Pistachio Rhubarb Shortbread
Two layers of buttery, nutty pistachio shortbread that melts in your mouth is interrupted by a bright tart pop of jammy rhubarb.
Servings 16 slices
Equipment
- 1 9 inch round or square pan metal
Ingredients
Lemon Rhubarb Filling
- 70g or ⅓ cup fine granulated sugar
- 260g fresh rhubarb chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons tapioca starch or cornstarch
- Juice of half a lemon about a tablespoon
- Zest of 1 lemon
Lemon Pistachio Shortbread
- 226g or 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Zest of 1-2 lemons
- 60g or ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 260g or 2 cups all purpose flour
- 150g or 1 heaping cup pistachios
Lemon Vanilla Glaze
- 90g or ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Dash vanilla paste or extract
- Pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
Make the rhubarb filling:
- Slice off the leaves and bottom stem of the rhubarb. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
- Set all the ingredients for the filling in a pot over medium low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb softens and starts to fall apart. The surrounding liquid will become thick, about 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool.
Make the pistachio shortbread:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the pistachios on a baking tray and roast them in the oven until fragrant, shaking the pan after 5 minutes. Don’t bake any longer than 10 minutes. Let cool.
- Set the sugars, flour, salt, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer. Affix the paddle attachment and whisk to combine.
- Add the butter and beat until creamed. The pistachios should be completely cool now, set them in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add to the bowl with the shortbread dough and beat to just combine.
- Grease a 9 inch round cake pan (square works too) and line it with parchment paper. For a round pan, just press the parchment in creasing it as needed to make it fit. You can use metal clips to hold it in place.
- Take about ⅔ of the pistachio shortbread dough and press it into the bottom of the pan. Over this, spread the cooled rhubarb filling. With the remainder of the shortbread dough, sprinkle it in little bits all over the rhubarb.
- Bake at 350 F until the edges and top are golden, for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely before glazing.
- To make the glaze: whisk all the ingredients together then drizzle the glaze over the shortbread bars.