misty blue + white rose too.
eleven moons above me and you.
golden rose color of the dream I had, this timeless day,
you stole my heart away.
—from a tatine tisane candle wrapper
My new room is filled with candles.
The gleaming gold bookshelf is teeming with flickering flames,
dispersing their sweet burnt smell and comforting yellow light.
This house is starting to feel like home; there are paintings on the walls and placemats on the dining room table; china in the built-in, keys hanging on hooks, and clothes in closets.
There’s Latin translations and Foucault readings and all manners of chemistry problems strewn about our study area.
The sound of keys tapping and voices mingling fills our apartment at night, as we share bowls of popcorn and commiserate about the trials of second year at UChicago.
Has it really only been a week of classes?
Lord almighty.
It feels like it’s been forever and yet, paradoxically, it feels like it’s been 2 seconds.
How how how how how.
This is the first thing I baked in my apartment.
As soon as we had gas, I was lighting that baby up to bake some shortbread. I had been dreaming of it.
(Our oven doesn’t have numbers on the dial, doesn’t indicate when it’s heated, and is generally a scary health hazard. Oh well.)
We brought some of this shortbread to our upstairs neighbor-friends as a reverse housewarming gift.
Easy way to make friends: bring cookies.
This shortbread is so good, it was gone in a day.
Slightly crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth buttery, faintly sweet with a hit of flaky sea salt. Savory, smoky pine nuts accentuate the richness of the butter, and a whole vanilla bean adds the sweetest perfume to the cookies.
They’re addicting, to say the least.
The recipe produces something quite similar in texture to Walker’s, but with a more complex flavor profile.
You must serve it with hot tea with cream, and definitely share it with new (and old) friends.
Pine Nut and Vanilla Bean Shortbread
makes 1 12-inch round, or 2 thicker 6- or 8-inch rounds
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
scrapings of a vanilla bean
heaping 1 1/2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, or a slightly heaped teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup pine nuts, roughly chopped
directions:
Grease and flour a 12-inch round pan.
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat on high speed for 3 minutes, until fluffy and light.
Add in the slat and vanilla bean and beat for 2 more minutes to further aerate it.
Scrape the bowl and add in the confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch.
Stir on low speed until combined.
Scrape the bowl and add in the flour; again, stir on low speed until fully combined.
Add in the chopped pine nuts.
Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and gently press it into an even layer (dough will be slightly sticky and very soft).
Place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour and up to 1 night.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Score chilled dough and prick all over with a fork.
Bake for 50 minutes-1 hour, until toasted and fragrant and a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and rescore lines with a sharp knife.
Allow to cool, then remove from the pan with a very sharp knife and a cake server (some will inevitably crumble).
Serve with cream tea.
October 4, 2014 at 12:18 pm
This is an amazing combination! Two of my favorite ingredients! I can’t wait to try it!
October 5, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Thanks Lindy! It’s an unexpected but delicious combination! xx
October 4, 2014 at 8:13 pm
This is by far the best looking shortbread I have ever seen, it is SO beautifully captured. I love that you used pine nuts too. Definitely a recipe that I must recreate!
October 5, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Thanks Thalia! Love shortbread bases for their versatility!
October 7, 2014 at 12:50 pm
I just came across your blog and am enamored with your recipes–and photos! They are amazing. I would love to subscribe to new posts via email, but I don’t see the sign-up box near the search or archive tag cloud. Can you help? xo
October 7, 2014 at 2:05 pm
Chelsea, thank you so much for pointing that out! My subscription widget magically disappeared. It’s back now—you should see it right above the recent posts in the right hand sidebar. Glad to have you here! xx
October 10, 2014 at 1:58 pm
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October 16, 2014 at 12:42 pm
Beautiful photography and such a yummy looking recipe! Will have to give it a go.
Just stumbled upon your blog over on Pinterest and have subscribed to your posts. Look forward to seeing more!
Jennifer x
October 16, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Thank you so much Jennifer!! If you do try it, let me know how it goes! xx
November 5, 2014 at 4:26 pm
[…] Peche Fraiche’s Pine Nut and Vanilla Bean Shortbread far exceeds any sub-standard shortbread I have ever seen (or […]
November 6, 2014 at 12:41 am
These shortbread are beautiful! (and also look delicious of course!)
By the way, I am really digging your photography.
December 20, 2014 at 11:15 pm
These turned out delicious. It was my first time using vanilla bean and will not be my last. Thank you for the great recipes and gorgeous photography!
December 21, 2014 at 9:09 pm
I’m so glad Golda!! Thank you for your kind words 🙂