Pepper Shortbread with Tayberries & Sweet Cream Cheese

Black pepper shortbread cookies with macerated tayberries and sweet cream cheese - Diversivore.com

Pepper Shortbread with Tayberries & Sweet Cream Cheese

Black pepper adds punch to classic shortbread cookies, balanced by the floral sweetness of tayberries and the tangy richness of sweetened cream cheese.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Canadian, European, North American, Scottish

Keyword shortbread variation, tayberry recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 331kcal

Ingredients

Tayberries and Syrup

1/2 lb tayberries or raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water

Sweet Cream Cheese

1/2 lb Winnipeg-style cream cheese (see note)
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground

Pepper Shortbread

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
1/4 tsp salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Tayberries

Combine tayberries, sugar, and water in a small bowl. Let stand for at least 30 minutes. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

Cream Cheese

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Fold together, or, for a lighter, airier touch, whip with an electric mixer. Set aside, or refrigerate if not using immediately.

Pepper Shortbread

Preheat and over to 350° F (175° C).
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir/sift together and set aside.
Using a hand or stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar until they're well mixed.
Add the flour mixture a little at a time, and continue to mix until well-combined. The dough will generally not stay together while mixing, and will instead form many small balls or clumps.
Form the dough into small circles and flatten into patties by hand or, for a more uniform appearance, by pressing them into circular cookie cutters.
Space the cookies out by about 5-7 cm (2-3 inches) on a cookie-sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the bottoms are a rich brown (but NOT burnt) and the centers are fairly firm. Baking time can vary depending on your oven and the colour/material of your baking sheet, so keep an eye on the cookies.
Set the cookies aside to cool for about 30 minutes.

To Serve

If you've refrigerated the cream cheese, let it warm up for a few minutes before serving. Top one or two cookies with cream cheese and tayberries, and serve.

Notes

Winnipeg-style Cream Cheese - this somewhat obscure Canadian specialty is a lighter, airier, and particularly creamy cream cheese. It's not all that easy to find, so if you can't get it, simply substitute a good (ideally fresh) cream cheese. Try whipping this up with an electric mixer to get more air into it and make it lighter and more spreadable.

Note: the tayberries and cream cheese can both be made in advance, and both will keep well in the fridge (the berries for a few days, the cream cheese for at least a week).

Nutrition