Harvest Moon Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup ground almond meal ( I ordered mine from Amazon)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F

Cream the butter and slowly add in the sugar. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and the
almond meal. Work in the flour gradually. Wrap the dough in wax paper or parchment paper and
refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. These are delicate cookies, so don't handle
them too much. Divide the dough into 2 batches, leaving one in the refrigerator. Divide the dough
into small 1 teaspoon sized balls and place them on a cookie sheet and slightly flatten with the heel
of your hand or a spatula. Bake until just slightly golden brown on the bottoms, about 12 to 15
minutes. Cool the cookies and drizzle with white or dark chocolate or cover 1/2 of the cookie in
chocolate. Serve with cocoa or chocolate milk for dunking.
CARDAMOM SPICE COOKIES

Serves: Makes 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom, more for sprinkling

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 tablespoons very soft butter

1 cup sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 large egg

INSTRUCTIONS

Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk
oil, butter, and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in molasses, then egg. Stir in dry
ingredients.

Form dough into 2-tablespoon portions and set cookies about 2 ½ inches apart on a silpat- or
parchment-lined 18- by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet. (Figure about 8 cookies per sheet). Bake until
puffed slightly, golden brown around the edges, and starting to crackle about 10 minutes if baking 1
sheet and about 12 minutes for 2 sheets. Don’t over bake! (If you’re baking 2 sheets at a time, switch
positions after 7 or 8 minutes.)

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle a little ground cardamom on top of each one.
Allow cookies to cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool
completely. Cooled cookies can be stored in an air-tight container for up to a week.

NOTES

Make sure you use very soft—not melted!—butter. If you can, leave it on the counter for a few
hours or overnight. If you have to quickie-soften your butter in the microwave and melt some in the
process, you may need to add a little more flour to make the dough hang together. Just add enough
flour that the dough will hold a very soft ball.
Lavender Shortbread

Ingredients

200 g dairy-free butter I used Vitalite

1 tsp vanilla paste

100 g caster sugar

300 g plain flour sifted

Lavender essential oil and dried flowers

Metric - US

Instructions

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar together. Stir in the flour essential oil and dried flowers. and mix
into a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160c / 140c (fan) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Once the dough is chilled, roll out to approximately 1/2 cm thickness and cut into shapes. Place on
the baking sheet, sprinkle with a little extra sugar and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown at
the edges, turning half way through to ensure even baking.

Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving or decorating.