Name: Cardamom Butter Squares
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 5 1/2 hr (includes chilling)
Yield: Makes about 6 dozen
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; 2 sticks (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 to 2 tablespoons milk; 1 cup confectioners sugar; 3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), melted; 2 small heavy-duty sealable plastic bags (for icing; not pleated)

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Cardamom Butter SquaresMikkel Vang

Yvonne M. Parnes of Batavia, Ohio, got the recipe for these rich, buttery cookies in an e-mail from the McCormick spice company. We like them plain, but drizzled with espresso icing and bittersweet chocolate, they are truly out of this world.

Cooks' notes:

· 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). · Cookies (with or without icing) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

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