Chocolate Cardamom Shortbread
These eggless & mildly sweet cardamom shortbread cookies are tender, crisp and flavourful. They are buttery with warm aromas of fresh cardamom & gooeyness of dark chocolate making it a comforting & nostalgic treat.
AUTHOR : KHUSHALI PATEL
PREPARATION TIME: 40 minutes
BAKING TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
*For the best results, read the entire post & follow the instructions.
What do these chocolate cardamom shortbread cookies taste like?
- Nostalgic – it is the perfect Diwali treat to enjoy with family
- Freshly spiced with cardamom
- A subtle hint of sweetness from the chocolate and pure vanilla
- Gooey and melt-in-your-mouth
What are shortbread cookies? And where are they from?
Shortbread also known as Scottish shortbread (because it comes from Scotland) is a type of cookie made primarily with butter, sugar, and flour.
They do not contain baking powder or baking soda for leavening or aeration.
However, they are light in texture because of the air that is incorporated while gently blending the ingredients. Because of the high quantity of butter, the cookies have a lovely buttery flavour, melt-in-your-mouth and crumbly texture.
These cookies are also one of the simplest cookies for you to customize depending on the flavours you enjoy.
What to expect from this chocolate cardamom shortbread cookie recipe?
Super quick to prepare
These cardamom chocolate shortbread cookies are quick to prepare because all you have to do is blend the ingredients one by one till a soft dough has formed, then shape it and bake them till crisp.
Flavour
Cardamom is one of the spices that are commonly used and LOVED in Indian homes, especially during the festival of Diwali.
Each house is seemingly covered with the aromas of this very spice because it is used in absolutely each variety of sweets. So, these very cookies bring out the comforting and nostalgic feeling that you might desire to experience.
And even if you have never tried desserts with cardamom before, you will be left with a warm fuzzy feeling of comfort because of the natural flavours of this spice.
The chocolate, on the other hand, brings out the natural sweetness and aromas of the cardamom.
Simplicity
This recipe uses easy ingredients like unsalted butter, cornstarch, all-purpose flour, icing sugar, fresh cardamom powder and chopped chocolate.
It also follows a very easy technique of blending the ingredients making it a beginner baker-friendly recipe.
Texture
The texture of the shortbread cookies is what sets these cookies apart.
Although they might look like crispy cookies because of their neat edges and perfect shapes, they are delicate to touch at the very same time.
Once you bite into them, they magically melt in your mouth with beautiful flavours of cardamom and chocolate left lingering in your mouth. Not only that, but the gooeyness that comes from the melted chocolate makes these cookies an absolute winner.
Key Ingredients in this chocolate cardamom shortbread cookie recipe
All-purpose flour and Icing sugar
These cookies are prepared with all-purpose flour to provide structure. Along with all-purpose flour, icing sugar is also used for the same. However, a much lesser quantity of icing sugar is used, just enough to provide sweet flavours to the cookies without being overpowering.
Cornstarch
With the all-purpose flour & icing sugar, this recipe has extra cornstarch to help make the cookies crisp. The cornstarch helps give the cookies that delicious crispy on the edges and soft in the centre texture.
Without the cornstarch, I found that the cookies were way too crumbly and soft.
Unsalted butter
I recommend using high-quality unsalted butter for this recipe because it has a much higher fat content than other cookie recipes.
Because of this, the butter contributes to the flavours of the shortbread. So, using the best-unsalted butter available to you will ensure that you prepare mind-blowing shortbread cookies.
Fresh Cardamom powder
Cardamom provides a warm, sweet, smoky, citrusy and fruity flavour. High-quality cardamom powder has fresh aromas and is very strong.
This is why, just a tiny bit of cardamom powder is enough to flavour a large quality of food. This recipe uses fresh cardamom powder. You can use store-bought cardamom powder or grind fresh cardamom pods at home.
55% dark chocolate
Cardamom and chocolate especially dark chocolate pair perfectly well together because the chocolate brings out the citrusy and fruity flavours of the cardamom.
If you are not a fan of dark chocolate, you can use milk or white chocolate too but they are much sweeter which will mask those natural flavours of cardamom just a bit.
I highly recommend using dark chocolate (50% or higher) for the best results.
Vanilla
During the initial recipe testing rounds, I did not use pure vanilla extract to flavour the recipe. However, I found that the cookies were lacking a bit in flavour because there wasn’t an ingredient that brought out the flavours of the unsalted butter.
This is when vanilla came to the rescue.
