Friday, October 14, 2016

A Lazy Baker's Cardamom Cookies

Cardamom* cookies are my new favorite. I’ve made them two or three times, modifying a recipe found on the Internet. By now the recipe has evolved enough to fairly call it my own, I think.

First of all I substituted honey for the original molasses because I wanted the cardamom flavor to dominate. Also, because I’m a lazy (or efficient baker) I mix the spices into the creamed butter instead of mixing them with the flour.  I don't chill the dough before forming the cookies either. The original recipe called for shaping the dough by hand into horseshoe shapes, which chilling would have facilitated,  but the lazy baker decided to just use a cookie scoop to shape the unchilled dough. (This alone probably saved 45 minutes.) I like the ridges the scoop makes on the cookie tops.


Finally, I baked the cookies several minutes longer than instructed, which probably because my cookies were a different shape. When I opened the oven door the wonderful aroma of cardamom was a delight.


These have a slightly crunchy texture when first baked, but as they age (at our house they only last about four days) they become crunchier.

Cardamom Cookies
2 sticks of butter (½ pound)
cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups unbleached flour

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add and mix in the honey, baking soda, and spices. Add the flour and mix until it is all incorporated.

Butter a cookie sheet, or cover it with parchment paper. Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to form the dough, placing the cookies about 2 inches apart. (They spread during baking.)

Bake at 350 for 13 minutes. Let them sit for a couple of minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.

Makes 3½ dozen cookies.

*Cardamom is the primary flavor in garam masala and it turns out to have numerous health benefits. http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-cardamom.html

Copyright 2016 by Shirley Domer



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