While we all love the spices of winter and fall (think: chai spices and warm winter mulling spices for red wine), I think they become even more vibrant with orange. The acidity of the orange zest enhances the warmth in the spices and balances them out. This is why I make my Orange Spice Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving. These cookies are very similar to a chewy molasses cookie, but with even more spices. You will love their soft, chewy texture, similar to a bakery-style ginger cookie!
How to Make Orange Cardamom Cookies
If you’re a cardamom fan, you have probably made my Chewy Chai Bars. Cardamom is the soft, flowery warmth you know in a good chai latte. But here, we’re letting it shine alone. There are no other spices in these cookies besides cardamom! Most commonly, cinnamon and ginger find their way in a spice cookie, and that’s great, but today, the cardamom shines brightly. We’re using molasses in these cookies to make them extra soft and chewy. Do not worry–the edges still crisp in the oven to make a cookie with the perfect balance of chewiness and crispiness. If you like my Gingersnaps, make these cookies next! These cookies are thin, crispy and chewy at the same time. They stack nicely for delivery, too!
The Ingredients
Butter. We need 12 tablespoons (which is ¾ cup of butter) that is unsalted and has been softened to room temperature. The best way to soften butter is to open the wrapper, slice it into 8 pieces, and let the pieces lay out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. The butter is ready to bake when you can press a finger into it and make an indention, but it won’t be so overly soft that you finger glides all the way through. Brown Sugar. Light or dark brown sugar both work here, but I recommend light since we’re also adding molasses. Brown sugar is just granulated sugar with some molasses already in it! It makes for much softer cookies, just like in my brown sugar chocolate chip cookies. Orange Zest. Use a microplane to grate the zest from two navel oranges, creating 2 tablespoons of freshly grated orange zest. Egg. These orange cardamom cookies use one whole large egg. Molasses. Please, never bake with blackstrap molasses. Always use the regular molasses that is meant for baking, not the healthy stuff. The blackstrap molasses has a savor meat-like flavor, just in case I haven’t convinced you. Vanilla Extract. Flour. We need 2 ¼ cups of flour for this recipe. This recipe makes almost 2 dozen cookies. Baking Soda. Yes, two teaspoons is the correct amount of baking soda for this recipe. We need a lot of acidity to react with the molasses and create large, chewy cookies that spread in the oven. Cardamom. Make sure your jar of cardamom is fresh. We need 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom. You can absolutely make your own by cracking open cardamom pods, placing the small, sticky black seeds in a mortar and pestle and grinding it until a powder forms. You need to crack open about 20 cardamom pods to crush the seeds into 2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom. Please note that I just bought my cardamom powder pre-ground from a place that I know has a high turn-over rate for their spices. Sugar. We need a small amount of granulated sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking. This gives a sparkly, crispy bite to the cookies. There is no actual granulated sugar in the cookie dough, however.
The Instructions
These orange cardamom cookies require a 2 hour chill time in the fridge to firm up. Read the recipe all the way through and plan accordingly.
Storage/ Make-Ahead Guidelines for Orange Cardamom Cookies:
You can make the dough for these orange cardamom cookies ahead of time and freeze it in scoops. If you place it in an airtight freezer bag, they will freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra minute to the bake time. You can also freeze already-baked cookies. Defrost at room temperature for a few hours before serving. Since this recipe requires a 2 hour chill time, I will mention that you can leave them for up to 2 days in the fridge before baking. Bring the dough out to room temperature for about 30 minutes to soften slightly before scooping and baking as usual. *Do not use blackstrap molasses. Use regular molasses meant for baking. And yes, 2 teaspoons is the correct amount of baking soda for this recipe.Storage: You can refrigerate the dough from 2 hours to 2 days. If kept cold longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature to soften before scooping and baking.Make-Ahead: You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months before baking.
