Almond Shortbread Wedges – Week 11

For the 11th week of The Baking Challenge, I am working out of the Coffee Shop section of my cookbook.  There are lots of fun recipes that I am looking forward to trying later, but I decided to start off with Almond Shortbread Wedges.  This was my first time making shortbread cookies, and it was quite fun!

To be completely honest with you, I am not a coffee drinker.  I just can’t get past the bitter taste.  The only way that I will consume coffee is if it is hidden in a fancy frappuccino or chocolate cake.  Nevertheless, I do enjoy going to coffee shops, and I think these cookies would fit in quite well at one!

First up for making these yummy cookies was getting the dough started.  This shortbread is a very simple recipe with only a few ingredients – butter, flour, salt, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Once the dough was ready, I formed it into a 6″ circle and cut it into wedges.

Into the oven it goes!

Ta-da!  Once it came out of the oven, I cut the wedges along the same lines again to make sure the cookies would separate cleanly.

I iced the shortbread cookies with an almond buttercream and topped them with toasted almonds.  YUM.

For the almonds, I toasted them whole and then attempted to slice them so they would look nice and pretty on top of the cookies.  Slicing the almonds proved to be quite the tricky process, and my almonds didn’t exactly come out very picture perfect.  But, they still tasted delicious.  Instead of risking slicing my fingers, I think I may spend the few extra dollars and buy pre-sliced almonds next time. 🙂

Here is the finished product!

These were really fun to make!

If you are looking for a treat that isn’t over-the-top sweet, this could be for you!  The buttercream is pretty sugary, but you can easily adjust the amount of icing on each if desired.  I thought the cookies had great balance between the texture of the shortbread, the smooth buttercream, and the crunch of almond on top.  Perfect for a tea or brunch!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!  Y’all have a great weekend, and be sure to swing over to Fiesta Friday and see what other fun treats are being shared today!