Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

This is officially my first recipe post, and I am super pumped to share this cookie recipe with you! I love to bake, and more importantly I love to bake desserts. My family very often blames me for their sweet tooth. The stigma that revolves around sugar and sweets being bad in today's diet trends is a little disheartening. 

In Ayurveda, the sweet taste plays a very important role in digestion. it's the first taste in the process of digestion. It gives sweetness to life and builds us up. It consists of the qualities found in the elements of earth and water--two materials that are very important for our body's nourishment and growth. Of course, this sweet taste can be found in many ways, a lot of which don't seem the most obvious. Grains and dairy generally have a sweet taste, as do many fruits. On top of that, it is important to be aware of what types of sugars we're putting into our bodies. In general, try to avoid processed sugars--the biggest one being white sugar. I try to look for evaporated cane juice as my white sugar. A lot of times, I'll even use Turbinado sugar instead of the common white sugar you find at the grocery store. Organic is of course one of the best routes to go. 

In Vedic culture, sweets are eaten during any big and important event to celebrate the start of something new and exciting. As this is my first official recipe, I thought I would start off with something sweet to celebrate all that is amazing and celebratory in our lives. There's always a reason to celebrate. So here's to finding the sweetness in life, and not being afraid to fully digest those wonderful moments that give us love and hope. 

Enjoy your cookies with your afternoon tea, or even as a little post-meal snack! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter softened to room temperature (organic, unsalted sweet cream if possible)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (again, try to find evaporated cane juice; you can also take turbinado and blend it up in your coffee grinder or high-power mixer to powder it)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup pecans broken into bits
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 3-5 strands saffron
• 1 tsp water
• Unsweetened coconut flakes to garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your cookie sheet (I generally use a little ghee and some flour, but whatever works best for you and your baking will always be the best!)
2. Crush the saffron and let it soak in the water
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy
4. Slowly add in the cardamom and saffron water to the butter mixture and combine thoroughly
5. Once the butter is nice and creamy, slowly begin to add in the flour, a little at a time
6. Gently fold in the pecans until they are well incorporated
7. The mixture will be a little soft, but don't worry
8. Take a little dough at a time and roll it into a ball, then pat it slightly flat
9. Sprinkle some coconut flakes onto the tops of all the cookies--make sure that they are on the cookie pretty well so they don't flake off in the baking process
10. Bake for 14-17 minutes until they are nice and golden brown

---

The coconut flakes should be on the cookies pretty well

Beautiful and golden brown, the cookies are ready to be eaten