Cardamom Cookies are buttery, crisp and mildly sweet and so soft that they truly melt in your mouth!!
Cardamom Cookies
Meet my new favorite shortbread cookie recipe!!! These biscuits have the right amount of sweetness and they are CRISP yet melts into your mouth!! SO GOOD!
These biscuits are very easy to make and is a great beginner recipe if you are new to baking. The dough is rolled into a log, chilled until firm, sliced into ¼ inch thickness and baked like these Christmas Fruit Icebox Cookies or Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
If your dough is too soft to be rolled into a log (especially on hot days), then refrigerate the dough for 20 to 40 minutes to firm up slightly before shaping into a log.
Why You'll Love These?
- Amazing Texture - They are crisp yet light and melts in your mouth.
- Easy to Make - Very easy to make using an electric mixer.
- Make ahead - This is a great make ahead recipe for Christmas since they freeze well for up to 2 months.
- No fancy cutters needed - These are easy slice and bake biscuits that does not need any cutters.
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? They 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 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!"
HELPFUL TIPS
- 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 like this Pecan Snowball Cookies or Cashew Cookies.
- Butter - Use room temperature soften unsalted butter.
- Cardamom powder - Use freshly ground cardamom instead of store bought packaged powder for the best taste.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Butter - Unsalted butter at room temperature. If using salted butter, then skip salt.
- Confectioners Sugar - Confectioners sugar has cornstarch which gives makes them soft and tender.
- Flour - All purpose flour
- Cardamom powder - Use freshly ground for the best tasting recipe.
How to Make?
- Make cardamom powder - Grind green pods to a fine powder in a dry grinder and measure 1 tablespoon.
- Make Dough - Whisk together all purpose flour, powder and salt together. In a seperate bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, just for 30 seconds on high. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Roll & Chill - Shape dough into a 7 to 8 inch log, wrap and chill until very firm (The dough can be made up to two days ).
- Slice and Bake - Preheat oven to 340°F. Slice log and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until deep golden in color.
How to Make Without a Mixer?
Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Add room temperature butter and confectioners into a larger bowl and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon, until creamy.
Add dry ingredients and continue to mix with the wooden spoon, until combined. Roll, chill, slice and bake.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
It 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.
It is fabulous in both sweet, savory dishes and beverages. Cardamom tea (Chai) is one of the most popular everyday beverage in most of India. Cardamom sweets and baked treats are hugely popular all over South Asia, Sweden and Finland. It is used in making breads, rolls, cakes and buns which are out of the world delicious.
I have used whole cardamom pods to make these shortbread biscuits.
More Slice and Bake Cookies to Try:
Cardamom Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cardamom powder or less (refer notes)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (½ cup)
- ¼ 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 ¼-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
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third party calculations, should be considered estimates and not be construed as a guarantee. Varying factors such as product types, brands purchased, produce, the way ingredients are processed and more change the nutritional information in any recipe.
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Carolyn
These look tasty and easy to make! I'm more in awe with your photos though! How did you make those somewhat simple, one color cookie pop in the photo!!! Awesome!
Maria Doss
Thanks for the kind words Carolyn:)
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
These look so tasty! I wouldn't have thought to put Cardamom in cookies. Can't wait to try these cookies.
Maria Doss
Thank You Elaine! Cardamom adds a floral note and aroma while baking is intoxicating:)
Maija
Do you grind the entire cardamom pod?! We Finns grind the seeds. I'm going to make these for sure!
Thank you for sharing.
Maija
Maria Doss
Hi Maija, I grind the whole cardamom pods, hope it helps:)
Kim @ The Baking ChocolaTess
These look amazing Maria! 🙂
Maria Doss
Thank you Kim:)
Paulo
Do you use the whole cardamom or do you grindr only its seeds? thx!
Maria Doss
The whole cardamom. Let me how it goes, thanks.
Nicole
What if while cardimom is not available, only cardomom powder? Would you use the same amount? We live in a fairly rural area.
Maria Doss
Grinding fresh cardamoms contributes the best aroma and flavor, but store-bought cardamom powder can sure be substituted if not available. On a side note, whole cardamoms can also be found at Asian grocery stores (usually for much lesser price). Hope it helps Nicole:) Happy baking!
