Chai Shortbread

I saw this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine, courtesy of Juliana Grimes and Ann Taylor Pittman, December 2007 issue. I really liked their presentation, looks like a good Christmas idea...ok, I realize it's a little early, but I love, love, love Christmas! One thing about this recipe is that I would definitely double up on the spices next time, everything but the salt and pepper anyway.

Chai Shortbread
yield: 3 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups flour (spoon into measuring cups)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of ground cloves
dash of freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. ice cold water
Mixing Tools: Whisk, Wooden Spoon, and Fork

Combine flour and spices through ground pepper with a whisk. In a separate bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together sugar and butter until creamy. Sure, you can use a mixer, but I like the hard way. Using the wooden spoon, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until it appears crumbly. Sprinkle the water over the dough and toss with a fork until the dough mostly comes together. Divide in half and shape into 2"x6" logs, wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Unwrap dough, one log at a time. Using a serrated knife, cut each log into 18 equally sized slices. Place dough circles at least 1-inch apart on two greased baking sheets, or use parchment paper. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until lightly browned around edges. Cool cookies on pans for a few minutes, and then place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. You can use twine or ribbon to neatly present 8 cookies in a festive way.

1 cookie per serving=57 calories, 3.2 grams of fat, and 0.2 grams of fiber