Holiday Cookie Recipe Share, Part 2: Award Winning Holiday Cookies To Boot...

Nest by Tamara's Holiday Recipe Share, Part II:

Today we share an award-winning 

Thandai Shortbread Cookie Recipe,

A special cookie indeed!

It's not every day a cookie recipe wins an award, but these are particularly artisan cookies-- delicate and delicious, and also unusual, so it comes as no surprise they won an award. I met the baker at the holiday cookie swap party I wrote about last week. Kate Landowne kindly shared with me her recipe, one she tweaked and read about on both The Jam Lamb and BakedFromScratch. These are perfect home baked cookies to bring to a holiday soiree this season, particularly if you are only making one type of cookie and want to impress the host. With these cookies, Kate won the 2017 Holiday Cookie Contest sponsored by the cookbook bookstore, Kitchen Arts and Letters in New York City.  These deserve special attention, and they are quite special. A special thanks to Kate for sharing with us here on Nest by Tamara bog

Happy Nesting

XO Tamara

Thandai Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate w/Pistachios and Rose Petals

Ingredients

Thandai powder:

• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup pistachios
• 1/4 cup cashew nuts
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 15 black peppercorns
• seeds from 7-8 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 1/4 cup dried rose petals
• 1 teaspoon star anise seeds (or crush 2 star anise pieces)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Shortbread cookie dough:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons thandai powder (see Note 4. below - recipe makes a lot of extra thandai powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted room temperature butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (can use 1 tablespoon vanilla extract if you do not have vanilla paste)

Garnish:

• 2 cups good white chocolate chips(Ghirardelli, Jacques Torres)
• 3/4 cup of finely chopped pistachios
• 4 tbsp of powdered dried rose petals. (use a coffee grinder to grind up the rose petals)

Instructions

1. Make the thandai powder:

• Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl; gently mix them together. In a coffee or spice grinder, in small batches - about 3 batches - add in the mixture and blend well until finely ground.

2. Make the cookie dough:

• In a medium size bowl, add in the flour, thandai powder, and salt, and whisk to combine. Set bowl aside.
• In a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, whip the butter for 5 minutes, on medium-high until fluffy. Add in the sugar and mix well, for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla extract and paste (if using) and blend again.
• In 3 batches, on low speed, add in the flour and blend, until just combined.
• Remove onto a lightly floured working surface and form into 2 balls. Wrap each ball in cling wrap and form a flat disk; refrigerate for about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently flour a working surface, remove one disk, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin, to about 1/4 inch thickness. You can use a cutter as big or as small as you like, and start cutting out the shape.
• Put the cut cookie shapes onto the parchment paper lined trays and place the baking trays on the lower and middle racks of the oven; bake until golden brown…about 15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through the baking. Remove the trays once the cookies are done, and let the cookies cool on the trays for 5 minutes. Remove from the trays and cool completely on a cooling rack…for about 1/2 hour.
• Repeat the process until all the dough is used up.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, add in the chocolate chips, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate chips and microwave the chocolate chips again. Repeat the process in total about 4-5 times, OR until the chocolate chips are melted and ready for the cookies to be dipped in.
• Keep the chopped pistachios and dried rose petal mixture ready in another small bowl. Dip about 1/3 of the cookie into the chocolate mixture. Let the excess drip off, you can gently shake the cookie to remove any excess chocolate. With your other hand, sprinkle some of the pistachio + rose petal mixture onto the dipped portion. Gently dust off excess. Let it set on the parchment paper on a baking sheet.
• Repeat the process until all the cookies are done.
• If the chocolate mixture begins to thicken, microwave for about 10-15 seconds, to warm it again/thin it out for dipping.

Notes:

1. You can put the tray of finished cookies in the freezer to speed up the setting of the chocolate.
2. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
3. The dough will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month
4. The recipe for the thandai powder makes more than you need. You can use it for a milk based drink (described in the first link below) or you can store it in the freezer for the next time you make these cookies.