UPDATED RECIPE- Cardamom Cookies are buttery, crisp and mildly sweet and so soft that they truly melt in your mouth!! These cardamom shortbread cookies pairs perfectly with your cup of coffee of tea or makes a great Christmas cookie.

Meet my new favorite shortbread cookie recipe!!!
These cardamom shortbread cookies have just the right amount of sweetness and they are CRISP yet melts into your mouth!! SO GOOD!
What makes these cardamom cookies really, really good?
- Crisp yet light
- Floral, exotic cardamom flavored
- Mildly sweet
- Pairs well with coffee / tea / Indian chai
- Perfectly sized
- Easy to make
- Slice and bake, no fancy equipment needed
- No eggs in the recipe <— great for vegetarians.
More cookies –
3 Ingredient Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookie
Few reader feedbacks:
“These are so good. I made them for my friend and he loved them so much he asked for the recipe. He then made them for someone else who loved them so much, she asked for the recipe 🙂”
“Can I give the recipe 10 stars? The cookies were amazing – melt in the mouth and crisp with a bright cardamom flavor. They reminded me of atta laddoos but they are so much better because of the texture. A real keeper which will become a family favorite for sure!”
“These are just awesome; perfect sweet and butter mix. First time baking cookies and im so glad this was my first recipe. I’m a new covid baker 🙂 cakes, scones and bread ive tried so this was definitely next. I want to bake these for my friends next.”
“I made these cookies today so that I could introduce my sister to cardamom. They are fantastic. I love the sweetness level. It was recommended that I could dust the with confectioner’s sugar or add sanding sugar before baking The butter in them tastes as if it was browned. YUM! Thank you for this recipe. Very easy!”
Ingredients (just 4)-
Butter – Unsalted butter at room temperature. If using salted butter, then skip salt.
Confectioners Sugar – Confectioners sugar has cornstarch which gives these cookies so soft and tender.
Flour – All purpose flour
Cardamom powder – Freshly ground cardamom makes a huge difference in the Indian cardamom cookies. Refer notes on making fresh cardamom powder.
How to make cardamom cookies?
Grind green cardamoms to a fine powder in a dry grinder and measure 1 tablespoon.
Whisk together all purpose flour, cardamom powder and salt together. In a seperate bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, just for 30 seconds on high (picture below, left)
Add the dry ingredients and mix well (picture above, middle and right), shape into a 7 to 8 inch log (picture below, left), wrap and chill until very firm (The dough can be made up to two days ) (picture below, right).
Preheat oven to 340°F. Slice cookie dough and place on a baking sheet and bake until deep golden (refer pictures below)
Cool and enjoy!
15 Last Minute Christmas Baking Recipes <—– Cookies, candy, healthy treats and even no bake recipes!
Expert tips on making perfect cardamom cookies:
- Confectioners sugar – The secret is in the confectioners sugar. Confectioners or powdered sugar contain a small portion of cornstarch in them, which contributes to that melt in your mouth feel.
- Room temperature butter – If you live in a hot climate or it is in the middle of summer then the butter might be too soft for the cookie dough. In that case, make the cookie dough as instructed and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20-40 minutes to firm up slightly before shaping into the log.
- Cardamom powder – Freshly ground green cardamoms make the best favored cookie. Try to use fresh, if possible.
These cardamom biscuits are the easiest to make and is a great starter cookie if you are new to baking.
Can you make cardamom shortbread cookies without an electric mixer?
ABSOLUTELY!
Step-1: Whisk dry in a medium bowl and set aside.
Step-2: Add room temperature butter and confectioners into a larger bowl and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon, until creamy. This is a very forgiving cookie, so a good 3 minutes should be good!
Step-3: Add dry ingredients and continue to mix with the wooden spoon, until it looks like the picture.
Step-4: Proceed as instructed in the remaining part of the recipe – shape, chill, slice and bake.

Frequently asked questions:
Cardamom has a mildly sweet flavor with citrus, floral and herbal notes. Due to its intense fragrance, they are an exotic replacement for vanilla in baked goods.
Cardamom is fabulous in both sweet, savory dishes and beverages. Cardamom tea (Chai) is one of the most popular everyday beverage in most of south east Asia. Cardamom sweets and baked treats are hugely popular all over India, Sweden and Finland. It is used in making cardamom breads, rolls, cakes and buns which are out of the world delicious.
I have used whole cardamom pods to make these cookies.
More Holiday Recipes

Keeping track of all the cardamom recipes?
Raspberry, Mango and Cardamom Clafoutis
Zucchini Cardamom Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze
Melt In Your Mouth Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cardamom powder or less (refer notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together all purpose flour, cardamom powder and salt in a small bowl
- Place butter and confectioners sugar in a medium bowl, beat with a hand held electric beater on high speed, until smooth (about 30 seconds). Refer notes on how to make cookies without an electric beater.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed, until well combined.
- Shape dough into a 7-inch log and wrap with a piece of parchment paper and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (up to 2 days) to firm. (Please note that if you are working in Summer or if you live in a warm/hot place, the dough might be sticky due to the high fat content. So, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 20-40 minutes, to firm up the dough before rolling into log)
- Preheat oven to 340 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator, slice into 1/4-inch slices and place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.
- Bake cookies in the middle rack of the oven for 18-24 minutes, until deep golden around the edges (turn pan once halfway through baking) You want a deep golden brown around the edges for a crisp cookie. If you remove the cookies before that stage, then it will have slight crisp and softer texture.
- Place pan on a wire rack to cool completelyStore cookies in an air tight container for several days.
Notes
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Christine
Friday 24th of December 2021
Thank you so much for putting a respectable amount of cardamom in this recipe. It's perfect. I find so many recipes that ask for a quarter of this and they end up not tasting like cardamom at all. These are wonderful with just the right amount of spice. Yum!
Maria Doss
Saturday 25th of December 2021
Hi Christine, Glad you loved the cookies. Wishing you wonderful holidays, Maria
Sally
Tuesday 21st of December 2021
Yum! I made these after seeing someone on the Holiday Baking Championship make cardamom shortbread. Your recipe seemed the most straightforward. These were delicious. I have never ground whole pods before. I doubled the recipe and used 1.5 tbl of the cardamom…maybe a little more. Great recipe! Thanks
Maria Doss
Wednesday 22nd of December 2021
Hi Sally, Glad you loved the recipe, wishing you a very happy Holidays - Maria
Judy
Monday 16th of August 2021
Just got hooked on cardamom in my tea. Stumbled onto the cookie recipe. Nice I had all ingredients handy. Oh my goodness they smell so good in the oven. Can’t wait to taste them
Maria Doss
Tuesday 17th of August 2021
Hi Judy, Glad to hear that, hope you liked these cookies, Maria
Laura
Tuesday 10th of August 2021
Super easy to make! Flexible enough for those who love spices, and omnomnom!
Maria Doss
Wednesday 11th of August 2021
Glad you liked these cookies Laura, Maria
pauline
Sunday 11th of April 2021
Fabulous! Perfect amount of crisp. The cardamon flavour is perfectly balanced. I doubled the recipe. Take note if you use the quantity converter on the recipe. 2 Sticks of Butter equals 1 Cup.
I put a little icing on top and sprinkled crushed rose petals. So YUMMY.
Maria Doss
Monday 12th of April 2021
Love the rose petal finish!!!