polvoron cookie with cardamom and cranberry
These dark and rainy days before decorating the Christmas tree is thought acceptable really need some cheering up. And this polvoron cookie with cardamom and cranberries from Spain certainly brightened my baking day. Sometimes, unexpectedly, two ingredients go so well together and really bring out the best in each other. Somehow the cardamom in this polvoron cookie makes the cranberries taste extra fruity and -as a thank you?- the cranberries bring out the aromatic freshness of the cardamom even more. I blitzed up some sugar and cranberries in the food processor and sprinkled it on my take on the classic polvoron cookie while it was still warm to make a sparkly festive decoration. My polvoron with cardamom and cranberry cookie has the shape of a nice plump Christmassy star -you can never have enough stars!- to make up for the lack of them in the grey winter skies.
Polvoron cookie with cardamom and cranberries
for about 20 cookies
250 grams flour
250 grams soft unsalted butter or lard
250 grams icing sugar
125 grams blanched almonds
1 teaspoon powdered cardamon
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
pinch of salt
40 grams dried cranberries + 20 grams for the cranberry sugar
50 grams sugar
Toast the flour in a frying pan stirring constantly until it colors lightly and starts to smell like baked bread. Take from the stove and leave to cool.
Grind the almonds finely in a food processor. Mix the flour with the ground almonds, the cardamom, the ginger, the salt and the cranberries
Preheat the oven to 175°C/ 350°F. With an electric mixer beat the butter with the icing sugar for about 5 mins. until light and creamy.
Add the flour mixture and bring together in a ball. Roll out the ball between 2 pieces of baking paper to about 1,5 cm/0,6 inches thick. The dough will be slightly crumbly.
Use a cookie cutter with a simple shape to make plump little cookies. Carefully transport them to a cookie sheet covered with baking paper and bake for 20-25 mins. in the middle of the oven until lightly browned and done. Blitz the sugar with the cranberries in a food processor until the cranberries become fine crumbs. Take the polvorones out of the oven, sprinkle on the cranberry sugar and leave to cool on the cookie sheet.
This post is also available in: Dutch
