Chai Shortbread Cookies

What is a great recipe for an autumn dessert? At our house we are enjoying these shortbread cookies with spicy chai flavor. Here is the recipe we use for the cookies. It's based on the Scotch Shortbread recipe in our Fanny Farmer Baking Book.Add a little scoop of Madisono's Dark Chocolate Orange Gelato and you've got a sweet dessert.

Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

(orange glaze recipe to follow)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then add sugar and vanilla. Beat well. In a separate bowl, combine and toss together the flour, salt and spices. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and blend completely. The dough should hold together in a big dough ball.

On a floured surface, roll about half the dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and transfer onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat until you've used all the dough. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven until the cookies are just starting to color. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

ORANGE GLAZE

Combine 2 cups confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Slowly add milk, mixing with a whisk or fork, until the icing runs smoothly from a spoon (about 1/4 cup milk). Spoon the glaze onto the cooled cookies and let dry.