I have been doing the dairy-free diet for a few weeks now so I am starting to miss buttery sweets. While searching for a good shortbread recipe, I found this one. It was adapted from the book Butter Sugar Flour Eggs: Whimsical Irresistible Desserts. The original recipe was called Lydia’s Austrian Raspberry Shortbread.
The first day I mixed the shortbread, divided it into four pieces (for easier grating), and placed them in the freezer.
The next day I grated the shortbread in an 8″ x 8″ pan.
The blueberry jam bled through the shortbread and the whole thing came out a lot thicker than the picture in the book but still good overall. It was also a little sweeter than I would have liked so next time, I will reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup. It could be that the jam already had enough sugar.
RECIPE:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks, softened at room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
1/2 cup blueberry jam, at room temperature (or any jam available, preferably homemade)
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (I used a hand mixer), the buttery sticks until soft and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and mix well.
In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the buttery stick/egg yolk mixture and mix just until incorporated and the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and form into 2 or 4 balls. (I found smaller balls easier to grate). Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight, or as long as a month.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove 1 (or 2) balls of dough from the freezer and coarsely grate the frozen dough into the bottom of an 8″ x 8″ baking pan. Make sure the surface is covered evenly with shreds of dough. With a spoon or spatula spread the jam over the surface, to within 1/2-inch of the edge all the way around. Remove the remaining dough from the freezer and coarsely grate it over the entire surface. Bake until light golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. (I used convection bake and it only took about 20 minutes). Cool on a wire rack, then cut in the pan with a serrated knife.
The verdict on the buttery sticks? It was a great substitute but I would not want to use it all the time. Not that I should eat that much “butter” anyway 
I will write about my decision to go dairy-free sometime, but for now enjoy the sweets!
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