These rich spice cookies are traditional Scandinavian cookies. Crisp and tasty they are delicious homemade cookies the entire family will love. Flavored with cinnamon and cardamom they make the house smell amazing as they bake!
Cardamom is one of the most expensive spices in the world, along with saffron and vanilla. So when I bought an entire jar of ground cardamom to make my Creamy Lamb Stew I knew I need to find some more recipes to use it up!
What is Cardamom?
Cardamom is made from the seed pods of a variety of plants that are closely related to ginger. Cardamom has a complicated flavor with elements of citrus, mint and herbs and smells amazing.
Interestingly, it is used is most often used in Indian cooking and in Scandinavian baking. I enjoy cooking food from different parts of the world and it is neat to see how they overlap and yet use things in completely different ways!
Cardamom Cookies
Cardamom cookies are popular in Scandinavian countries, and these cookies are a simple spiced cookies in that tradition. They are kind of like Snickerdoodles, but they are rolled in sugar mixed with cardamom instead of cinnamon.
Are you a fan of Scandinavian baking? Check out my recipes for Swedish Almond Cake and Norwegian Bløtkake!
The cardamom gives the cookies a speckled look, and the aroma of the cookies as they bake is rich and powerful. These cookies have crispy edges and but are soft in the middle for a nice combination of textures.
Tips
The dough for these cookies is very buttery, and spreads out a lot during baking. To combat this you should:
- Chill the dough as directed before you bake it.
- Do not put the cookie balls on warm cookie sheets. If you don’t have enough cookie sheets for all the cookies let the cookie sheets cool in between batches.
If you skip chilling the dough or put the cookie balls on a warm cookie sheet you will end up with a big smushed together mass of cookies!
How to Store
These tasty treats store well. Keep the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for 4-5 days.
Cookies Make the Perfect Gift
I love to share homemade cookies with my friends and family! Food is a great way to bring people together during the holiday season, either in person or from a distance.
Why not bake some cookies this year and put together a cookie gift box for your friends? Here are some cookie recipe ideas for gift giving!
Cardamom Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
For rolling the cookies
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until combined. Then add the eggs in one at a time and mix.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs
- Slowly pour in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom in the mixing bowl. Mix until the dry ingredients are just combined.1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Don't skip this step!
- When you are ready to bake the cookies preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Combine the remaining 1 tsp ground cardamom with the 3 Tbs of white sugar on a plate.1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 3 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- Shape dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Roll the dough balls in the cardamom/sugar mixture. Space the balls about 2 inches apart because they will spread.
- Place on baking sheets with parchment paper and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- These cookies spread a lot. Don't skip the chilling time.
- Don't put the cookie balls on warm baking sheets. If you are making multiple batches and don't have enough cookie sheets let them cool off in between use. Otherwise you end up with a large mass of smushed together cookies
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
I am giving the cookies a 4*.
The reason the cookies ran out was because the dough balls were too big. The temperarure setting on my oven needed to be adjusted to 350 for 12 min. Then they turned out perfect.
I like the cookies more spicier so I added more cardamon.
Other than that the cookies turned out delicious!
The instructions don’t say when to add the baking soda. I whisked together the flour, cinnamon, cardamon, and baking soda and then added the mixture to the wet mixture.
So good! I followed the recipe as written (aside of halving it) and they turned out delicious! I had the dough in the fridge for one hour prior to baking and they didn’t spread as expected, but I like how they turned out. I would definitely make them again.
Can I use all purpose flour and skip th whole wheat?
I just made a batch and did that. They’re delicious!
Can I just use all white flour? I can eat wheat.
Can I substitute Cassava flour for white flour?
These are excellent! Will make regularly!
Can I substitute honey for sugar?
I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt. They’re delicious, but did spread. For the 2nd batch I made smaller balls, spread the cookies further apart and baked them on a silicon sheet. The cookies came out perfectly and were a big hit with my family. I will add these cookies to my cookies folder.
Hi Anne, can I add chocolate and butter scotch chips and sunflower seeds and raisins inside this cardamom cookie