Honey shortbread

Dark Days challenge for this week involved making something sweet. Trying to stick to local ingredients pretty much rules out refined sugar and chocolate, which pretty much rules out a lot of sweet things. After much deliberation, I decided to make a shortbread, using honey in place of sugar. Shortbread is super easy – just butter, flour, and sugar (in this case honey). I have some canned fruits, so I probably could have made some kind of little tart that’s a little more exciting, but easy sounded good to me. It’s simple to make, but addictive, with a sweet, buttery flavor. To liven it up a bit, I also mixed up a quick batch of fresh whipped cream (to which I added just a little maple syrup) and broke out a jar of the cherry butter that I canned in the summer.

Honey Shortbread

1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
2 1/4 cups flour

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and honey until creamy. Add the flour, about a cup at a time, and mix until crumbly.

Press the mixture into a pie dish or other 9-inch round pan, score the surface with a knife (to make sections that will easily break off when it’s baked), and bake for about 30-35 minutes at 300 F. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack or plate, break apart, and enjoy. That’s it.

Nothing glamorous, but also nothing that will leave you sick from being too sweet. A nice after-dinner snack to follow the excellent cream of mushroom soup that S made.