HAZELNUT AND CARDAMOM SHORTBREAD dipped in ROSE INFUSED CHOCOLATE:
We do not really celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is a cliche’ holiday in my opinion! Restaurants are crowded, although this year it will be outdoor dining in many parts of the country. Do I need a holiday to express my love? I do not think so. But at the same time, I do love the pinks and reds in my Instagram feed these days! They do fill my heart with joy and it makes me want to create something cute too! I have really been overwhelmingly busy with my full time job, homeschooling kids due to this pandemic, which seems never ending(can I have my life back!?), and the book! I received an overwhelming response to where so many people pre-ordered the cookbook and it made me so happy, that a part of me will be in these people’s homes. Something that I have poured by heart and soul into to create and that people will be making it a part of their lives. It is really a wonderful feeling, and I really hope that this book can bring joy to people, as much as it has brought me joy to create this book. I am excited to see the final outcome!
So I created this really simple cookie, which can be an anytime cookie really! It is a simple Hazelnut and Cardamom Shortbread cookie, that is dipped in dark chocolate infused with rose water, and decorated with edible dried rose petals and edible gold leaf for that slight touch of elegance.
WHERE DO I SOURCE THE INGREDIENTS FROM this HAZELNUT AND CARDAMOM SHORTBREAD?
Hazelnuts : Trader Joe’s has roasted hazelnuts that have partially removed skin. I simply used those hazelnuts, and ground them in my Nutribullet mixture. I love the texture and flavor of the ground hazelnuts in this cookie
Cardamom: I sourced it from Diaspora Co where you can purchase whole cardamom pods. You can finely grind the seeds of the cardamom in a coffee grinder and the smell is simply intoxicating
Dark chocolate chips : I used the Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (60%) which are my favorite. I love eating them as is as a treat!
Rose water : I used to use the Sadaf brand of Rose Water that you get at the Indian store, but recently I switched to Nielsen Massey brand, that I got from Amazon, linked here. The rose water is much more potent, and is not watery like the Sadaf brand. It actually gives a good flavor to the end product, and a little bit goes a long way.
Dried Edible Rose Petals : Suncore Rose Buds are the ones I have used in the past. Linked here. Recently I started using Rose Dose edible dried rose buds/petals. I love the potent fragrance of these dried rose buds, and I simply tear off the petals of the rose bud, leaving the base intact.
Edible Gold Leaf : I bought them from Amazon. I have linked a different brand here, since I am unable to find the original one that I had purchased. A little bit goes a long way. Mine has lasted for quite a while.
Vanilla Extract/paste : Again I use the Nielsen Massey brand. I have been loving their vanilla bean paste. I do buy the biggest bottle, and although it is expensive, it does last me a good 2 years or more. The quality is exceptional and you can taste it in the bakes.
HOW TO MAKE THE HAZELNUT AND CARDAMOM SHORTBREAD COOKIES:
The cookies are really simple to make. You first whip the butter and sugar, in a kitchenaid mixer, with a paddle attachment and let it come to a smooth consistency. You could use a hand mixer as well, and a big bowl for this recipe, since it is pretty straightforward. Then we add the vanilla extract and then we add in the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined. The recipe has no eggs as well! The dough is wrapped in a plastic wrap, and stored in the fridge to harden.
So that when we take it out of the fridge, it is easier to roll and cut them into perfect little squares. Once the dough hardens after 4+ hours (you can even keep it overnight in the fridge and roll it out the next day), use additional flour, to roll out the dough. The dough may be slightly sticky because of the high butter content, but it rolls out beautifully. You want to roll it to half an inch in thickness, so that when you bite into the shortbread, you get a nice chunk of it. Cut out the squares and place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
WHY DO I PUT MY PRE-BAKED COOKIES IN THE FREEZER FOR A FEW MINUTES?
I put the prebaked cookies in the freezer to set them, and harden them, because I do not want them to spread much in the oven. Bake them in a pre-heated oven for 14 minutes, or until slightly golden brown in color.
A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES:
Shortbread cookies originated in Scotland. The original Scottish shortbread contains vegetable shortening and butter, whereas Shortbread consists only of butter. No leavening agent such as baking soda or baking powder is used in Shortbread Cookies. The whipping of the butter with the sugar, makes the cookie light and airy and crumbly, and resulting it in expanding slightly in the oven. The ratio in a shortbread cookie is usually is 1:2:3 THAT IS one part confectioner’s sugar : two part unsalted butter : three part all-purpose flour. Here I used a combination of the all-purpose flour and hazelnut flour to make the three part flour. Shortbread cookies are not overtly sweet, and that is why I love them. They are really delicious with some English tea, or even Masala Chai for that matter. That is my favorite way to eat these cookies.
