18 December 2008

and they're off!

I am sooo happy to report that all the out of town recipients of cookies are having their packages shipped today! I will have to make another big post office trip tomorrow, but I have no work, so I'm looking forward to going at an odd hour in the middle of the day and hopefully avoid the big line. This means, of course, that I've finished the cookie extravaganza! You have no idea how excited I am about this. And next year, I am baking ahead (or at least mixing the dough ahead) and freezing it. I might just put a note in my 2009 datebook (which I haven't bought yet)** for November 15 to come back and read this post again.

Without further ado, the third type of cookie: Chai Shortbread. I'm pretty sure that this recipe came from the same issue of Cooking Light as the snickerdoodles (we were waiting in that Sprint store for a while...). I *love* chai tea, so of course I assumed that I would love chai shortbread too. They are good. Again, they're nothing too extravagant. Not a big party in your mouth. But the cardamom and cinnamon add just enough extra something to leave you wondering what it was that made that cookie so darn tasty. So here's the recipe

Chai Shortbread
(adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 tbs softened margarine
1 tbs ice water

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper. In a large bowl (or electric mixer if you have one) beat sugar and margarine together until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Sprinkle dough with ice water. Toss with a fork. Divide dough in half and shape into 6" logs. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour (dough should be very firm). While the dough is chilling, preheat oven to 375. After an hour or so, unwrap the dough logs. Carefully cut each log into 18 slices using a serrated knife. Place dough circles at least 1" apart on parchment lined baking sheets. At this point, you can make little slashes or some other kind of design on the top of the cookie if you want them to look more interesting. Bake for about 10 minutes. Cool on pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

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Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day to order anything from the shop that would be guaranteed to arrive by Christmas. There are still lots of goodies and cards for you last minute shoppers, so be sure to check it out. If you want it sent as a gift, I can always do gift cards, just put all necessary info in the message to seller. Thanks again for all your support this year!

**Also, on a totally unrelated note, I'm looking for the perfect datebook. Last year I used this moleskine one. It is perfect except that it doesn't have any holidays listed in it. This is occasionally problematic, and often annoying. So I'm open to suggestions on something simple, that closes, has lines, and also lists generally acknowledged national holidays (Jewish holidays a plus!). Thanks!

2 comments:

  1. Oooh, these look amazing! You always have the best recipes.

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  2. Oh, and regarding the agenda . . . I wanted a red Moleskine one very badly until I read that it does not include holidays!

    This one is on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5195954

    ReplyDelete