Maple Walnut Shortbread

Our Personal Favorite

Please note: This recipe makes a double batch. You can either bake two pans-full at a time, if you have two pans, or you can make one recipe's worth of dough and use only half of the topping and chopped nuts. The other half of the topping keeps in in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

2 recipes of Classic Shortbread
3/4 cup (6 oz. or 168 g.) light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (2 2/3 fluid oz, or 80 ml.) pure maple syrup
2 Tbs. (a little more than 1/2 oz. or 18 g.) flour
1 yolk from a "medium" or "large" egg (not an "extra large" egg)
2 cups (8 oz. or 226 g.) chopped walnuts

Prepare and bake the Classic Shortbread as directed. While it is cooking, mix the light brown sugar, the syrup, the flour, and the egg yolk in a small bowl.

When the shortbread is lightly browned, remove the pans from the oven and spread half of the syrup mixture evenly over the top of each. Sprinkle the chopped nuts all over the syrup mixture, being sure to cover the surface thickly. Gently press the nuts into the topping.

Return the pans to the oven and continue baking an additional 15-20 minutes. It would seem as though you might burn the shortbread underneath the topping if you bake it this much longer, but you won't.

As soon as you remove the pans from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the shortbread. Let the shortbread cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Again, run the knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the shortbread and make sure none of the sugar is holding the cookie in the pan.

Flip the pans over onto a wooden cutting board. If the shortbread doesn't come right out, and it probably won't, hold the pan upside down over the wooden cutting board and firmly tap one edge of it on the board several times until the shortbread releases.

Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm. The nuts and "topping" will now be on the bottom . . . an interesting twist.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

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