By Yewande Komolafe
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes, plus chilling dough
- Rating
- 4(383)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Floral hibiscus and citrus zest, along with coarse sugar, make up a delightful swirl in a buttery shortbread dough with contrasting textures from chewy candied ginger and caramelized raw sugar. Every bite of this cookie is suffused with delicately sweet flavors, which are complemented by a slight fruity tang. For the prettiest spiral, make sure to roll your log tightly. The log can be wrapped and frozen for up to one month, or refrigerated for up to three days, then sliced and baked without thawing.
Featured in: 24 Days of Cookies
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Ingredients
Yield:2 dozen cookies
- 1cup/230 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾cup/165 grams granulated sugar
- 2large eggs
- 2½cups/360 grams all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- 1teaspoon ground ginger
- 2tablespoons/28 grams finely chopped candied ginger
- 3tablespoons turbinado or other coarse raw sugar
- 2tablespoons/18 grams finely ground dried hibiscus (from ¼ cup dried hibiscus flowers)
- 1tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 2tablespoons dried edible flower petals, such as rose (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
166 calories; 8 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 87 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add 1 egg and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step
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In a separate bowl, combine the flour, candied ginger, salt and ground ginger, and whisk together. Turn the mixer off, add flour mix to the butter all at once and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer speed to low and beat until flour is fully incorporated, scraping the bowl again if needed, about 30 seconds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, pressing down to form a flat square. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
Step
3
In a small bowl, combine the turbinado sugar, hibiscus, edible flowers (if using) and orange zest.
Step
4
Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 10-by-13-inch rectangle. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl, and brush the surface of the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle the hibiscus mixture over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along one of the long edges. Press down lightly on the sugar to make sure it adheres to the dough. Turn the dough so that the coated long end is closest to you and, starting from that end, roll the dough into a tight log. Use the bottom sheet of parchment to help lift and roll the dough. Slice the log in equal halves, and wrap each half with 1 sheet of parchment. Refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to slice, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Step
5
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Slice each log into ½-inch rounds. Lay the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least ½-inch apart.
Step
6
Bake until the cookies are golden at the bottom edges, rotating once halfway through baking, about 22 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The baked cookies can also be stored frozen in an airtight container for up to 10 days. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
383
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Cooking Notes
Louie
Can someone suggest a source for the dried hibiscus? Looks like trader Joe's is sweetened...
Jessica B
You can get dried hibiscus at most ethnic (read: Latin, Caribbean, African, Asian) fruit/vegetable stores. They may refer to it as "Jamaica" or "Sorrel" (which is different than the green leafy plant).
Rebecca
I own a chocolate shop/bakery. We love the dried organic hibiscus flowers from Mountain Rose Herbs. Quality is great.
lori white
Try any Mexican grocery store for Hibiscus. It’s called Jamaica in Spanish.
Laura Perry
They’re quite good, but so sweet that sugar is the dominant flavor. (There are three separate kinds of sugar: plain in the dough, the sugar in the candied ginger, and the turbinado in the filling). The ginger and hibiscus were almost swamped out of existence, and the orange zest didn’t have a chance.Many pinwheel cookies flavor and color half the dough instead of a separate filling that’s 80% sugar. Next time, I’ll do that, using some rose pink gel for contrast.
Juju
Overall these are a delight! The flavor is layered in a really lovely way and the filling on mine did not get bitter at all. I love finding recipes that are outside anything I would have ever thought of. I agree with the other comments that they’re a bit too sweet. Has anyone tried making them with less sugar in the dough? I will definitely try using less sugar on the filling part next time.
Kathy S
After reading some of the comments about the flavors being overpowered by the sugar, I decided to double the filling, but with less sugar. I used 36 g hibiscus, 2 Tblsp orange zest, 5 Tblsp turbinado sugar. Delicious! Probably would have been fine with the full 6 Tblsp turbinado.
