Cardamom shortbread

[binkyboots]

cardamom shortbread

I'm on a quest to rediscover my baking roots, so all things scottish are running through my mind... I've been thinking about orkney broonie, fochabers gingerbread and shortbread.

this prompted me to dust off sue lawrence's "on baking", a book I bought years ago and ditched in my "pile of despair" as recipe after recipe failed. however, experience has taught me something about shortbread, and taking her recipe as inspiration I threw caution to the wind, the results, delicious!

I always fancied these cardamom shortbreads, they're golden, crisp, light and slightly spiced... they are fabulous with a coffee but better still with a hot chocolate.

• g gram or chickpea flour
  
• g strong white flour
  
• g unsalted butter slightly softened
  
• green cardamom pods
  
• g caster sugar
  

preheat the oven to 190

split the cardamom and remove the seeds, crush in a mortar or do what I do, get a cleaver out and chop them as fine as you can, that leads to little specks of cardamom seeds and bursts of flavour.

cream the butter and sugar until light

mix in the flour and spice, it will not make a dough, just moist looking crumbs in the bowl

tip into a lined pan, I used a square 20cm brownie pan, but you could do a round instead.

with your fingers and palm press the crumbs out and flatten them till they become cohesive and have a flat surface

chill for 15 minutes

bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden/brown at the edges

mark out squares or petticoat tails with a knife

dredge with caster sugar and leave to cool completely in the tin

turn out, break into pieces and store in an airtight tin.

Keywords: Easy, Cookie, Dessert

( RG1714 )