While I was home me and my brother and my friend Melanie set aside an afternoon to walk around Portland and try some of the city’s gourmet food trucks. When we were walking down Hawthorne on the east side of the city we made a pit stop in a Vietnamese boba shop so my brother could get a bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwich) and I could get a boba. While I was waiting for my drink I noticed some plain-looking shortbread cookies that were laid out on a shelf. Melanie told me that they were filled with guava inside and were pretty common at Vietnamese delis and cafes. It was only $1 for a cookie, so I bought one to try it and my God, was I happy I did. The shortbread was incredibly rich and buttery, and the guava filling inside was just the right combination of sweet and fruity. I have been craving those cookies ever since then, and decided to try my hand at making some this weekend. The Brazilian supermarket down the street carries guava paste, so I bought a large brick of it because I wasn’t sure how much I would need. Well, I have a lot left over, so I will probably be making another guava-related dessert sometime soon, or I might just end up making these again because they turned out that good. Just as tasty as I remember them! You can find guava paste online or at your local Mexican, South American, or South East Asian marketplace. Makes about a dozen cookies.
Guava-Filled Shortbread Cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 12 Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 15 Ounces Guava Paste
- 2 and 1/3 Cups Flour
- 1 Cup Butter
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the guava paste into squares that are
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about ¾ inch thick and 2 and ½ inches wide. Set them aside. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar.
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Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until well blended. Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing well between additions, until a relatively coarse dough forms.
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Place some of the dough in the palm of one of your hands and flatten it. Place a slice of guava paste on top of the dough and then grab another handful of dough and compress it on top of the guava paste.
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Flip the cookie back and forth between your palms, compressing the crumbly dough
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until the slice of guava paste is completely encased in the dough and the dough
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crumbs have solidified enough to form a relatively smooth dough casing.
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Place the cookie on an ungreased cookie sheet and repeat this process until all of the dough or guava slices are used. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Oh Eva, that looks very delish instead. Morish is another word that comes to mine. I have not heard of guava paste and now this has got me very intrigued!
oh! That looks so good!! LOVE LOVE LOVE the colours of the filling 🙂
Guava is so yummy! It's a really popular Caribbean flavor too. In fact, our Dairy Queen sells Guava Blizzards 🙂 Love these beautiful little cookies!
I think these little cookies look wonderful! What a great discovery.
What pretty biscuits, I love the image of the gorgeous teacup with a biscuit on the side.
(formerly Sunflower Days)
Thanks very much everyone! 🙂
@Parsley Sage: OMG! That sounds amaaaazing. I have always wanted to go to the Bahamas because of the natural beauty there, but guava blizzards? Now I have a whole new reason to go!
These look simply fabulous! I adore stuffed cookies and, having never had guava, think these sound so intriguingly divine 🙂 Gorgeouuss
I bought some guava paste not too long ago thinking I'd use it a lot more frequently than I actually have. This is perfect! I'll have to try this out sometime in the near future.
Just looking at these reminds me of the time I spent in Mexico! I had guava coming out of my ears. And it reminds me of a little hand pie. Can't wait to try these.
Just looking at these reminds me of the time I spent in Mexico! I had guava coming out of my ears. And it reminds me of a little hand pie. Can't wait to try these
Shortbread is one of my favorite kinds of cookies. I love that flaky, buttery style. Filled with guava or any other fruit paste is a wonderful idea! I'd love to try these.
Wow! I love the flavor of guava and have a feeling these cookies are so fun to eat 🙂 A little guava surprise 🙂
Sues
Thank you all very much!
Beautiful photos! I must have one of these! They look amazing!
I was always wondering how they get the filling into those cookies. Looks so simple 🙂
As a Brazilian all I can say of these cookies is: perfection! I love the idea of a guava pasta filled cookie. Brilliant idea! They look delicious.
Melting the guava paste (adding a little water) creates a delicious sauce, perfect for cheesecakes.
I'm very new to baking and want to make these cookies. At what temp should I bake these cookies? I expect this is a stupid question but being new to the baking world…..help please. Thank you.
Oh my! I forgot the temperature! 350 degrees Fahrenheit, I will fix it in the post thanks for bringing it to my attention!
So I'm living in Brazil, but I'm from Portland, and I'm making guava (goiaba) cookies for a Christmas party. So ironic that I'd have to get a recipe with Brazilian ingredients from a Portlander!
By the way, have you tried the guava cookies from Legare's Community Center on Clinton Street? They are what inspired me and they are to die for!
Thanks!
@Alegria: That is such a fun coincidence! I haven't been to Legare's, however I am going home for Christmas in a couple weeks and will have to stop by there. All the reviews on yelp look stellar, and everyone keeps mentioning the guava cookies haha. I am realllly looking forward to them now! Thanks for the recommendation 😀 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
just popped these into the oven…can't wait to try them out. thanks 4 sharing your recipe!
Can I substitute the flour for almond or coconut flour?
Hi Maria! I don’t think they would hold together as well, with non-gluten flours the cookies might become too crumbly and fall apart. However, you could try adding an egg to the batter to help bind the dough together more to counteract the crumbliness of a non-wheat flour. I hope this helps! <3
Can these be frozen and baked later?
I haven’t tried it, but as long as it’s in a very air-tight container so that it doesn’t dry out the dough in the freezer, I think it should be fine! 🙂
I halved the recipe. Ran out of butter so I substituted 1/4 cup with coconut oil. The coconut oil made the color of the batter much lighter. I molded my guava paste to more of a circle so that I can end up with dough balls. Halving the recipe, yielded 9 dough balls for me. I lowered the temperature to 325°C to reduce the spreading. The shortbread came out gorgeous and delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Eva, I was looking for a recipe to use the guava paste bars I purchased in. Cuban store and came across the shortbread cookies filled with guava. They atr delicious. I love baking cookies and give them away, since I made these, they are the favorites, they even prefer them over chocolate chip cookies! Thabk you, and so easy to make.
I love guava and this recipe does not disappoint.The only thing I did different was I added more vanilla so my batter wasn’t as crumbly. Fantastic don’t hesitate to try. 😋🔥
I make these several times a year – YUM! They are always a hit, and people always ask for your recipe!
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