Today is National Shortbread Day!

Today is National Shortbread Day! According to the Vermont Shortbread Company, "some say that Queen Elizabeth was the first to popularize the partaking of shortbread and other sweet morsels with afternoon tea." Being that January is also Hot Tea Month, what a better combination than to create Shortbread Cookies to enjoy with your tea!

(image from www.rasamalaysia.com)

From www.Epicurious.com is a fantastic Shortbread Cookie Recipe, and another one that adds a bit of a spicy twist! Enjoy!

Butter Shortbread Cookies
Epicurious October 2003
By Ming Tsai
Simply Ming

Yield: Makes 4 logs 10 inches long by 1 1/4 inches in diameter

You can freeze the dough flavored or unflavored, in logs or not — for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Interior scrapings of 1/2 split vanilla bean, preferably Tahitian
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:

1. In the bowl of a mixer, combine butter, sugar and salt and cream on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. One by one, add the egg yolks, mixing until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and the scrapings of the vanilla bean. Scrape down the bowl.

2. Turn the mixer off and add the flour. Turn the machine to low and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl. Working on parchment or wax paper, form dough into 4 logs 10 inches long and 1 1/4 inches in diameter; wrap and chill.

3. Use each log to make a different cookie: classic shortbread , five-spice shortbread , double chocolate-ginger shortbread , and .

Cook's note:
You can freeze the dough flavored or unflavored, in logs or not — for up to 2 weeks.

Then using this Shortbread recipe, you can incorporate it into this recipe:

Five-Spice Shortbread
Epicurious December 2006
By Ming Tsai
Simply Ming

Yield: Makes 20 cookies

Editor's note: This recipe is from Ming Tsai's Simply Ming. This recipe only uses 1/4 of Ming Tsai's butter shortbread cookie dough.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground star anise
1/4 cup turbinado or other granulated sugar
1 chilled log of butter shortbread cookie dough

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a small bowl, combine the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, and sugar.

2. Cut the chilled log into twenty 1/2-inch rounds. Dip one cut surface of each round into the spice mixture and arrange the rounds 2 inches apart on all sides on a parchment-lined or nonstick cookie sheet or sheets.

3. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cookies with a spatula and cool on a wire rack.



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