With gourmet shortbread on my mind, I went on a shortbread making marathon this past weekend that will more than fulfill my holiday needs! After the success of the stilton and rosemary shortbread I wanted to try another savoury one and since I am such a big fan of blue cheeses, the gorgonzola and pistachio shortbread that I saw on The Coach House Shortbread Company was calling to me. I figured that a younger gorgonzola dolce would be perfect for the shortbread as it is softer and creamier than fully aged gorgonzola and thus it would cream into the butter more easily. Its mellower flavour would also help ensure that those that are not big fans of blue cheese would be able to enjoy the shortbread as well. The blue cheese and gorgonzola flavour combo is one that I always enjoy and it worked particularly well in this savoury shortbread! The touch of lemon zest helps keep things a little brighter and a hint of heat from cayenne round things out in these cookies. This shortbread would find a perfect home on a party platter filled with things like meats, cheeses, fruits, dips and spreads for your holiday entertaining.
Gorgonzola and Pistachio Shortbread
A buttery good savoury shortbread with tangy mellow and tangy gorgonzola, pistachios and a hint of lemon and heat.
ingredients
- 1 cup gorgonzola, room temperature and crumbled
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
directions
- Cream the cheese and butter.
- Mix in the flour, cornstarch, salt and cayenne.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients followed by the pistachios and lemon zest.
- Shape the cookies as you like an place them on a parchment lined baking sheet with an inch of space between them.
- Place the baking sheet in the fridge and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until they just start to turn a light golden brown, about 8-14 minutes, remove and let cool. (Note: The shortbread will still be rather soft when it is done but it with crisp up as it cools.)
vanillasugarblog says
kevin i just made savory shortbread! isn't that wild? great minds think alike. i made a smoked gouda and walnut.
i like the idea of pistachios better though.
Claudia says
The savory shortbreads are just grand – starting to prefer them over the sweet. Have a lovely holiday weekend.
Margot says
Hola Kevin.
Te han quedado espectaculares estas galletas.
Feliz Navidad
luvvy says
your blog looks nice!delicious food!i love cooking but don't how to make a nice food for that.learn from your post.thank you for sharing!lol
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
Those must be addictive! What a perfect combination. Those would go well with a good bottle of white wine.
Cheers,
Rosa
manu says
This is divine!!
I've got all the ingredients so I can give it a go!!
Merry Christmas
Junglefrog says
I've never been a really big fan of shortbread in it's basic form but looking at this edition you made with some of favorite flavors in them I might be tempted to give them another try. Especially adding the gorgonzola.. Yum!
Joanne says
You really are on a roll with these Kevin!
OhMyGoodNest says
I'm psyched I have all the ingredients on hand & am going to whip these up tonight. It's just what I needed for a little something for a friend. Thanks Kevin.
vedette says
I love short bread. I bet this is going to be amazing. thanks for the recipe.
Nancy says
Merry Christmas! I am making these tomorrow. Thanks!
Nancy says
Thanks! I am making these tomorrow.
Hyosun Ro says
Oh these look so good! Love both gorgonzola and pistachio. I must try to these. Merry Christmas!!
Deb Mustard says
Your shortbreads look amazing. I went on a shortbread making kick and could never find the recipe I wanted to make the shortbread I wanted! I am going to try yours!
Julia says
I'm almost speechless…ALMOST! Holy ding dang I can hardly type I'm so excited to get home form work and make these!
Kathy Mercure says
Kevin, I made these yesterday for my Valentine's Day Feast of Love. If I wasn't already in love, I'd have to fall in love with you!
Holy amazing! I'm sure we would have eaten the entire plate if it weren't for the fact that these amazing nibbles were only one of four courses!
http://www.eatingtherainbow.com
Vicky says
SOunds delicious. I've never made shortbread before but gorgonzola and pistachios sound like a great flavor combination.
joycee says
o dear, mine turn out a tad too salty. prob bcos i used danish blue >_< aiks.. think i'll have to take them with soup =)
joycee says
i was subbing gorgonzola with danish blue and it turned out a tad too salty. yummy but guess i'll have to have my shortbreads with soup >_< aiks!
Anonymous says
What a disaster! I followed the recipe exactly but was a bit worried when I saw 1/2 cup cornstarch needed. Each bite of the baked cookie needed a gulp of milk – they were SOOO DRY! I tossed the whole batch.
Kevin says
Anonymous: Shortbread is a drier cookie, but with all of the butter in it it should be melting in your mouth.
Deanna Lyn says
looks good to me, i make a recipe like this with cream cheese, and the cookies are very moist.oh but no cornstarch
Jessica says
Just pulled these out of the oven. Sooooooo good! Thanks so very much!
PG says
I made these shortbread cookies and they have turned out fantastic. Though I brushed very little honey on them which I hardly noticed in the end result that I could have as well left them out.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
jeweliA says
I was wondering if the 1/2 cup of cornstarch was a typo? That seems like an awful lot! Also, I’d like an opinion as to whether to use Salted of UNsalted pistachios… the recipe does not specify.
kevin says
1/2 cup of cornstarch is correct. Cornstarch helps with the texture of the cookies. I use salted pistachios and unsalted work as well!
Maureen Chorney says
Dec 2022: I have made these & your Blue cheese & Walnut shortbread.
I used the food processor method as per your BC &W recipe.
Q?? how much does 1 cup of gorgonzola, silton, etc weigh?
Some sites say 225g, others say 113g
It would be very helpful if you could use weight in g in your recipes, especially those who have ingredients such as cheese.
BTW. I used 160g (the compromise between 225 & 113g)
THX
kevin says
113g is about 1/2 cup and 160g would be good as well!
Bill says
How many cokies does this make?
kevin says
This recipe makes about 18 cookies at the size (1.5 inches across 0.5 inches thick) in the photos.
Bill says
Are these really SUGAR FREE?