xmas cookie no. 2

I've been so busy I can't even remember when I made these. It had to have been either last Wednesday or Thursday; I was really freaking out about being pressed for time. But things have a way of working themselves out and now I can enjoy these surprisingly good Raspberry Cardamom Shortbread Thumbprints. I think I found this recipe last month when searching for stuffing options. Speaking of options, I should also mention that I actually used some apricot preserves that I already had in these thumbprints because now's not the best time to be buying/storing another jar of preserves in the fridge.

I think I've made thumbprint cookies before but I don't have a good history with shortbread. Mine is always too dry and crumbly and I can't get it to hold together and then I get frustrated and it's like, never again. Then I see this recipe and think, well I can try one more time.

I'm not sure but I think the secret to well-behaved shortbread is room temperature butter. I left the butter out longer than I intended which turned out to be perfect. I was able to handle my dough and roll it into perfect(-ish) little balls and then press down without them falling apart.

The finished cookie is soft and pillowy and not super-sweet. I skipped the granola-rolling; that would probably add more sweetness for you. While the cookies were baking the cardamom made my oven smell like pizza. But that had no effect on the flavor. I did not intend to make two glaze-drizzled cookies this year but nobody seems to mind. It's cookie season.