Cardamom Butter Squares

Total Time: 6 hrs 5 mins Preparation Time: 5 hrs 30 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Recipe

• 1 make cookies:.
• 2 whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice in a bowl.
• 3 beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 4 minutes with a handheld. beat in eggs and vanilla. reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until just combined.
• 4 form dough into 2 (12-inch) logs (1 1/2 inches in diameter), each on its own sheet of plastic wrap. use plastic wrap and your hands to roll, press, and square off sides of logs. chill logs on a baking sheet until slightly firm, about 1 hour, then smooth logs with plastic wrap and flat side of a ruler to achieve straight sides. chill logs on baking sheet until firm, about 1 hour.
• 5 put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°f.
• 6 cut enough scant 1/4-inch-thick slices from a log with a knife to fill 2 large ungreased baking sheets, arranging slices about 1 inch apart (chill remaining dough, wrapped in plastic wrap).
• 7 bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes total. cool on sheets 3 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. make more cookies with remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.
• 8 to make icing for cookies:.
• 9 whisk together espresso powder, vanilla, and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk until espresso powder is dissolved, then add confectioners sugar and enough additional milk to make a thick but pourable icing. spoon into a sealable bag and snip 1/8 inch off a bottom corner.
• 10 spoon melted chocolate into another sealable bag and snip 1/8 inch off a bottom corner.
• 11 pipe some espresso icing and chocolate over each cookie and let cookies stand on racks until icing sets, about 2 hours.
• 12 cooks' notes:.
• 13 • dough logs can be chilled 5 days or frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, 1 month (thaw in refrigerator just until they can be sliced).
• 14 • cookies (with or without icing) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.