Shortbread is a classic English tea cookie. Traditionally, it consists only of butter, sugar and flour. Today I have a slightly unusual shortbread version for you with orange zest, cardamom and sourdough. The sourdough provides a special flavor and also contributes to the shelf life. If you replace the butter with a vegan butter alternative, this shortbread is even vegan. If you also want to dunk a crispy, spicy cookie in your next cup of tea, you should definitely try this recipe!
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How long does sourdough shortbread keep?
Shortbread is a shelf-stable baked good and can therefore be kept for a very long time if stored correctly. The reason for this is that the dough for the English cookies contains plenty of sugar and very little moisture. The sourdough also ensures that mold is less likely to occur. Shortbread even gets better over time. So it’s best to bake a larger portion in advance and store them in well-sealed tins. Pretty tins are also the ideal packaging if you want to give your cardamom orange shortbread as a gift.
Cardamom orange shortbread with sourdough is…
- crispy and crumbly
- vegan (with a vegan butter alternative)
- quick and easy to make
- shelf stable
- a way to utilize sourdough discard
Tips and tricks for perfect shortbread
Knead as briefly as possible: The dough should only be kneaded until all the ingredients have combined. If the shortbread dough is kneaded for too long, the finished cookies will be tough instead of crumbly and crispy.
Chill the dough: The dough must be cold before it is baked. This ensures that the finished shortbread has the right consistency and that the cookies do not melt during baking.
Sugar and chocolate: Refining shortbread
Before baking, you can roll the edges of the cookies (or the whole cookies) in sugar. This creates a nice surface and a sugar crust after baking.
For the classic shortbread pattern, use a wooden stick or fork to poke small holes in the raw cookies. The pattern also ensures that the sourdough cookies bake evenly.
After baking, you can dip one half of the cookies in melted dark chocolate and leave to harden on baking paper.
- Wheat flour type 405 or all-purpose flour
- Butter or a vegan alternative should be soft enough to combine well with the other ingredients. However, it is important that the dough is not over-kneaded and the butter is not too soft so that the finished cookies are nice and crumbly.
- Sugar for sweetness and shelf life.
- Sourdough starter or sourdough discard: Because the starter does not act as a leavening agent in this recipe, it does not have to be active. Shortbread is a great way to use up your leftover sourdough. If you want to know how to keep your starter fit and healthy, take a look at my e-book.
- salt
- Ground cardamom. If you don’t like the taste of cardamom, you can either leave it out or replace it with cinnamon or vanilla.
- Orange zest from one organic orange. Depending on how fruity you want your shortbread to be, you can adjust the amount of orange zest.
In three steps: How to make sourdough shortbread
- Knead all the ingredients to form a homogeneous dough. Shape the shortbread dough into two rolls and leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Die Teigrollen in Scheiben schneiden und auf ein Backblech legen.
- Bake the shortbread for between 25 and 30 minutes until crispy and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Helpful tools – My recommendations
✨ The links with an star* are affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and buy something, I get a small commission and you support my work (thanks for that 🧡). This does not change the price for you. You can find more information on privacy policy here.✨
- A Danish whisk* – especially if you don’t use a mixer. This allows you to mix your ingredients without the dough sticking to the spoon.
- A kitchen scale*.
- You can use a stainless steel dough knife* to cut your dough pieces or shape your loaves.
- A cooling rack* for bread, rolls and waffles.
- A sharp bread knife*.
You can find more product recommendations here.
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Recipe: Cardamom Orange Sourdough Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 245 g wheat flour or type 405
- 165 g butter or a vegan alternative
- 100 g sugar
- 110 g sourdough starter or sourdough discard
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cardamom ground
- orange zest from an organic orange
Instructions
- Knead the flour, butter, sourdough, sugar, salt, cardamom and orange zest to form a smooth dough.
- Divide the shortbread dough into two equal parts and shape into two rolls with a diameter of about 4 cm. Leave the dough rolls to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
- Cut the rolls into slices about five millimeters thick and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake the shortbread for between 25 and 30 minutes until crispy.
Notes
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