Serves a Crowd

4C Shortbread

by:
April 21, 2011
4.5
4 Ratings
4C Shortbread
  • Makes 25-30 bite sized pieces
Author Notes

Had to come up with a name that would fit into the space above & coffee, cloves, cardamom & cream shortbread was a tad too long!
To be fair, the inspiration for this recipe comes from reading all the recipes posted recently, in particular, Bevi (who inspired me to create a shortbread), Tiggybee, (whose iced & spiced recipe yielded the cloves), and the blended combination of all the spices that are native to pauljoseph's home state of kerala in India.
while this was purely done on an experimental basis, The minute my kitchen started smelling like I was brewing a cauldron of creamy cappuccino, I knew I had to share this recipe.
To Bevi, Tiggybee & Pauljoseph, Thanks for the awesome inspiration, this is for you! —Panfusine

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules (taster's choice french roast worked for me)
  • 6 pods cardamom,
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 tablespoons light cream
  • 1 1/4 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 pinch salt
Directions
  1. Using a mortar & pestle, crush the cloves, cardamom seeds & the coffee granules to a smooth powder.
  2. Cream the butter & sugar till well combined. add the spiced coffee powder & cream a little longer till light & fluffy.
  3. Sift the all purpose flour and the salt. fold the flour into the creamed butter and work till the flour is incorporated completely and the mixture comes together into a ball. wrap in plastic wrap & chill for an hour in the refrigerator
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, roll out to a 1/4 inch thickness (using extra flour for dusting). Using a cookie cutter, cut out the dough and place onto a cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for ~ 10 minutes or until the lower surface of the cookies starts turning a golden brown. remove & cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight jar.
  7. Serve alongside a hot cup of.....tea or hot chocolate!!
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  • LeBec Fin
    LeBec Fin
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • Bevi
    Bevi
  • gingerroot
    gingerroot
  • Panfusine
    Panfusine
Panfusine
A biomedical engineer/ neuroscientist by training, currently a mommy blogger on a quest for all things food - Indian Palate, Global perspective!

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8 Reviews

LeBec F.
LeBec F. February 4, 2016
pan, in addition to the recipe itself, and the photos, i LOVE those leaves! what kind of cutter is it that also has the veins impressed in the cookie?
 
Panfusine
Panfusine February 4, 2016
the springloaded Thanksgiving cookie cutter's that seasonally show up at WIlliam's Sonoma. :-)
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 28, 2011
I would have loved to test these, too! One 30-minute conference call -- at exactly the wrong time, as it were -- and I'm so, so late to the EP dibs calling. But I'm going to make these anyway! ;o)
 
Panfusine
Panfusine May 5, 2011
would love to get your valuable feedback, esp since it did not make the final EP cut :-(
 
Bevi
Bevi April 28, 2011
Thanks for the nice shout out, Panfusine! I wish I could sign up to make your recipe for an EP, but I will be out of town all weekend and into next week! Good Luck!
 
gingerroot
gingerroot April 25, 2011
I can almost taste these...yum!
 
Panfusine
Panfusine April 21, 2011
Thanks nannydeb, it was really fun making this. It tastes like I'm crunching up a delicious cappuccino, the trickery on the palate was fun experiencing. definitely one of my successful capers!
 
nannydeb
nannydeb April 21, 2011
These sound heavenly and the picture is beautiful! Made my mouth water!