Photo: Hello, I am Bruce on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Dish · From Bladwijzer
Shortbread with pine shoots
- Makes: ± 24 biscuits
- Time: 30 min + 1 hr resting + 15 min baking
- From: Scots pine
Ingredients
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 150 g cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons (± 10 g) very finely chopped young pine shoots
- 1 unwaxed lemon, grated zest only
- 1 pinch of salt
Method
- In May, pick soft, light green shoots from a Scots pine you can identify with certainty (needles in pairs; never yew, which is poisonous). Remove the brown papery scales and chop the shoots very finely.
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest and shoots in a bowl.
- Rub the cold butter into the mixture with your fingertips until crumbly. Add the egg yolk and knead briefly until the dough comes together.
- Shape into a log 4 cm thick, wrap in cling film and rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
- Heat the oven to 170 °C. Slice the log into 1 cm rounds and place them well apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the edges are golden. Leave to cool briefly on the tray and sprinkle with sugar.
Storing: 2 weeks in a well-closed biscuit tin. The log of dough can be frozen for 3 months; slice it just before baking.