If you’re not going to a lot of parties—Friendsgiving, holiday soirées, New Year’s Eve gatherings—this season, you’re doing it wrong. And if you are, but you aren’t bringing a treat to share? Well, that’s where we come in.
Knife & Fork reached out to the folks at Found. Market, a brick-and-mortar offshoot of The Bee’s Knees Kitchen that boasts baked goods with ingredients grown on the family’s farm in Orange, for a crowd-pleaser. Co-owner Kelsey Gillian suggested the Carlton Road bakery’s flagship Bee Sting shortbread—rich butter, honey and almonds in “a thumbprint of ooey-gooey goodness.” Happy holidays, indeed.
Bee Sting Shortbread
Makes two- to three-dozen bite-size cookies
1 1/2 cups organic salted butter
3/4 cup organic brown sugar
1/4 cup local honey
3 3/4 cups organic wheat flour
Soften the butter until just before the melting point. By hand, mix in the sugar and honey until well incorporated. Stir in the flour until all is of even consistency. While the dough is soft, roll into logs of about 1 1/2 inch diameter, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour and a maximum of one week.
For the topping:
1/2 cup organic salted butter
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
2 tablespoons local honey
4 ounces sliced almonds, pounded into bits
Melt the butter, add the sugar and honey and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and stir in the almonds.
To bake:
Cut 1/2 inch slices of the dough and arrange them on baking pan leaving two-inch spaces. Gently form indentations in the center with finger. Spoon a bit of topping into each imprint. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool slightly and move to rack to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature, these cookies last for months.
