Caroline’s Vanilla Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Caroline’s Vanilla Cardamom Shortbread Cookies pair a classic butter-and-sugar shortbread base with vanilla, ground cardamom, and sliced almonds.

The dough is intentionally stiff and crumbly. Rather than shaping individual cookies first, it is pressed into a thick rectangle and baked as one slab.

Almonds are added after the first 30 minutes and pressed into the surface before a final 10-minute bake. The slab is sliced only after a brief cooling period.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar, such as Sucanat, Rapadura, or gur
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups spelt flour or unbleached white flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer or food processor, then blend in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and cardamom. Fold the flour mixture into the creamed butter and sugar to form a stiff, crumbly dough. Press the dough into an even rectangle about 1 inch (2 1/2 cm) thick on a greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the almonds over the surface, press them into the dough, and bake for another 10 minutes, until the shortbread begins to turn golden. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, slice into squares, and let the cookies cool completely and become crisp before removing them. Makes 25–30 cookies.