Toni
If there are Middle-Eastern groceries near you, they often carry dried hibiscus and rose petals as well (and orange-blossom water, rosewater, and other delights).
Kathryn
Dried hibiscus is available from Rancho Gordo: https://www.ranchogordo.com/products/jamaica-hibiscus?_pos=1&_sid=4ce016650&_ss=r
Andrea
These are faaaaaantastic. Really a nice break from the heavier chocolatier sweeter cookies you get around the holidays. And you can’t beat the look they’re so pretty!! I live near a Mexican grocer and they sell big bags of dried hibiscus
meljo
If you have local Mexican market*, you can find unsweetened dried hibiscus there! Otherwise, I’m pretty sure you can find it online.*I used to live in San Diego and got mine from Northgate Market.
Genny
Only change I would make is to cut 1/4 inch slices rather than 1/2 inch (and adjust baking time). I made the recipe as written and ended up with big, chunky cookies. I would prefer somewhat smaller cookies :)
Frances
Rancho Gordo is a great source for the hibiscus: https://www.ranchogordo.com/collections/herbs-and-spices/products/jamaica-hibiscus
thelettermegan
Delicious, summer-y cookie! Taste is both sophisticated and accessible. A great dessert to go with rum-based co*cktails. There doesn't seem to be a roof on the amount of extra hibiscus one could add to the filling - I sprinkled on a little extra in step 4, very happy with the results.
abigail
Make sure not to overdo the cheese mixture, if you do it will be slimy.
Jonathan
These stuck HARD to the parchment. The sugar welded onto the parchment and tore the paper when I tried to remove them. I've never had anything stick to parchment like these did. The only way I've found to get the paper off the cookie is with a microplane. Next time I'll bake directly on a sprayed baking sheet. The cookies are good once the parchment is shaved off.
Jennie
Very pretty and flavorful - great to have a roll on hand in the freezer for drop-in visitors.
note
12/11/23- made two mini logs!- 350 oven, 7 min, flip, 7 more min
Linda
These buttery shortbread cookies have a tangy, citrusy bite that is just delightful! My feedback is that they can be hard to roll out and to roll up into a spiral, so a damp towel under your parchment will help to keep the cookies anchored as you work. Otherwise, the parchment slides around your counter and makes the task challenging! But they're worth the effort, for sure!
Lauren
I cut open hibiscus tea bags (The Republic of Tea) and used the same quantity in place of dried hibiscus. Worked perfectly!
rachel
Delicious! Didn’t change a thing. Great with tea.
filling
- 4-5 tbs sugar- 2 tbs hibiscus - 1 orange zest
Marianna
How about using Red Zinger or another hibiscus based tea? Has anyone tried this?
AJAinIowa
As suggested by others, added more ginger pieces (3T), doubled filling amount, and sliced cookies thinner. Chilled before baking. Beautiful and yummy. Highly recommend!
Mary Kay
Delicious! I used hibiscus blossoms (purchased from the Spice House) and lavender buds and forgot about the orange zest but I'm sure that would have only added to the flavor. I used at least 2 Tbs. of chopped ginger. A word of advice, don't leave the dough beyond the 1 hour if you want to roll it out without a bulldozer. Mine was rock solid! I think you could use anything that suits your taste for the filling. These are now a stable in our home.
Samantha C
Loved loved loved these. Simple but soooo tasty. The perfect sweet/salty/gingery shortbread with that delightful orange hibiscus filling makes a great and gorgeous cookie.
Jean
Upton Tea Exchange in Massachusetts has great hibiscus. Makes great tea and lemonade, too.
thelettermegan
Delicious, summer-y cookie! Taste is both sophisticated and accessible. A great dessert to go with rum-based co*cktails. There doesn't seem to be a roof on the amount of extra hibiscus one could add to the filling - I sprinkled on a little extra in step 4, very happy with the results.
K
You can order dried Hibiscus from Rose Mountain Herbs
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