Vegan Espresso Shortbread Cookies With Irish Whiskey Glaze

I found this recipe in the Orlando Sentinel.  It was adapted by the Sentinel from a recipe by cooking teacher Janine MacLachlan.  She says about the recipe: "I've deconstructed the classic Irish coffee by using ground coffee or espresso and Irish whiskey in a shortbread cookie."

This cookie recipe is amazing, easy, and completely delicious.  The cookies are crunchy, and the ground coffee gives them a little extra crunch (that's why you want to use ground coffee and not instant coffee powder).  The sweet whiskey glaze makes them anything but your boring old shortbread cookie.

You can whip up a batch in a flash.  The most difficult and time-consuming part is waiting for the cookies to cool so that you can glaze them.

It's easy to make this recipe vegan.  Just replace the butter with margarine.  Make sure you choose a brand that doesn't have trans fats, though, because this cookie is like a whiskey-flavored heart attack.  Look for a tub margarine; they're less likely to contain hydrogenated oils, which is where the trans fats are hiding.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sticks (225 g) butter or margarine at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 TB ground espresso or coffee (not instant!)

       Glaze

• 1/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup whiskey or bourbon
• 2 TB butter or margarine

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Stir together butter, sugar, and salt in a bowl.  Mix in about half the flour; stir in the ground coffee.  Stir in the remaining flour; combine thoroughly.  Using damp fingers, press into two buttered 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown, 30-35 minutes.  Remove from the oven; immediately cut each pan into 8 wedges but leave in the pan.  Cool completely.
3. For the glaze, pour sugar and 2 tablespoons of the whiskey into a small saucepan.  Heat to a boil over high heat; boil rapidly, 1 minute.  Remove from heat; whisk in butter.  Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of the whiskey.  Let set to thicken slightly.  If it's not thickening fast enough, stick the pot in the fridge.  When thickened slightly, spoon over shortbread, using the back of the spoon to cover evenly.  When glaze is set, remove cookies from pan.