Millionaire's Shortbread

There are recipes that are incredibly simple to carry out and that, in addition, leave us with surprising results. Like these Millionaire's Shortbread bars.

It's a winning combination, whichever way you look at it. It is a bar with three phases: butter biscuit, toffee cream and dark chocolate coating ... Impossible to say no to this temptation, and today we show you the step by step of the authentic English recipe for these incredible butter biscuits .

You will also know millionire's shortbread as millionaire cookies or three-phase butter, dark chocolate and caramel cookies.

It is an ideal accompaniment for coffee, tea time, to serve with liquors or even soft drinks/shakes. In addition to being a very versatile preparation because we can serve them as a dessert, snack or even, at this time of year, to give to our friends or accompany our tray of nougat.

Origin Millionaire's Shortbread

This very particular cookie is a sweet that consists of three layers; a biscuit made without leavening agents and with a high fat content, toffee or caramelized condensed milk and a thin chocolate coating.

The peculiar, melting and buttery texture of the biscuit is achieved thanks to the large amount of butter it contains, the toffee filling provides a very creamy and sweet texture and, finally, the chocolate coating provides the slightly bitter nuance that combines perfection with the rest of the elements.

Millionaire's Shortbread evolved from early Elizabethan Scottish recipes , the idea of ​​adding the chocolate coating arose in the 19th century.

Originally, this cookie was made with oat flour or ground oats . As early as the 19th century, candied orange peel and almonds used to be added for special occasions, around the same time that chocolate was introduced as a coating. The addition of toffee filling was the last element that was integrated to give rise to these wonderful Millionaire's Shortbread bars.

The shortbread is a sweet biscuit without chemical yeast made with flour, sugar and butter.

Older recipes call for three parts flour, two parts butter, and one part sugar, though contemporary versions may vary from the original. The biscuit gets its name from its crumbly texture , a result of its high fat content.

We should not confuse it with the shortcake, a related cookie made with vegetable oil and leavening agents.

The filling of this cookie is caramel. In its simplest form, you can find recipes made with condensed milk that is heated until it caramelizes. But ideally we should prepare a toffee sauce. The addition of butter and cream is incorporated to obtain a creamy texture.

The chocolate coating should be a chocolate with a high cocoa content to counteract the sweetness of the filling. We must not omit the addition of butter that will give us softness and a less firm consistency.

It is common to find preparations in which other ingredients such as corn flour, rice flour or even oats are added. Other variations make use of nuts, raisins, or another variety of chocolate, such as white, in the chocolate coating.

Laura Ashley Artisan Collection Ceramic Plate

Ingredients

For the shortbread

• 300 g loose pastry flour
• 280 g unsalted butter, cold
• 100g sugar
• 1 egg yolk L
• 2 teaspoons of natural vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the toffee

• 400g sugar
• 160g water
• 225 g whipping cream, high fat content, warm
• 225g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons of natural vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

For the chocolate coating

• 250g chocolate 70%
• 100 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of glucose or Corn Syrup (optional, but recommended)

Elaboration

Prepare the shortbread

1. Line the Nordic Ware naturals tray with baking paper, to help it adhere without problem, lightly grease the surface with butter.
2. In the KitchenAid bowl , add the flour along with the diced butter, sugar and salt. Mix with the paddle at speed 1 until a sandy texture is achieved.
3. Add the egg yolk and mix again until fully incorporated.
4. Pour the mixture into the tray lined with paper, it will have a sandy appearance, this is correct. Press with your hands to compact and, with the help of a small roller, go over the surface to smooth and achieve a uniform height. If you notice that the mixture sticks to the roller, place a Teflon sheet or parchment paper to smooth it out without the mixture sticking to the roller.
5. Prick the surface with the help of a fork.
6. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes while we preheat the oven.

