Honey, Lemon, Apricot, and Pine Nut Shortbread Cookie Recipe

This honey, lemon, apricot, and pine nut shortbread cookie recipe might have a long name but these cookies don’t take long to make — or eat!

Erin of Well Plated is in PARIS. Lucky her, right? She and her husband are spending three weeks in France. Although I’ve never met Erin in person, I consider her one of my closest blogging friends so when she asked me to help her out by sharing a recipe on her site, it was something I gladly agreed to do.

I decided to make this fun shortbread cookie recipe. You all know how much I love shortbread cookies. I can keep a log of the dough in my freezer, slice off a couple and bake them whenever I want them. They’ll keep indefinitely in the freezer. If you want to make it even easier, slice the dough before freezing it and put the slices in freezer bags.

It’s particularly helpful when you’re having guests. My parents were here visiting us a couple of weekends ago and I didn’t really have any sweets in the house (if I do, I eat them all). We were sipping on tea in the late afternoon and needed a sweet to go along with our tea. So I turned on the oven, sliced off a few of these cookies and baked them. Nothing better than hot fresh cookies right out of the oven.

About this shortbread cookie recipe

Buttery shortbread cookies are just plain good. Not overly sweet, but loaded with flavor, they are a perfect snack. 

I’ve loaded these shortbread cookies up to make them really something special. They are full of great colors and flavors — sweet, chewy apricots, mixed in with crunchy, flavorful pine nuts. Those two ingredients would provide enough great flavor on their own but I add honey and lemon which complements them deliciously. 

Just a few hints: Lightly toast the pine nuts to bring out their flavor. Let them cool completely before mixing them into the dough. Warm nuts do not stick in cookie dough, trust me on that. 

I like to use a sharp kitchen shears to cut the apricots finely. Spray the blades with cooking spray so the apricots don’t stick. 

Right before baking, brush the cookie slices with honey and sprinkle them with a little sugar. It makes for the perfect chewy, crunchy top.

If apricots and pine nuts aren’t your style, make sure to check out honey lemon shortbread cookies, cocoa nib cream cheese shortbread cookies, apple cheesecake shortbread cookies, or peppermint shortbread cookies.

Head on over to Well Plated for this fun shortbread cookie recipe or read it right here!

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Honey, Lemon, Apricot, and Pine Nut Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Yield: 40 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 25 minutes

This honey, lemon, apricot, and pine nut shortbread cookie recipe might have a long name but these cookies don't take long to make -- or eat!

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Ingredients

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup honey, plus 2-3 tablespoons extra for brushing cookies
• 1 cup finely diced dried apricots
• ½ cup pine nuts
• turbinado sugar for sprinkling on cookies before baking

Instructions

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer), beat together butter and sugar for about 3 minutes or until light in color and fluffy. Add 1/4 cup honey and lemon zest and beat until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl as necessary.
2. Add flour mixture gradually and continue to mix until just combined. Add diced apricots and pine nuts and mix until evenly incorporated. Do not over mix.
3. Move dough onto a large sheet of wax or parchment paper and shape into a long, skinny log (about 2 inches in diameter). Roll up in the parchment or wax paper and freeze dough overnight.
4. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350°F. Take dough out of the freezer and cut slices off that are about 1/4-inch thick. Place on parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheets. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of honey in microwave for 10-15 seconds. Brush over cookies and immediately sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just golden brown. Let cool about 5 minutes on baking sheets before removing to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
   

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 20 servings Serving Size: 2 cookies
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 3g

RachelCooks.com sometimes provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.

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