Rose Water Shortbread
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients:
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups spelt or einkorn flour, plus more for dusting
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 teaspoon rose water
½ cup raw pistachios
Special Equipment
A 2½-inch-diameter fluted cookie cutter
Directions:
Step 1
Whisk salt and 2 cups flour in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and ¾ cup sugar until well combined (butter does not need to be fluffy), about 3 minutes. Beat in egg. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in dry ingredients. Divide dough in half and pat into two ¾"-thick disks; wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
Step 2
Whisk the remaining ¼ cup sugar with ¼ cup hot water in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in rose water; set aside.
Step 3
Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350°. Working one at a time, let dough disks sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Roll out on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, dusting with more flour and chilling to firm if it becomes too hard to work with, until about ⅛" thick. Punch out cookies with a cutter; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Gently press 3 pistachios into each cookie. (Bonus: Snack on any leftover pistachios.)
Step 4
Bake cookies until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes; lightly brush with reserved rose water mixture (you won’t use all of it). Let cool completely.
Step 5
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 month ahead. Freeze instead of chilling.
Nutrition:
Calories (kcal) 110
Fat (g) 4
Saturated Fat (g) 1.5
Cholesterol (mg) 15
Carbohydrates (g) 16
Dietary Fiber (g) 2
Total Sugars (g) 9
Protein (g) 2
Sodium (mg) 25
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit.