that you’ll get all of the nuance of the vanilla bean and top-quality chocolate. Make sure to allow yourself some extra time for the caramel and chocolate to set before cutting.
Ingredients
Makes 3.5 dozen
For the shortbread:
3 ounces room temp rendered leaf lard
3 ounces room temp unsalted butter
⅔ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or scraped vanilla bean)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
For the caramel:
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 ounces room temp rendered leaf lard
2 Tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the chocolate glaze:
10 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
To make the shortbread:
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and butter/parchment/butter an 8 x 8 cake pan.
-Cream butter, lard, sugar, salt, and vanilla paste until very light and fluffy, scraping often. Add flour in three batches and mix until just combined.
-Pat out dough in prepared pan and smooth until you reach an even thickness. Freeze for 15 min.
-Bake for 15 minutes, rotate, then bake another 15-20 until golden. Allow to cool completely.
For the caramel:
-Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat making sure to stir constantly to prevent scorching. Cook mix until it reaches 225, then immediately pour over cooled shortbread. Refrigerate until caramel is firm.
-Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler and stir until all lumps are gone and is smooth and glossy.
-Pour chocolate over caramel and distribute evenly with an offset spatula. Allow to set at room temp or pop in the fridge for 8-10 minutes.
-Using a very sharp knife cut shortbread into 2-3” slabs and keep in an airtight container up to one week.
