These melt-in-your-mouth cardamom butter cookies make an excellent addition to your Christmas cookie tins and are a blast to make with the little ones! Enjoy these tender, buttery cookies with a hint of flavorful cardamom spice alongside a cup of hot cocoa or coffee for a delightful treat.
If you have never baked with cardamom before these butter cookies are the perfect introduction to this flavorful spice! Cardamom is a complex spice with herby, fruity, minty, and spicy notes and lends itself beautifully to these subtly sweet, buttery cookies.
For more delicious cookie recipes, try our chewy spiced molasses cookies and peppermint bark brownie cookies next!
Ingredients You Will Need
A complete list of ingredients, measurements, and detailed printable recipe instructions can be found in the recipe card located at the bottom of this post.
- Flour. All-purpose flour works best for tender butter cookies. Be sure to measure your flour properly.
- Spices. Cardamom (of course!) and nutmeg add the perfect touch of warm, complex spice notes to these cookies that give them that little something extra that your guests won't quite be able to pinpoint.
- Butter. Unsalted butter softened to room temperature adds the perfect flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture to these cookies.
- Sugar. These cookies are made with granulated sugar to give them a crumbly, yet soft texture. I do not recommend brown sugar.
- Vanilla. ALWAYS use good-quality vanilla extract when baking for the best flavor. This is not an ingredient you want to skimp on, especially in most cookie recipes. The cheap stuff can make your cookies taste weird!
- Sanding sugar. This is a completely optional ingredient but is so much fun to use, especially when the kiddos are involved, to add extra festiveness and crunch to your butter cookies.
Substitutions and Variations
- Switch up the spices in these cookies for added depth and flavor. Try cloves, allspice, or cinnamon to give these cookies a fall vibe. You will LOVE the cozy spices in my soft and chewy chai cookies!
- Finish these cookies with a fruity or citrusy glaze to transform them into springtime treats. Check out my lemon strawberry shortbread cookies for inspiration.
- Instead of the roll-and-slice method, shape these cookies into balls and coat them in powdered sugar after baking to create buttery little snowballs! See my chocolate snowball cookies for inspiration!
How To Make These Cookies
Step 1. Whisk together the flour, cardamom, and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
Step 2. Cream the butter, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
Step 3. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla on medium, scraping down the mixer bowl as needed. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until no more streaks of dry flour are visible.
Step 4. Shape the cookie dough into a flat disc and cut it in half.
Step 5. Shape each half into a 12-inch log and wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the logs for at least an hour.
Step 6. Roll the chilled cookie dough logs in sanding sugar (if using) and slice the logs into ½-inch thick cookies. Bake the cookies on a lined baking sheet at 350° for 9-12 minutes, until the bottoms are barely golden brown.
💡 Expert Tip #1: Measure your flour properly by fluffing it with a fork, spooning it into your measuring cup, and leveling it with the back of a knife!
💡 Expert Tip #2: Always use softened butter when making cookies for the best texture! Soften butter by leaving it out on the counter for at least an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Make the cookie dough logs up to two days in advance and store the plastic-wrapped logs in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Allow the dough to sit on the counter for 30 minutes before baking.
Any warm spice such as cinnamon, cloves, or allspice works well in these butter cookies.
Store leftovers in a cookie tin or storage container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Frozen butter cookies will keep for up to 3 months.
More Irresistible Cookie Recipes You Will Love!
If you tried this Cardamom Butter Cookie recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Cardamom Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour - spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks - room temperature
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- sanding sugar - optional
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high (6-8 on a stand mixer) for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low, at the egg yolks one at a time. Increase the speed to medium and mix until just combined. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl, starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium. Mix just until no more streaks of dry flour are visible, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, shape it into a disc, and then slice it in half. Roll each half into a log. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and roll each log in sanding sugar (if using). Slice the dough into ½-inch thick cookies.
- Place the cookies about an inch apart on the lined baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 12 minutes or until the edges are barely golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure your flour properly by fluffing it with a fork, spooning it into the measuring cup, and leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Try using cinnamon, cloves, or allspice instead of cardamom to switch up the flavors.
- Be sure to use room-temperature butter and egg yolks so that your dough comes together properly.
- Leftover cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Corrie hill
I made these cookies last night, and I am obsessed. They ARE perfectly light, soft, sweet, buttery, and with just the right amount of SPICEs. I will definitely be making these again!
Ashley
Hi Corrie!
Thank you so much for your comment. I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the cookies! Happy New Year!