Black Pepper and Fennel Seed Shortbread Cookies.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try out some unusual flavour combinations…By chance, after spending some time experimenting in my kitchen, I discovered that pepper, fennel seeds and lemon work really well with the shortbread dough. This unusual flavour combination will shake up your taste buds so much so that they’ll be asking for more… 🙂

I am not going to say anything more about these delicious and surprising cookies…Just try them and let me know! 

Ingredients

For 24-30 cookies

100 g (3.52 oz) whole spelt flour (farro flour)

100 g (3..52 oz) plain flour

1 tablespoon honey

the grated zest of half a lemon (or 2 drops of lemon essential oil)

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (these actually come from my parents’ garden)

1 teaspoon peppercorns

the juice of half a lemon (small) 

100 g (3.52 oz) brown sugar, plus 1 tablespoon to add for decoration

130 g (4.58 oz) softened butter

a pinch of salt

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Method.

1. Grind the peppercorns and the fennel seeds using a mortar or an electric grinder and set aside.

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2. Separately, mix the flour with butter and then add 100 g (3.52 oz) of sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey, the grated zest and the juice of half a lemon with a pinch of salt. 

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3. Mix until smooth, then put the dough to cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

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4. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar with the ground peppercorns and fennel seeds.

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5. Roll out the dough and give it the desired shape. Decorate your cookies with the mixture of brown sugar, black pepper and ground fennel seeds.

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6. Bake for 20 minutes at 120°C (248°F) on a greased oven tray.

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Biscotti di pasta frolla con pepe e semi di finocchio.

Ingredienti

Per 24-30 biscotti

100 g di farina di farro integrale

100 g di farina 00

1 cucchiaio di miele

la scorza grattugiata di mezzo limone, non trattato (oppure 2 gocce di olio essenziale di limone)

1/2 cucchiaino di semi di finocchio

1 cucchiaino di pepe

il succo di mezzo limone (piccolo)

100 g di zucchero di canna, più un cucchiaio da aggiungere per la decorazione

130 g di burro morbido

un pizzico di sale

Preparazione.

1. Tritate, con un pestello o un macinino elettrico, i semi di finocchio e il pepe. A parte, unite le farine al burro, poi aggiungete all’impasto 100 g di zucchero, il miele, la scorza e il succo di mezzo limone con un pizzico di sale.

2. Amalgamate bene tutti gli ingredienti fino a creare un impasto omogeneo. Lasciate raffreddare in frigorifero per 30 minuti.

3. In una piccola scodella unite un cucchiaio di zucchero di canna con il pepe e i semi di finocchio macinati. Mescolate bene.

4. Stendete l’impasto e date la forma desiderata ai biscotti. Decorate i biscotti con la miscela di zucchero di canna, pepe e semi di finocchio macinati.

5. Infornate a 120° C per 20 minuti.

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9 thoughts on “Black Pepper and Fennel Seed Shortbread Cookies.

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