Brown Sugar Masa Shortbread

Prep and Cook Time: about 1 1/4 hours. Notes: Masa flour (available in well-stocked supermarkets) and coconut give these buttery wedges an earthy flavor and texture. Store them airtight for up to 1 week.

Yield: Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  sweetened shredded dried coconut
• 1  cup  (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
• 1  cup  firmly packed brown sugar
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  dehydrated masa flour (corn tortilla flour; see notes)
• 1/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. In a food processor, whirl coconut until finely ground. Then add butter, brown sugar, vanilla, all-purpose flour, and masa flour and whirl together until smooth. Or, mince coconut with a knife. Then, in a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth; stir in coconut, all-purpose flour and masa flour until mixture is no longer crumbly and starts to come together in a ball.

2. Press dough evenly into two 9-inch round pans with removable rims. Press edges of dough with fork tines to make a ridge pattern. Then, with fork tines, pierce dough all over in parallel lines 1 inch apart.

3. Bake shortbread in a 300° oven until firm to touch and slightly darker brown, about 45 minutes. In a small bowl, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over hot shortbread. Let cool 10 minutes.

4. Remove pan rims from warm shortbread. Cut each round into 12 wedges. Cool completely on pan bottoms on racks.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per cookie.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

155 (49% from fat)

Protein:

1.1g

Fat:

8.4g (sat 5.2)

Carbohydrate:

19g

Fiber:

0.6g

Sodium:

86mg

Cholesterol:

21mg