Mango Spelt Shortbread Cookies

I had been meaning to make these shortbread cookies ever since I got this Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies magazine, you can see how long it's been. I also wanted to make something with the Philippines Mango and Calamansi Lemon powders that I had purchased some months ago, I thought this was the perfect matching. The cookies turned out quite tasty, the nuttiness of the spelt flour (reduce the amount to 1 cup if you use all-purpose flour) combined well with both the mango and the calamansi lemon (though 2 Tbsp of that might make it a little too sour for some tastes). This recipe originally was double the ingredients, save that it asked for 2 Tbsp of Chinese green tea powder, I just halved the rest of the ingredients, and kept the amount of powder the same. It worked out to make a quite tasty shortbread cookie, I think. I also used my new small Holiday cookie cutters, as you can see, they were not so easy to use, with small edges that the dough stuck in.

Mango Spelt Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from a recipe from Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies 2001
1-1/4 cups spelt flour
2 Tbsp mango powder (or Calamansi Lemon powder)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' or granulated sugar

Sift flour, mango powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar; continue to beat until very light in colour and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, about 2 minutes more.

Add flour mixture, combine on low, until flour is just incorporated.

Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on parchment paper. Chill dough in refrigerator or freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 170C/325F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut shortbread dough with cookie cutters; place on parchment paper. Gather dough scraps together and re-roll to 1/4-inch thickness; cut with cookie cutters. Repeat as necessary.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until just beginning to brown. Cool on wire racks.