Taro Shortbread Bites
These Taro Shortbread Bites are made with a nutty, not-too-sweet homemade taro paste filling wrapped in a melt-in-you-mouth crumbly shortbread exterior. They are a variation of my Chestnut Tart Bites, which is inspired by the classic pineapple tart/cake, a beloved Taiwanese snack.
Equipment
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 87 g unsalted butter
- 12 g powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 30 g sourdough discard or 15g ice water + 15g flour
- 110 g all purpose flour
Taro paste
- 200 g taro
- 42 g sugar
- 10 g canola oil optional
Other
- 1/4 cup powered sugar for rolling
Instructions
Taro paste
- Note: this recipe will make more taro paste than needed. You can refrigerate or freeze the rest of the paste for future use.
- Cut the taro into cubes and boil the taro in a pot, covered, with 1/2 cup water until the water has mostly evaporated and the taro is fork tender.
- Using a food processor, blend the taro with sugar until it is a smooth paste. The consistency should be similar to apple sauce. It is okay if it is a bit wetter or dryer, we can adjust this in the next step.
- Transfer the taro paste to a skillet and cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the taro paste consistency is similar to mashed potatoes. If the taro paste is too dry, you can add more water. Near the end of cooking, mix in the canola oil. This will give the taro paste a smooth mouthfeel and a glossy finish.
- Transfer the taro paste to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it cool completely.
- Once cooled, weigh out 4g of taro paste and roll it into a ball. Repeat 25 times. Wrap the taro balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the shortbread.
Cookie
- Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Then, combine in the egg yolk and salt until everything is evenly combined. Finally, add the sourdough discard (or ice water and flour mix) and flour and mix until a dough forms.
- Weigh out 8g of dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat until there is no dough left-- you should have about 14 balls.
- Scoop up 8g of pastry dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat until you use up all the dough ~25 pastry balls.
- Assembly: Flatten the pastry dough between your hands and using your fingers thin out the dough into a thin circle. Place a taro ball in the center and wrap the pastry dough around it. Pinch the seams closed and roll the ball in the palms of your hands to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining pastry and taro balls.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Roll each of the shortbread balls into sugar and place it on a baking tray. Bake for ~20 minutes or until the shortbread bites start to golden. Remove the shortbread bites from the oven and let it cool completely.
- Enjoy the taro bites within 3 days.