This recipe calls for browned butter, something I'd never tried before, and which was a bit trying to my patience, but well worth the results (a non-browned butter version can be found at smittenkitchen.com, the source of the original recipe). Browning the butter didn't take much time at all, but the whole process made me a bit nervous..."Is this the right color? Now is this the right color? Now? What if I turn around and the whole thing burns on me? ?? ? ???" The recipe's instructions actually do tell the tale of browning the butter well, but a few extra descriptors would have helped me. For example, when the recipe says that the butter will foam, it isn't kidding. Foam means foam means lots and lots of small bubbles. I saw the first few small bubbles and thought "Foam, next step please," but they were nothing in comparison with the actual foaming. When you get to the foam, you'll know it. My experience with the color changes were similar. I kept thinking "It's done, take it off the stove before it burns up and you ruin two sticks of butter" when in actuality I was a ways from having browned butter. So here's my guide to the color changes: when the recipe says 'clear golden' it means, for lack of a better descriptor, that it is the color of concentrated urine, and when the recipe says 'brown' it means brown. While I urge you to keep a close eye on the butter and stir very frequently, the pace of the browning is far more glacial than you might think, so relax a little, enjoy making browned butter.
Do you ever get the sense that I am writing these things as a reminder to myself?
The shortbread was well worth the butter browning experience. I liked that the shortbread was just barely sweet, which made for a great complement to the wonderful peaches we'd purchased the week before at a roadside stand in South Carolina. We shared the bounty at a friend's potluck, with plenty of leftovers to go with coffee in the mornings.
Peach Shortbread
From the Smitten Kitchen
[If you don't want to brown the butter, follow the link above for instructions.]
1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (or you can measure 3 cups and remove 2 tablespoons flour)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (or you can measure 3 cups and remove 2 tablespoons flour)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)
Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.