Nordic Ware natural tray

Bake the shortbread

1. Preheat oven to 175°C with top and bottom heat .
2. Bake at medium height for 20-22 minutes or until you notice that the surface is slightly golden .
3. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and let cool completely.

prepare the toffee

1. In the DeBuyer sauté pan , add the sugar along with the water.
2. Place over medium heat and leave until you get a golden caramel, but not excessively toasted. Otherwise you will get a bitter taste. At the beginning the water will begin to boil and, later, the sugar will gradually caramelize.
3. Once you have the caramel ready, reduce the heat a bit and add the warm cream and mix with a whisk. When you pour it, it will start to bubble a lot, this is normal. Continue mixing until the bubbles subside.
4. Add the diced butter along with the vanilla and salt. Turn up to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the toffee reaches 118°C . For this step you will need to help yourself with a digital kitchen thermometer.
5. Remove from the heat and pour the caramel over the shortbread.
6. Let it cool completely at room temperature, you will notice that the toffee settles and takes consistency.
7. Refrigerate until the next day.

Prepare the chocolate coating

1. In a heat resistant bowl, add the chopped chocolate together with the butter and glucose.
2. Place over a saucepan with water, it is very important that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl, and place over medium low heat.
3. Let it completely cover the bain-marie. Stir from time to time to homogenize the mixture.
4. Once it's melted, pour over the toffee.
5. Take the tray out of the fridge and pour the chocolate on the surface. Try to cover the entire surface, if necessary, tilt the tray to reach the corners. Try not to use a spatula to avoid leaving marks.
6. Let cool completely at room temperature and refrigerate for 8-12 hours before cutting . I advise you to follow this step to achieve clean cuts.

Nordic Ware natural tray

we serve

1. Unmold by pulling the baking paper, carefully separate it to avoid damaging the sides too much.
2. With the help of a sharp knife, we cut the ends to achieve a clean and defined finish. Cut into bars or squares, as you like.
3. If you wish, you can sprinkle salt flakes on top or even arrange some gold leaf.
4. We serve.

Grades

• To make this recipe I have used my Nordic Ware naturals tray . It is a beautiful and perfect tray for this type of elaboration. He has me in love.
• To make the shortbread, I advise you to use cold butter . This will favor you so that we can manipulate the mixture much better. Both in the mixer and when transferring it to the tray.
• When you make the toffee sauce, try to use a wide pan to help the caramel melt quickly and without forming lumps. In my case I use the DeBuyer sauté pan which is incredibly versatile.
• Adding water to the sugar, to make the toffee , will help you caramelize the sugar without problems.
• I recommend that the cream that we add to the toffee be warm to avoid a sudden change in temperature. This can cause the caramel to become solid and make it difficult for us to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
• It is very important that the toffee reaches the specified temperature , otherwise we will have a very fluid toffee and it will be impossible for it to maintain consistency to cut it.
• The upper chocolate coverage is recommended to be made with dark chocolate , since toffee is very sweet. You can use the entire amount of 70% or half 80% and half 70%. In my case I did it the latter way.
• To make the chocolate coating, we must add butter to soften the consistency . If this is not done, we will obtain a hard chocolate plate that, when cutting the bars, will crush the rest of the ingredients and the result will be disastrous.
• Glucose can be omitted , but I recommend using it if you have it at home. We use it to achieve a more flexible finish, to improve consistency and as a preservative (it favors the appearance of the coverage to be better maintained over the days). We can use Corn syrup instead.
• To cut the bars, I advise you to dip the knife in hot water , dry it and proceed to cut. Every time you make a cut, wet the knife and dry.
• They can be kept in an airtight container refrigerated for 7 days.

I promise you that it is a recipe that you will repeat on more than one occasion. These Millionaire's shortbread bars meet a lot of requirements that make them indispensable; They are easy to make, they require little preparation time (although they do take several steps) and the result is exceptional. Both in appearance and when enjoying them.

We can't wait to see yours and tell us what you think! Don't forget to mention and tag us on Instagram so we can enjoy your results :)

Sources: Delighted Cooking