Make sure to use a very small amount of pure vanilla extract while making this recipe. Just enough to bring out the flavours of the butter without overpowering the flavours of the cardamom and chocolate.
04 baking tips to make the best shortbread cookies
Use the butter at the right temperature
Because of the high quantity of butter used in this recipe, as mentioned before, it is important to start making the dough when the butter has the right texture and is at the right temperature. If not, the cookies will have no structure, will spread while baking and also burn.
So, when is the butter ready to be used?
You may have heard that you should always bring your butter to room temperature for baking.
But here is the catch.
The temperature of your kitchen where you live and where I live can be completely different, so bringing it to room temperature is not the right way to go.
When the butter is anywhere between 18°C to 21°C, it is the right time to prepare the dough. But that does not mean you have to check the butter using a thermometer every time you bake.
I have this easy yet effective method for you to follow that will help you understand butter and use it the right way, making you a baking pro in no time. For this, however, you will need a thermometer.
- Place a stick or block of butter in its packaging on your kitchen counter away from the sun.
- Now every 10-15 minutes, check the butter.
- When it reaches 18°C, poke the butter with your finger.
You will find that the butter will resist your finger, and you will have to put a bit of pressure to make a dent. The butter will also be a little cool to the touch. This is when your butter is ready to be used for baking. Observe and check how the butter looks and feels at this point.
- Next, check the texture of the butter once it reaches 21°C (follow steps 1 through 3).
While doing this experiment, note down the time the butter took to reach the right temperature. So now every time you have to bake, you know how much time your butter needs to soften.
Blend the butter and sugar instead of creaming
Shortbread is a cookie that is beginner-friendly and the very first cookies you learn how to prepare in baking classes. However, although it is quite easy, it is a bit tricky to prepare because of the high quantity of butter.
Any dessert made with a high quantity of ingredients that provide moisture and tenderness to the dessert requires less time to be spent while preparing it.
By this I mean, that when you over-work or over-mix your ingredients, the butter (specific to this recipe) starts releasing water, leading to a slack dough which in turn makes the cookie spread.
Especially if you are preparing this dough in a hot & humid environment, the butter becomes softer much faster. So, make sure to just mix the butter and sugar till they are soft and NOT till they are shiny, pale and fluffy. I call this the blending method.
If your kitchen is quite cold, the butter and sugar may take longer to soften.
Always sift the dry ingredients
As the ingredients for this recipe are not mixed for a longer time, you aerate the dough much less than needed which is exactly what you need in this recipe.
However, to make sure that you do spend less time in preparing the dough, always sift all your dry ingredients aka the flour, icing sugar and cornstarch which helps evenly distribute the ingredients and blend them with the butter much faster.
Your refrigerator is your friend, especially on hot days
YES! The refrigerator is your best friend while baking especially when you prepare this dough. I highly recommend chilling the shaped cookies overnight before baking, preventing them from spreading while baking. This step should not be skipped for the best results.
If you have the time, chill the dough overnight before rolling as well, so that the dough can rest. Resting not only helps the flavours to develop but also strengthens the overall structure of the dough. You can also chill the dough for a minimum of 1-2 hours before rolling.
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Frequently asked questions
Why did my shortbread cookies spread?
Shortbread cookies spread while baking for two reasons. I highly recommend not over-mixing your ingredients and chill the dough before and after rolling to prevent spread.
Before baking, chill or even freeze the cookies till they are rock hard and bake them immediately without thawing to help retain their shape.
Can I prepare these cookies without chocolate?
Yes, absolutely! But you will be missing out on the gooeyness and additional boost of flavours that come from the chocolate.
Why are my cookies dry?
If you have measured the ingredients with measuring cups and spoons then there is a high possibility that you used more flour or cornstarch. I highly recommend baking with a weighing scale as it provides accuracy which is crucial in baking the best desserts.
Can I prepare shortbread without cornstarch?
I highly recommend you use cornstarch as it contributes to the crisp texture of the cookies. However, if you prefer not to, replace the cornstarch with the same amount of all-purpose flour. No other changes are required.
Step-by-step instructions
Chocolate Cardamom Shortbread
Equipment
- 01 Stand mixer with paddle attachment or handheld mixer
- 01 Weighing Scale
- Chopping board and knife
- 01 Sifter
- 01-02 Baking Trays
- Bowls
- Spatula
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 150 grams All-Purpose Flour sifted
- 09 grams Cornstarch* sifted
- 98 grams Unsalted Butter, softened chopped
- 54 grams Icing Sugar sifted
- 123 grams Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped 50% or more
- 02 ml Pure vanilla extract
- 05 grams Fresh Cardamom Powder
Instructions
Preparation
- For the shortbread -
- Weigh the all-purpose flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Stir with a spoon and then sift well. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, weigh the fresh cardamom powder.
