California Fig and Manchego Savory Shortbread with California Fig Butter

Yield
30 (2-inch) shortbreads, 572 grams (1 pint) fig butter
Source
Kyra Bussanich, Kyra’s Bake Shop, www.kyrasbakeshop.com

Ingredients

California Fig-Manchego Savory Shortbread

  • 290 grams Manchego Cheese, rind removed
  • 100 grams Potato Starch
  • 96 grams Sweet White Rice Flour
  • 96 grams Millet Flour
  • 5 grams Xanthan Gum
  • 2 grams Baking Soda
  • 2 grams Kosher Salt
  • 2 grams Chopped Dried Rosemary
  • 1 gram Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • 173 grams Salted Butter, cold, diced
  • 56 grams Cold Water
  • 175 grams California Dried Figs E-diced

California Fig Butter

  • 300 grams California Dried Golden Figs
  • 115 grams California Dried Figs Juice Concentrate
  • 114 grams Salted Butter, softened
  • 65 grams Sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Directions

For the California Fig-Manchego Savory Shortbread

  1. Preheat a convection oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

  2. Fit a Robot Coupe or other large food processor with a blade attachment. Add the cheese and pulse about 20 times to break up into small, even pieces, about the size of peppercorns.

  3. Add in the potato starch, sweet white rice flour, millet flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, dried rosemary, and crushed red pepper, and pulse about 10 times to mix the ingredients.

  4. Add the butter and pulse about 20 times to distribute it until everything looks like coarse sand. While you pulse, drizzle in the water in 3 to 4 additions. If you’re in a very dry area, you may need a little more and if you’re in a very humid area, you may need a little less. The final mixture should stick together in a clump.

  5. Add in the California Dried Mission Figs E-Diced and pulse about 20 times to break some of the pieces into smaller bits, but do not completely puree them.

  6. Use a #40 food scoop to scoop out semi spheres of dough and arrange 2 inches apart on the half sheet pans, 12 shortbread per pan. Use the heel of your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten each to just under ½-inch thick, about 2 inches wide.

  7. Bake until GBD (golden brown delicious), 14 to 18 minutes, until the centers are dry and firm when you press them. Let the shortbread cool completely on the sheet pans.

For the California Fig Butter

  1. Combine the California Dried Golden Figs, Figs Juice Concentrate, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Process, scraping the bowl as needed, until smooth and creamy.

  2. Serve the California Fig-Manchego Savory Shortbread with the California Fig Butter for a delectable combination of savory and sweet flavors.

Developer Notes

  1. I love Aleppo pepper for the crushed red pepper in this recipe.

  2. It’s important to take note of the ingredients in this recipe and to avoid making substitutions. Use potato starch, not potato flour. Use sweet white rice flour, not white rice flour or superfine rice flour.

  3. These savory shortbreads freeze beautifully either scooped and flattened prior to  baking, or after baking. If scooping and flattening them to freeze raw, you will need to  add about 4 to 6 additional minutes to your bake time.