Eggless Saffron Tea Cookies (With Pistachio Or Cashew Nuts)

These simple, yet exotic, little tea
cookies are fragrant & tasty!

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons coconut milk (or milk of choice)

1 teaspoon saffron threads

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt**

1/3 cup chopped pistachios or cashews

Method:

Add the milk to glass measuring cup or small microwaveable bowl. Heat for 20 seconds to warm. Add the saffron to the warm milk and soak for 10 minutes or longer. Use a pestle, spoon or immersion blender to crush the softened saffron.

Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cream together, with an electric mixer, until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and saffron milk.

Sift together the flour, cardamom and salt. Blend into the butter mixture. Refrigerate the dough for 15 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350*. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Divide the dough into 20 small 1 inch balls. Place the balls two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the cookies with your fingers to form round disks about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top and press lightly into the dough.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to finish cooling completely on a wire rack. Makes 20 cookies. Store in an airtight container.

**If salted nuts are used, no salt needs to be added.

Notes: These rich and flavorful saffron India inspired cookies are a perfect and addictive tea time snack! 

About saffron:  Saffron is the dried orange-red stigmas of a variety of crocus flower. It is valuable because there are only 3 stigmas in each flower. They must be harvested by hand, just as the flower is opening. It takes almost 70,ooo flower to produce one pound of dried saffron. That is why this exotic spice is the most expensive one there is.