Eggless Cardamom Tea Shortbread Cookies
Buttery round shortbread cookies with ground black tea and cardamom baked low and slow. Naturally eggless, perfect for chai time or gifting.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125 g
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50 g
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 g; cold, cut into small cubes
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom preferably from freshly cracked green cardamom pods
- 1 tsp loose black tea leaves orange pekoe works well
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Finely grind the black tea leaves in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle until powdery. Grind cardamom fresh if you can, or combine tea and cardamom in one quick grind.
Make the dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, ground cardamom, and ground tea until evenly combined.
- Add the cold butter cubes. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the texture looks like coarse sand and the dough clings together when squeezed. Do not overwork.
- If the dough is very soft, wrap in parchment and chill 20 minutes.
Shape and bake
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll to about ½-inch thickness, or pat into a slab by hand.
- Cut into 2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or glass rim. Re-roll scraps once. Place rounds on the prepared baking sheet.
- Fork-prick the top of each cookie. Bake on the center rack for 18 to 22 minutes, until the edges are pale gold and the centers look set.
- Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve
- Serve with hot masala chai, or store once fully cool.
Notes
Tea strength: use 1½ tsp tea leaves for a bolder note, or ¾ tsp for a milder kid-friendly cookie.
Cardamom: start with ¼ tsp from freshly cracked pods; old jarred powder may need up to ½ tsp.
Vegan swap: replace butter with very cold vegan butter sticks. Do not use coconut oil here.
Pan shortbread option: press the same dough into a greased 9-inch pan, score into 8 wedges, fork-prick, and bake 40 to 45 minutes at 300°F.
Storage: keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 1 month.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!