Shortbread with salted egg yolks
A simple shortbread with one of my absolute favorite flavors. The salted egg yolks add a subtle richness.
Makes approximately 14 small cookies. Recipe can be doubled.
I make this recipe with homemade salted chicken eggs. I find that store-bought salted duck egg yolks have a softer, fattier texture. If your yolks are soft and oily, reduce to just 2 egg yolks and follow the recipe as written.
Make cookie dough
Beat 3 salted egg yolks (cook them first if they are raw) in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until broken up into fine pieces.
Add 1 stick softened butter. Cream until fluffy, smooth, and incorporated.
Mix in 60g powdered sugar and 140g flour. Mix until a dough forms, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Assemble and bake
Roll the dough on a floured surface to 1/3 inch thick. Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter. Re-roll the scraps and repeat.
Brush cookies with 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp water.
Sprinkle each cookie with flaky salt.
Bake at 350° for 13 minutes, or until just beginning to brown on the edges. May take more or less time depending on the size of your cookie cutter.
Notes
The egg yolk wash is optional but it adds a nice yellow color to the finished cookie. You need very little of the egg yolk wash mixture, so I then mixed it back into the white and made scrambled eggs lol. I can't stand to waste an egg 🤷🏻♀️
Do you want to salt your own eggs? Dissolve 1 part table salt in 4 parts water (enough to submerge your eggs). Put the eggs and saltwater in big jar or lidded container and stash it away somewhere dark and cool-room-temperature. Leave it for a month – and put a reminder on your calendar so you don't forget. After a month, test one egg and if it isn't salty enough you can leave the rest for another week or two. I typically steam them with my rice or hardboil for 11 minutes. The whites should be quite salty and the yolks should have a fatty, dense texture. When they are done, remove from the saltwater, rinse, and store in the refrigerator.