The one thing that makes these cookies is grinding your own cardamom. If the spice is new to you, start with what cardamom is.
Why freshly ground cardamom matters
Cardamom's flavour lives in aromatic oils inside its seeds. Once the seeds are ground, those oils start to escape, and the bright, floral top notes go first. A jar of ground cardamom that has been open a few months gives a cookie that tastes faintly spiced; seeds ground the same morning give one that tastes of cardamom.
Grinding your own takes a couple of minutes. Press each pod under the flat of a knife until it splits, tip the small dark seeds into a mortar, and pound for 20 to 30 seconds into a fine powder. A pinch of the recipe's sugar in the mortar helps grip the seeds. A spice grinder is quicker for a bigger batch.
About 10 to 12 green pods make 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom, so this recipe's 1 1/2 teaspoons takes the seeds from 15 to 18 pods. Fresh-ground is stronger than jar-ground, so start at the lower end. More on grinding, and why shop-bought powder often tastes weak, is in our guide to ground cardamom; how to choose and crack the pods is covered in our guide to cardamom pods.
Ingredients for this cardamom cookies recipe
- Unsalted butter, softened. It carries the cardamom through the dough. Soft enough to dent with a finger, not melted.
- Caster or granulated sugar. Caster creams faster; granulated gives a slightly crisper edge.
- Egg and vanilla. The egg binds a soft dough; vanilla rounds out the spice without competing.
- Plain (all-purpose) flour. Weigh it if you can: too much flour makes a dry, crumbly cookie.
- Baking powder and salt. A little lift, and salt to sharpen the butter and spice.
- Freshly ground green cardamom. The whole point. Green, not black: black cardamom is dried over wood fires and tastes smoky and medicinal in a sweet bake. The two are compared in black cardamom versus green cardamom.
- Cardamom sugar or demerara, for rolling. Optional, for a sparkling, crunchy outside.
Cardamom Butter Cookies
A cardamom cookie recipe for buttery cookies with crisp edges and a soft centre, flavoured with freshly ground green cardamom and rolled in cardamom sugar.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Chill
- 30 min (optional)
- Bake
- 10 to 12 min
- Total
- 27 min, or about 1 hr with chilling
- Oven
- 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan)
- Makes
- About 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 225g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 150g (3/4 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300g (2 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 to 2 tsp freshly ground green cardamom (seeds from 15 to 24 pods)
- 2 tbsp sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, for rolling (optional)
Method
- 1
Grind the cardamom. Crack the pods under the flat of a knife, tip out the seeds and grind them to a fine powder in a mortar or spice grinder, just before you start.
- 2
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the soft butter and sugar together for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
- 3
Add the egg and vanilla. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Scrape down the bowl.
- 4
Mix in the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and ground cardamom together, then mix them into the butter until just combined, with no dry flour left.
- 5
Chill if soft, and heat the oven. If the dough is too soft to roll, chill it for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) / 350°F and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- 6
Shape. Roll the dough into 24 balls, about 30g or a heaped tablespoon each. Roll them in the cardamom sugar, set them 5cm (2in) apart on the trays and flatten each one slightly.
- 7
Bake and cool. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just golden and the centres look barely set. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
Notes
- Do not overbake. The cookies look underdone when they come out, and firm up as they cool.
- Freshly ground cardamom is stronger than jar-ground, so start at 1 1/2 teaspoons the first time.
- Bake one test cookie first. If it spreads too much, chill the rest of the dough.
How much cardamom to use in cookies
For this batch, 1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom gives a cookie that clearly tastes of it. Go lighter if you want it in the background, or up to 2 teaspoons if you love it.
| Strength | Ground cardamom per batch | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | 1/2 to 3/4 tsp (5 to 9 pods) | A warm background note behind the butter |
| Classic | 1 1/2 tsp (15 to 18 pods) | Clearly cardamom, floral and bright |
| Strong | 2 tsp (20 to 24 pods) | Bold and perfumed; the most to use |
Do not go beyond that. In large amounts, cardamom's cool, eucalyptus-like note tastes soapy or medicinal rather than fragrant. Why that happens is explained in our guide to why cardamom sometimes tastes soapy.
Variations: five more cardamom cookie recipes
Each starts from the base recipe; only the change is given.
Orange cardamom cookies
Finely grate the zest of 1 orange, about 1 tablespoon, and beat it into the butter and sugar. Orange brings out cardamom's citrus side, and the cookie tastes brighter and more fragrant.
Cardamom shortbread cookies
A different method, with no egg. Beat 200g (3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) of soft butter with 100g (1/2 cup) of caster sugar, then work in 300g (2 1/2 cups) of plain flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cardamom until it just comes together. Press into a lined 20cm (8in) square tin, prick all over with a fork and bake at 150°C / 300°F (130°C fan) for 35 to 45 minutes, until pale golden. Cut into fingers while warm and leave to cool in the tin. Crumbly, rich and sandy.
