Whole Wheat Lemon Shortbread with Blueberry Compote
5 from 1 vote
That Vegan Nephew
I gotta share this vegan shortbread recipe with ya' - it's a whole-wheat lemon shortbread, made with stone ground whole wheat flour, vegan ghee and/or butter, as well as freshly squeeze lemon juice and zest. It's a compact cookie in texture with a very pleasantly pungent flavor, and serves as a great vessel for a tart blueberry compote and dollop of creamy coconut whipped cream.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Then, in a large mixing bowl, combine together the whole wheat flour, sugar, vegan ghee (or coconut oil), vegan butter, lemon zest and juice, and salt. With a pastry cutter or fork, cut the dry ingredients into the fat until pebbly, then use your hands to form a cohesive dough by pressing the pebbles together firmly.
Pack the shortbread dough into a 3 to 4 inch canning jar lid tightly. Then gently knock the dough from the lid onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you may need to use a knife to loosen it from the edges of the canning jar lid). It should come out as a ½-inch thick, circular shortbread cake. Do this until you have 6 fairly even shortbread cakes. Don't worry if they fall apart a little bit - just gently piece them back together again.
Bake the shortbread cakes for 20 - 25 minutes, or until you notice a golden brown color around the bottom of the shortbread. Remove them from the oven and let them cool thoroughly.
Meanwhile, in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add the blueberries, lemon juice, maple syrup and lemon balm leaves. Let blueberries reduce down naturally, for about 5 - 7 minutes, until the excess liquid has reduced down to be more syrupy than watery. Remove from the heat and let the compote cool for about 5 - 10 minutes.
To serve, mix about a teaspoon of the blueberry compote syrup with 1 cup of So Delicious CocoWhip, until it's a beautiful lavender color. Then, plop the whipped cream atop a shortbread cake, followed by some reduced blueberries, and additional leaves of lemon balm, for aesthetic purposes. Alternative: stack two cakes atop on another for a grander presentation (with whipped cream and blueberries in between the shortbread cakes).