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We have awesome friends. Two of them came over to dinner last week, and they brought us beer.
Not just any beer: home brewed deliciousness in three different flavors.
See what I mean? Awesome.
In exchange for the for the sixer of tasty beverages, I hit them up with a sixer of cookies to take home. They had already eaten two or three of these little gems whilst enjoying time around the fireplace, so I’m pretty sure they were happy with their bounty.
If you’re having a holiday party, doing a cookie exchange, or bartering handcrafted beer off of your friends, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. The cardamom lends a nice Christmas-like flavor, and the pistachio adds a salty crunch.
Plus they are vegan and pretty low on sugar. Practically health food if you ask me. And not nearly as time consuming as brewing your own beer. I’ll leave that to my talented friends and hope that a steady stream of baked goods feels like a good trade :)
Ingredients
1 cup Earth Balance spread
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped roasted unsalted pistachio nuts
2 2/3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
Extra sugar for rolling (optional)
Directions
Combine the butter substitute and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightened. Add the vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.
By hand, stir in the almond milk, lemon zest and pistachios. Sift the flour and cardamom together, then gradually add to the bowl, stirring to form a soft dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.
Make 40 tablespoon-size balls of dough and place them on the baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. (I rolled my cookies in sugar before putting them on the pan to get a little extra sweetness. Totally optional.) Gently flatten the dough with your hand. Bake one sheet at a time for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing. Repeat with the remaining sheet of dough balls.
Source: Washington Post