- Weigh the icing sugar in a bowl. Sift well.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or handheld mixer, weigh the butter & vanilla extract.
- Weigh and finely chop the dark chocolate into small chunks so it's easier to roll the cookie dough.
- For rolling out the dough -
- Cut parchment paper to line 1 or 2 baking trays.
- Cut 2 sheets of parchment paper for rolling the dough.
- In a small bowl, add a few tablespoons of flour. set aside.
- Set out the following equipment - a rolling pin, a 4 cm cookie cutter or a cookie cutter of your preference, and a small offset spatula.
Method
- Making the shortbread
- Blend the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or handheld mixer, until softened on medium speed.
- Mix in the icing sugar on low speed for 10 seconds and then increase to medium speed till just combined. Avoid overmixing or creaming.
- Mix in the all-purpose flour, cornstarch and cardamom powder mixer until combined. The dough will form small to medium nuggets.
- On low speed, mix the chocolate till almost combined.
- Mix until big nuggets of dough form or bring the dough together using your hands. Make sure to check that there are no pockets of butter that have not been mixed.
- Spread plastic wrap on your kitchen counter and transfer the dough onto it.
- Knead the dough a little till it becomes smooth & even.
- Avoid over-kneading as you do not want the butter to melt. Be quick.
- Flatten the dough into an even disk and wrap it completely.
- Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours or more.
- When the dough has chilled till nice and firm, prepare your kitchen counter for rolling out the dough (see preparation for the shortbread section).
- When you can poke the dough without your finger becoming greasy, it is ready to be rolled ( the dough will be a little cool at this stage).
- Rolling the dough
- Place the dough in between the two parchment paper sheets. You can spread a little flour on the top & bottom of the dough to prevent it from sticking.
- Slowly roll the dough in an even motion.
- Move your hand across the rolled dough to check if it's being rolled evenly.
- Keep rolling the dough till it reaches a height of 1 cm.
- Chill the rolled dough for 10 minutes.
- Once chilled, dip the cookie cutter in the flour to coat.
- Using one swift motion cut the dough using the cookie cutter. Avoid moving the cookie cutter in a circular motion as this will make it lose shape while baking.
- Pick each cookie with the offset spatula and transfer it to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat the process till you have made 24 cookies or till all the dough has been used.
- Transfer the cookies to a baking tray using plastic wrap & chill overnight or till very hard/rock hard.
- Baking
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Once the oven is preheated, transfer the chilled cookie dough (which you have just removed from the refrigerator) to the lined baking sheets about 1 and a 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake for 20 minutes till the cookies are firm to the touch on the sides, a little soft in the centre and golden brown.
- To prevent the cookies from over-browning, cover the cookies with parchment paper while baking. You can even do this halfway through baking time.
- Cool in the baking tray for 15 minutes and then transfer onto a cooling rack.
- You can dip the cookies in melted chocolate to decorate. Make sure to chill the cookies till the chocolate is firm before serving.
Notes
- Unsalted butter - As mentioned in the tips section, experiment and observe how long the butter comes to the right temperature and texture. Depending on the time it takes, weigh out the recipe or bring out the butter mid-way through prep.
- Storage and Freezing instructions
- The cookie dough can be refrigerated for four days before rolling and baking. If you want to freeze the cookie dough, roll it, shape it and store it on a tray or in an air-tight container by layering the cookies with parchment paper (Label the box/bag with the name and date of preparation) and freeze it.
- Cookie dough lasts for three months in the freezer. Bake immediately without thawing.
- Baked cookies should be stored in a clean air-tight container for a week.
- Dark Chocolate - You can use any dark chocolate you prefer except compound chocolate. Read this post for more details. I used 55% dark chocolate in this recipe. Feel free to use milk chocolate or white chocolate for a sweeter flavour.
- Cornstarch - If you prefer making shortbread without cornstarch, replace it with an equal amount of all-purpose flour.
- Ingredient Substitution & Weighing Guide - Read it here
Hi! I'm Khushali Patel, a cookie-loving professional pastry chef, recipe developer and content creator whose aim is to guide you to find more happiness in your baking journey every step of the way.
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