Whole Wheat Honey Shortbread

It's already tomorrow in Britain. I can't believe we're thisclose to the big day. Please don't laugh. I am extremely excited about the Royal Wedding. I. Cannot. Wait. To. See. The. Dress. So excited, in fact, that it was pretty much all I could think about tonight. Does that make me sound like a huge nerd? Probably. 

I had the husband open me a bottle of Prosecco ('cause that's the closest you're going to get me to Champagne) and made dinner: a quick and easy chicken curry, even though the husband told me he wasn't sure he liked curry. (For the record, he does like curry. But he gets it confused with something else, he told me, and always forgets if curry is the dish he likes or the other something mysterious I made him eat once that he hates. Oh, well. He likes curry.)

A lightened up version of Chicken Curry in a Hurry from Food.com

So after dinner the husband stepped out to get a haircut, and I turned on the Coldplay and preheated the oven. We're having high tea at work tomorrow in honor of the Royal Wedding, which means I had an excuse to bake up some goodies without having to eat them all myself. First up: Whole Wheat Honey Shortbread.

Whole Wheat Honey Shortbread
Slightly Adapted From Half-Baked, Credited to Fine Cooking

Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/3 cups) whole wheat flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
9 tablespoons cold light butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons local honey

Spray a tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Or, if you're like me and you don't have a tart pan, spray a regular-size pie plate and another smallish Pyrex dish with cooking spray.

Mix the flour and sugar in a food processor. Add in the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand. (You want the butter to be mixed in, but you don't want tiny, tiny pieces. Don't process too much!)

Press the dough into your prepared dish - or dishes - and poke it all over with a fork. Let the shortbread cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Bake the shortbread at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. 

Heat the honey in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Brush the honey all over the shortbread and bake for another 3 minutes.


You want your shortbread to be slightly browned, but don't let it cook too long - it will harden! Let the shortbread cool on a wire rack and cut when still slightly warm. (I think I cut mine into about 20 small pieces.)

Of course the shortbread didn't cut as perfectly as I'd hoped, so I was forced to eat a few broken pieces as I was filling my container to take to work in the morning. (Luckily dessert crumbs don't contain calories. They don't, do they, Momma?) And although I think the shortbread tastes pretty good, I thought I should make a backup dessert just to be safe. If you're looking for a guiltless cookie and you're a fan of oatmeal and honey, check out these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Oh. Em. Gee. 

I'm sure Kate, I mean, Catherine wasn't sitting around eating shortbread crumbs and oatmeal cookies like I was tonight or even handfuls of nuts washed down with red wine like I was the night before my wedding, but I do like to imagine she'd approve of these healthy desserts. Go ahead. You can laugh now. At least I know I have co-workers joining me in the Royal nerd boat.


Do you have Royal Wedding Fever, too?