Rachel
Is there an egg in the recipe? This seems like it will fall apart? I've got a batch in process and just realized!!
Maria Doss
No egg. Form into a tight log, chill until firm and proceed. Do let me know how it goes, thanks.
Maria Doss
Hi Rachel, since the softness of room temperature butter varies between cold and hot months, the dough might be sticky during summer and difficult to roll into a log. In that case, I suggest to place the combined dough(along with the bowl) in the refrigerator for few minutes (to firm up) and then roll into a log with a parchment paper or plastic wrap. Thanks
Bee
I made these cookies last night. Left them overnight in the refrigerator I'm not sure what I did but to cut them was not easy they crumbled.,when I put them in the oven after 15 minutes in the oven, they burnt. I saved some of them they tasted OK... but overall I don't think it wasn't successful. They did not look as beautiful as the pictures... I followed the recipe exactly as indicated.
Maria Doss
I'm so sorry that it didn't quite work out for you. My guess would be that the flour was a touch more for the butter to bind. So, sorry again:)
Kathy Corcoran
You said 1 stick of butter but then 1 cup, which is 2 sticks of butter. Could you clarify?
Maria Doss
Hi Kathy, as per the recipe it goes -
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup), room temperature
- hope it helps:)
pauline
@Maria Doss, If you increase the quantity of cookies to 48, the recipe conversion states 2 Sticks of Butter (1/2 cup). CORRECTION: When making 48 cookies it should read 2 Sticks of Butter (1 Cup)
Maria Doss
Hi Pauline, Thank you for bringing that to our attention, will make the necessary corrections, Maria
sharon sh66epard
great texture, not to sweet, but the flavor was too strong for our taste. next time ill add 2 teaspoons instead of 1 tablespoon or cardamon powder
Maria Doss
Hi Sharon, I'm so glad that you liked it. 2 teaspoons cardamom powder sounds like a perfect start:)
Dianne Duprez
I loved the idea of these cookies, and live in a place settled by Finns, who adore cardamom, but wanted a look a little more special for Christmas. I just rolled the dough out on a tray, topped by a sheet of plastic wrap and chilled them off. They cut so clean and beautifully with pretty cookie cutters and kept their shape so well when baked. Thanks for the new addition to my annual list of best cookies to bake for neighbors and clients!
Maria Doss
So glad that you liked them. Happy holidays Dianne:)
Lisa
I LOVE these cookies! I'm making them again.
Maria Doss
So glad you love them, happy new year Lisa:)
Chris T.
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 🙂
Super easy, but the butter really cannot get too soft. If it does, you'll need to put the dough in the fridge as suggested.
Priyanka B.
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!
Thank you for the recipe with detailed instructions. I would not have thought to add a whole tbsp of cardamom but it worked very well. I did a little more flour (about 2 tbsps) since my dough was too soft - could be because we made it on a wet day.
Maria Doss
Hi Priyanka, So glad that you loved these cookies.
These cookies remind me of "Butter Biscuits" that we get in tea stalls in Chennai, so it is one of my all time favorites. I'm happy to hear that you liked them as well:)
Ash
Is it possible to reduce the amount of sugar in this without messing up the texture?
Maria Doss
Hi Ash, These cookies are MILDLY SWEET to begin with, so I will highly encourage not reducing the sugar:)
krsM
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
Maria Doss
Glad you loved these cookies:)
Suzie Mailman
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!
Emily Wilson
These are absolutely divine. My only disappointment was the batch size. It will be a doubled or tripled from here on out. Thanks so much for sharing!
Ranjana
They turned out yum have become my family’s favourite tea time cookies . Thanks for the recipe
Maria Doss
Glad you liked it Ranjana:)
pauline
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
Love the rose petal finish!!!
Laura
Super easy to make! Flexible enough for those who love spices, and omnomnom!
Maria Doss
Glad you liked these cookies Laura, Maria
Judy
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
Hi Judy, Glad to hear that, hope you liked these cookies, Maria
Sally
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
Hi Sally, Glad you loved the recipe, wishing you a very happy Holidays - Maria
Christine
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
Hi Christine, Glad you loved the cookies. Wishing you wonderful holidays, Maria