Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? That means cookie season is hot on its heels and for that, I’ve got ya with this white chocolate pistachio cardamom shortbread.
Whoa, that’s a mouthful. In more ways than one, TBH.
Now, I love shortbread. I always have, but I think I really got to appreciate it when I was in Scotland years ago. Our Air BnB host left some homemade shortbread, her family’s recipe, in our room and it was almost like a lightbulb went off and I wondered why this simple yet delicious treat had not taken more center stage in my life. Fast forward a year or so when I bought one of my favorite GBBO contestant’s cookbooks and thus I found my favorite easy go-to shortbread recipe.
Three ingredients
No rolling.
No chilling.
Beat, heat and eat.
I’m taking Flora’s shortbread recipe up to the next level, in a way that was actually inspired by another GBBO contestant, Crystelle.
Side note: GBBO contestants really do come up with the most creative flavor combos (remember these cookies? Another great cookie exchange option- and inspired by GBBO’s Nadiya).
Gosh, this is turning into total fangirling over GBBO. Anyway…
This shortbread. Same basic recipe but I added cardamom powder to the base (favorite spice!), topped the whole thing with a thin layer of melted white chocolate and sprinkled the whole thing with salted, roasted chopped pistachios.
L told me in no uncertain terms that this was in her list of top things I’ve ever baked for her. She’s known me for over 20 years and has eaten countless of my baked things, so this is high praise indeed.
Here’s what you need to make white chocolate pistachio cardamom shortbread:
- Good unsalted butter– pick a European brand. I prefer Kerrygold for these guys
- All-purpose flour
- Superfine/caster sugar. Why? The finer granules really incorporate better into the butter to leave a smooth, not grainy texture
- Cardamom powder
- White chocolate (I used white chocolate chips)
- Roasted, salted, pistachios, for color and crunch
These are magic and come together in less than an hour from start to finish. I’ve made this a small match in a 9 x 5 loaf pan (which is how the recipe is sized here), but you can totally double the recipe and press it into an 8 x 8.
Also, highly recommend a kitchen scale. It’s how the rest of the world does it.
What are you waiting for?
White Chocolate Pistachio Cardamom Shortbread
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup superfine/caster sugar (70g)
- 5 ounces unsalted butter (pref: Kerrygold) (140g)
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (212g)
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 1 cup white chocolate chips (8 ounces)
- ⅓ cup salted, roasted pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 280F. Grease and line a loaf pan (mine is 9 x5).
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter, cardamom powder and sugar until pale and well-combined- a stand mixer or hand mixer works best, about 5 minutes. Add the flour until just incorporated and the batter resembles sandy crumbs.
- Pour mixture in the baking pan and press down evenly with a fork.
- Bake 30-40 minutes until pale golden. Allow cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Cool completely.
- Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler or slowly, in 45 second intervals in the microwave, until smooth. Spread over the cooled shortbread and immediately sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Slice and serve!
