Polenta Shortbread Recipe
To make the Polenta Shortbread Base
125 g/ 4 ½ oz butter, softened and cubed, plus extra, melted, for brushing.
140 g/ 5 oz polenta
125 g brown vanilla sugar
100 g / 3 ½ oz ground almonds
70 g / 2 ½ oz ground hazelnuts
40 g / 5 tbsp almonds, toasted and chopped
1 Egg
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4. Cut a rectangle of baking parchment to line the bottom of a 30 x 23 x 4 cm / 12 x 9 x 1 ½ in baking tin. Brush it and the tin liberally with melted butter before popping in the parchment.
Put the butter, polenta, sugar, hazelnuts, ground almonds, chopped almonds and egg into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture forms a soft but fairly grainy dough.
Press the mixture into the baking tin with your hands and smooth down with the back of a large spoon, making sure it is evenly spread.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden and quite firm to the touch. Leave in the tin to cool completely.
HINT Make the most of your freezer, make 2-3 bases and freeze them, raw or baked.
Taken from the Honeybun’s Gluten-Free Baking Book by Emma Goss-Custard, published by Pavilion. Recipe photography Cristian Barnett.
