5 Ingredients or Fewer

Saffron shortbread

by:
December  6, 2021
4
1 Ratings
Saffron shortbread
Photo by Anagha
  • Prep time 15 hours
  • Cook time 30 hours
  • makes 16
Author Notes

I am obsessed with saffron, i use it in everything :) so I was super excited to visit a saffron farm 'Peace and Plenty', in northern California. I tasted a saffron shortbread here and I could not wait to come home and try it. This is a basic shortbread recipe from King Arthur website, with some additions. I love that its egg-less, more people can try it
Whenever I think of saffron, I think of Indian cuisine automatically, and when I think of India, beautiful intricate designs come to mind. So I decided to make this shortbread with a design that reminds me of those beautiful carvings from the Indian palaces, gorgeous borders on the silk saris and more.
—Anagha

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Butter, Sugar, Flour, Saffron
  • 1 cup Salted Butter
  • 1 cup Confectioner sugar
  • 2 cups All purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon Saffron essence
  • 2 tablespoons Finely chopped pistachio
  • Saffron toppping
  • 4 tablespoons Whole milk
  • 1 pinch Saffron
  • 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar (optional)
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300 F
  2. Cream the room temperature butter with the sugar
  3. Add the saffron essence, cardamom powder
  4. Add flour and mix it till it form a dough. Split the dough into two parts. Flatten to make to discs and refrigerate it for 15-20 mins
  5. Warm up the milk for topping. Add crushed saffron and let it seep
  6. Grease two 9 inch cake pans
  7. Take the dough out and flatten it to fit the 9 inch pan. Try to level it to get an even surface. Prick the surface with forks, try and make a pretty design
  8. Brush it with the saffron milk, sprinkle with granulated sugar & chopped pistachios
  9. Bake it in the oven for 20-25 mins till the edges are slightly brown
  10. Take the pan out of the oven and immediately turn it over on a cutting board. Using serrated knife, make wedges while the shortbread it still a little soft and warm
  11. Brush the underside also with the saffron milk. Let it cool on a cookie rack
  12. You can serve it with any tea, I like to serve it with Kashmiri Kehwa
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1 Review

LeBec F.
LeBec F. January 27, 2024
this looks great! i wonder about the effect of sub'ing demerara sugar and cornstarch for all of the sugar and some of the flour[whole grain]. would love your thoughts!