Cardamom cookies are fragrant, buttery shortbread cookies that melt in your mouth! Cardamom’s distinctive flavor makes it a perfect festive addition to holiday cookies, adding warmth and complexity to every bite. These cookies are truly addictive!
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Is there an aroma that transports you to your childhood or your grandma’s kitchen? For me, that aroma is cardamom. It is so intoxicating!
Cardamom is an exotic spice that originated in India, where it’s used to spice traditional chai tea, curries, and sweets. Cardamom is also essential in garam masala, the ubiquitous Indian spice mix.
Through the centuries, cardamom recipes have been passed down through generations and across cultures. Buttery cardamom butter cookies now grace holiday dessert trays from Sweden to India.
In this recipe for Indian cardamom sugar cookies (nan khatai or cardamom biscuits), cardamom gives the buttery cookies a complex flavor that unfolds with every bite without being overpowering.
The golden cookies are just a tad crisp around the edges with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. They remind me a bit of the texture of Mexican wedding cookies.
➡ Looking for more dessert recipes like cardamom biscuits? Try my simple Swedish visiting cake or Pecan sour cream coffee cake. Both are family-favorite recipes!
❤️ WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS INDIAN CARDAMOM COOKIE RECIPE
- These are the most requested Christmas cookies I give friends and family during the holidays.
- The cookies are melt-in-your-mouth tender.
- The recipe is tried and tested.
- The recipe does not contain eggs.
- It’s made with simple ingredients and is so easy to make.
- Cardamom has an alluring flavor that shines through in this recipe.
- You can adjust the quantity of cardamom flavor depending on your tastes.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients You’ll Need for Indian Cardamom Biscuits
- All-purpose flour can be substituted partially with cream of wheat (between two tablespoons and ½ cup).
- Cardamom should be freshly powdered, if possible.
- Vanilla extract can be omitted.
- Butter should be at room temperature. I generally use unsalted butter.
- Use whole fat yogurt.
- Powdered sugar is also known as confectioner’s sugar. It is essential to the crumbly texture of the cookies. If you don’t have powdered sugar, use a mini food processor to grind the granulated sugar to a fine powder.
Quantities and details are provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
- Cardamom can be purchased in their pods or in powdered form. I like to use cardamom pods and powder them as needed because the flavor and aroma of freshly ground cardamom make these cookies truly shine. You can smell and taste the difference.
- To grind the whole pods, remove the cardamom seeds from the pods by gently smashing the pods to break them open. Use a spice grinder or coffee grinder to grind the seeds into a fine powder. You can also use a mortar and pestle to grind the seeds.
- If going for convenience over freshness, use high-quality ground cardamom and store it away from light in an airtight container.
- These cookies have a pretty good cardamom flavor, but I like to use about ¼ teaspoon more.
- Getting the right cookie texture is important. Be careful not to overmix the dough, and keep it cool so the butter doesn’t get too soft and lead to spreading. Refrigerate the balls before baking to prevent the cookies from spreading.
- If the cookie dough is too sticky to shape into balls, let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Lining the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat lets you easily remove the cookies.
- Don’t overbake the cookies.
- These cardamom spice cookies can also be made with a bit of cream of wheat (rava or soji) substituted for flour. Use two tablespoons up to ½ cup of cream of wheat to substitute for an equal amount of flour. This gives the cookies a bit of a crunchy texture, and also makes it more similar to the Indian nan khatai or cardamom biscuits.
- Garnish the cookies before baking with a sprinkle of your favorite toppings like cardamom powder, crushed pistachios or almonds, or coarse sugar.
❓ FAQS
Add pumpkin pie spice, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger powder as a cardamom powder substitute. The taste will be completely different, but the texture will be the same. For a plain butter cookie, omit the cardamom altogether.
They are very similar. Shortbread cookie recipes don’t have any spices.
📝 How to Make Cardamom Cookies
- Mix the dry ingredients
- Make the dough
- Shape the cookies
- Bake the cookies
- Add cardamom powder, baking powder, and salt to the flour in a mixing bowl.
- Whisk together and set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar together using a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and mix well until combined. Don’t overmix.
- The cookie dough may seem soft but should have enough structure to roll into balls.
- Refrigerate the dough for 20 to 30 minutes if you find it hard to roll into balls.
- Measure the dough out using a cookie scoop and roll into balls (about 1 inch), cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place the balls on a lined baking sheet. Bake cookies at 350 degrees F for 15 to 18 minutes or until the cookies are perfectly cooked and lightly browned on the edges. If baking on multiple racks, switch the cookie sheets between top and bottom and rotate them front to back halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on a cookie rack. Store cookies in a cookie jar or airtight container.
More Dessert Recipes
- Pound cake is my all-time favorite cake to make for my family. You need to try this one. Air fryer and oven instructions are provided in the recipe.
- Try making this almond cake that will remind you of a giant chewy almond cookie. It’s another family favorite that can be made in the oven or air fryer.
- Oreo cheesecake comes out perfectly when you make it in the Instant Pot!
Cardamom Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour – 9 ounces (255 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder *
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter unsalted, room temperature (½ lb or 225 grams)
- 1 cup powdered sugar – 4 ounces (114 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoon plain yogurt full fat
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- cream of wheat to substitute for flour (upto ½ cup) – optional **
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, use a whisk to stir together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Use a handheld or stand mixer to beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, for about 2 minutes. Occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl using a silicone spatula.
- Beat in yogurt and vanilla until just incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Sift in the flour mixture into the butter.
- Beat until just combined. Don’t overmix! Scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Dough will be soft. Use your hands to pat the dough into a large ball. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for shaping into balls, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Form the dough into 1-inch balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃).
- Place the balls evenly spaced on prepared baking sheet, leaving enough space for expansion. ***
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the edges turn a golden brown and the middle is a light golden. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the cookie sheet halfway through bake time. ****
- Place the cookie tray on a cooling rack and allow cookies to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, store the cookies in a cookie jar or airtight container.
Notes
- * For best results, grind whole cardamom pods into a fine powder.
- ** Substitute an equal quantity of cream of wheat for the all purpose flour (up to ½ cup) to give the cookies a little crunch.
- *** Instead of shaping the dough into balls, shape the dough into a log (about 2 to 2.25 inches in diameter) and refrigerate till firm. Slice the logs into 25 discs and bake.
- **** If baking on multiple racks, switch the baking sheets between the top and bottom racks and rotate them from front to back halfway through the baking time.
- The temperature of the dough and your oven model can change the baking time required. Always keep an eye on the cookies as they bake.
- Bake less for softer cookies and longer for crispier cookies.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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✅ Why Trust Neena at Paint the Kitchen Red?
I’m Neena, and I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting the recipes I share. My years of practice have honed my skills, resulting in consistently delicious and easy meals. My experience (including hits and misses!) enables me to provide valuable insights, troubleshooting advice, and innovative recipe ideas. Every recipe is tested multiple times, so you can be sure it works the first time!
Trish says
Thanks for this recipe, it was perfect. I love cardamom! We used low fat yogurt and it turned out just fine.
Neena Panicker says
Hi Trish, I’m so glad you enjoyed one of my favorite cookie recipes. Thanks for the comment!