Jam Shortbread

There's nothing quite like the smell of shortbread right out of the oven. Many people like that chocolate chip cookie smell, or a cake baking in the oven, but for me, shortbread is the perfect sweet something I want smelling up my kitchen...that, or fresh-baked bread. Mmmmm... I found this recipe in the most recent issue of the Food Network magazine, which is funny, because I love looking through the magazine, but almost never cook anything from it, but these little squares caught my eye, and they were easy to make. I did change out whole wheat pastry flour for the AP flour, but the rest of the recipe remains the same. Make sure you give these the adequate 20 minutes to rest of the counter once they are cooked, but then feel free to dig in!

Jam Shortbread
Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
10 tbs butter, at room temperature
6 tbs preserves, any flavor (I used cherry preserves)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers to make a crumbly dough. (You could do this in the food processor.)

2. Refrigerate 2 tbs of the dough for topping. Press the remaining dough into the baking dish; freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

3. Bake the crust 15 minutes. Spread the preserves on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border; crumble the reserved dough on top. Return to the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, 25 more minutes. Let cool 20 minutes, then lift out of the pan and cut into squares.