The jar of cardamom sits on the shelf behind the sugar. Small, glass, with a metal lid that sticks a little. When you twist it open, the scent rises—not floral, not spicy, just warm and faintly resinous, like something remembered from a hallway long ago. It doesn’t announce itself. It waits.

Shortbread is flour, butter, sugar. That’s it. No eggs, no leavening. But butter matters. Not the kind that comes in a tub. The kind that comes wrapped in paper, cold from the fridge, yellow like late-afternoon light.

You melt it slowly in a saucepan, not to clarify it, just to watch it change. First it foams, then quiets. Then it turns the colour of weak tea, then honey, then something deeper—amber, almost. The smell shifts from dairy to nutty. You pour it into a bowl and let it cool until it thickens but doesn’t set.

You cream it with sugar. Not until fluffy—just until the grit softens. Then flour, sifted or not. A teaspoon of cardamom, freshly ground from those green pods if you have them, or from the jar if you don’t. You mix until it just holds together. No more.

The dough is cool and firm, not sticky. You press it into a parchment-lined pan, not too hard, just enough to make it level. No rolling, no cutters. The fork holes keep the surface from puffing into bubbles. You score it lightly with a knife—lines for breaking later, not cutting. Then bake until the edges pull away from the pan and the surface looks dry, not golden, just set.

The hardest part is waiting for it to cool. Warm shortbread crumbles into sandy pieces. Cold shortbread breaks clean, with a snap that sounds right.

Brown Butter & Cardamom Shortbread Slabs

Makes one 8x8-inch slab, about 16 irregular pieces
Time: 20 minutes active, 45 minutes total

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Swirl occasionally. It will foam, then subside. Continue cooking until it turns amber and smells nutty, about 5–7 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl and let cool 15–20 minutes, until thickened but still pourable.
  2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides.
  3. Stir the cooled brown butter and sugar until the sugar’s grit softens.
  4. Add the flour, cardamom, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until just combined—no dry streaks, no overworking.
  5. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Poke all over with a fork. Lightly score into rectangles or squares with a knife (don’t cut through).
  6. Bake 25–30 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the top looks dry.
  7. Cool completely in the pan before lifting out and breaking along the scored lines.

The dough keeps, wrapped, in the fridge for three days. Or freeze it, whole or baked. The shortbread stays crisp in a tin for weeks.

A single piece, broken unevenly, rests on a wooden board. A few crumbs. The cardamom lingers after the butter and sugar fade.