Pistachio cardamom cookies
Fold 75g (1/2 cup) of chopped, unsalted shelled pistachios into the finished dough, or roll the balls in chopped pistachios instead of sugar. Nutty and green, a classic pairing.
Chocolate cardamom cookies
Fold in 100g (2/3 cup) of chopped dark chocolate. For a chocolate dough, swap 30g (1/3 cup) of the flour for cocoa powder as well. Dark, rich, with the cardamom lifting the finish.
Lemon cardamom cookies
Beat the zest of 1 lemon into the butter and sugar. Once the cookies are cold, drizzle them with a glaze of 60g (1/2 cup) of icing (powdered) sugar and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Sharp and fresh, a good spring cookie.
Tips for the best cardamom cookies
- Soft, not melted, butter. Melted butter makes cookies spread flat and greasy.
- Weigh the flour. Cups vary a lot; scales do not.
- Chill if the dough spreads. Thirty minutes in the fridge firms the butter.
- Bake one test cookie. It tells you about spreading, strength and timing before you commit a whole tray.
- Store airtight.Cardamom's aroma fades in open air, in a baked cookie as in a jar.
Storing and freezing cardamom cookies
Once completely cold, keep the cookies in an airtight tin at room temperature. They stay good for about 5 to 7 days, softening a little over time, and the cardamom is at its brightest in the first few.
To freeze, roll the dough into balls, freeze them on a tray until firm, then pack them into a freezer bag. They keep for up to 3 months. Roll in cardamom sugar and bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time. Baked cookies freeze well too: thaw them in their bag so they do not sweat.
No cardamom? Substitutes
Nothing copies cardamom, so these will be lovely spiced cookies rather than cardamom cookies. Cinnamon with a little nutmeg is the closest swap in baking, and orange zest brings back some of the brightness. Amounts for every swap are in our guide to cardamom substitutes.
A grower's note
We grow black cardamom in Sankhuwasabha, eastern Nepal, not green cardamom. But the two share the thing that matters here: in both, the aroma lives in oils inside the seeds, and the husk keeps it there until the pod is cracked.
That is why, in a cookie, the difference between a jar of ground cardamom and seeds cracked from fresh pods is not a detail. It is the whole flavour. Butter, sugar and flour are the same in every kitchen; the cardamom is the one ingredient whose quality you can taste in every bite. Before you bake, crack one pod: if it smells strong and sweet straight away, the cookies will taste that way.
Frequently asked questions
How much cardamom do I put in cookies?
For a batch made with 300g (2 1/2 cups) of flour, use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom for a classic cardamom cookie, 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon for a gentle background note, or 2 teaspoons for a strong one. Go no higher: too much tastes soapy. That is the seeds of about 15 to 18 pods for the classic amount.
Can I use ground cardamom instead of pods?
Yes. The recipe uses ground cardamom either way; the only question is whether you grind it yourself. Jar-ground works, but it loses aroma quickly, so it tastes flatter. If yours is old, use the top of the range. If you have pods, 10 to 12 make about 1 teaspoon, and fresh-ground seeds give a much brighter cookie.
Why do my cardamom cookies taste soapy?
Usually there is too much cardamom. Above about 2 teaspoons in a batch this size, its cool, eucalyptus note starts to taste soapy or medicinal. Old ground cardamom can taste that way too, because its bright top notes fade first and leave the harsher ones. Use less, and grind fresh seeds just before baking.
Can I use black cardamom in cookies?
No. Black cardamom is a different plant, dried over wood fires, and its smoke and camphor taste medicinal against butter and sugar. Cookie recipes that say cardamom mean green cardamom, the small, pale green pod with a sweet, floral flavour. Keep black cardamom for curries, rice and other savoury cooking.
How do I keep cardamom cookies soft?
Take them out when the edges are just golden and the centres still look slightly underdone; they firm up as they cool. Store them in an airtight tin as soon as they are cold. A slice of bread in the tin helps them stay soft for a few days; replace it when it turns hard.
Can I freeze cardamom cookie dough?
Yes. Roll the dough into balls, freeze them on a tray until firm, then pack them into a freezer bag. They keep for up to 3 months. Roll them in cardamom sugar and bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time. There is no need to thaw them first.
What pairs well with cardamom in cookies?
Orange and lemon zest bring out cardamom's citrus side, and pistachio and almond suit its floral note. Dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, brown butter and rose water all work well too. Cinnamon is a good partner in small amounts, but too much of it hides the cardamom rather than supporting it.
Are cardamom cookies Swedish?
Not exclusively. Cardamom is central to baking across Sweden, Finland and Norway, where it flavours buns, cakes and biscuits, which is why cardamom cookies are often linked to Scandinavia. It is just as at home in India, where nankhatai, a crumbly shortbread biscuit, is often scented with cardamom. This recipe is a simple butter cookie in the Nordic spirit.