DECORATION:
I love decorating my cookies. I somehow cannot let them sit plain. Decorating has to be my favorite part about baking. I used a mixture of dark chocolate chips, coconut oil and rose water to create this smooth mixture, in which you can dunk your cookies half way through to give it a chocolate and floral elegance. Put a couple of edible rose petals on the top and let the chocolate set on the cookie by either putting it in the freezer, OR you can let them set naturally. Once the chocolate is set, you can jazz them up by putting a tinge of edible gold leaf on it, and make it look really pretty. These cookies will make the perfect treat to share with your loved ones, anytime of the year!
These cookies would be so wonderful to share with anyone and brighten their day!
Other Valentine’s Day Treats that are some of my favorites are :
- Blood Orange and Cardamom Mini Cakes with Hibiscus Buttercream Frosting
- Hibiscus Macarons with Jammy Centers
- Chocolate Avocado Oil Cake with Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Buttercream Frosting
- Strawberry Beet Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Chocolate Macarons with Dried Fig and Rose Buttercream
- Chocolate Eary Grey Tangelo Mascarpone Tart
If you do make these cookies, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post! I would so appreciate it!
XO
Amisha
Hazelnut and Cardamom Shortbread dipped in Rose infused Chocolate
Ingredients
- Makes about 40 2” square cookies
- !Hazelnut and Cardamom Shortbread:
- 2 cups (240 gms) all-purpose flour
- 60 gms finely ground roasted hazelnuts
- 1 cup minus 1 tbsp (100 gms) confectioner’s sugar
- 2 sticks/1 cup (220 gms) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp salt
- Extra flour for rolling out the dough
- 2 inch square fluted cookie cutter
- !Chocolate coating:
- 2 cups (300 gms) dark chocolate chips(I used Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips)
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp rose water or ½ tsp rose extract
- !Decoration:
- Edible dried rose petals
- Edible Gold leaf
Instructions
- !Hazelnut and Cardamom Shortbread:
- In a medium bowl, add the all-purpose flour, ground hazelnut, ground cardamom and salt, and whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add in the butter, and confectioner’s sugar. Start beating on slow speed, so as not to have the powdered sugar fly everywhere! Increase the speed gradually to high speed, and beat for a minute, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix on slow, until combined.
- Remove the paddle attachment, scraping out any cookie dough. Set a plastic wrap on the kitchen counter, long enough to wrap around the cookie dough. Scrape out all the cookie dough onto the plastic wrap, and cover tight. Shape into a rectangle and keep it in the fridge for atleast 4 hours.
- After the cookie dough has set, remove it from the fridge, let it sit out for 10 minutes.
- On a clean kitchen counter, sprinkle some flour. Remove the cookie dough from the plastic wrap and place it on the flour. Sprinkle more flour on the top. Now mark indentations on the dough with the rolling pin from top the bottom, and slowly start rolling the dough. The dough is little sticky, so sprinkle little flour as needed. Roll out the dough until it is about ½ inch thick. Using the fluted cookie cutter, cut out squares, and place them on 2 cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper. Put one in the freezer to let it set(as you do not want them to expand when baking).
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After 10 minutes in the freezer, remove the sheet and put it in the middle rack of the oven for about 14 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
- As soon as you remove the first sheet, put the second one in and put it into the oven, once the first baking sheet is done. Let the cookies cool completely for an hour.
- !Rose infused Chocolate coating and Decoration:
- In a small pot, add water 1/3rd of the way up. Set it on the kitchen stove, at medium heat and let it come to a slight boil. In a glass bowl, that can sit on top of the pot, add the chocolate chips, coconut oil and rose water. Place it on top of the pot. This method is called bain marie. You want to melt the chocolate in a slow way.
- Do not stir. After 3-4 minutes, once the chocolate chips start melting, then stir slowly with a small rubber spatula, little by little. Let the heat from the boiling water do it’s work. As the chocolate melts more after 2-3 minutes, stir with the spatula and the mixture should be more fluid. Remove from the heat.
- Pour it into a narrow glass, that can allow the cookie to be dipped.
- Dip each cookie into the chocolate, drip off excess as much as you can, and place it back on the parchment paper. Repeat for all the cookies.
- I dip around 5-6 cookies, then place a few edible rose petals on the dipped portion of the cookie, then resume dipping a few more. This way the chocolate does not set, and the rose petals adhere to the chocolate.
- Let the cookies set at room temperature. For faster setting, you can place it in the freezer for 5 minutes, for it to set.
- Once completely set, use tongs, or a dull knife to place small pieces of edible gold leaf on each cookie. You can put 2 or 3 small pieces on each cookie to make them look elegant.
- Store in an air tight container, for upto 2 weeks.
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