Giangi's Kitchen

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Something new has been added to your favorite snickerdoodle: Cardamom.

I discovered cardamom a while ago and fell in love with it.  Now I try to use it at any opportunity that comes along.

I love the crisp, clean flavor that it has. It marries almost all your baking recipes, and here is a great example. Adding depth and warmth to your baked goods.

Combined with cinnamon and sugar, it is a natural combustion of flavors for your palate.

If you like classic snickerdoodles,  you definitely will love this recipe.

But before we go any further…

What is the meaning of snickerdoodle?

Snickerdoodle is a cookie made with butter, sugar, and flour rolled in sugar and cinnamon before baking.

The sugar caramelizes, and the cinnamon adds flavor.

A classic American cookie.

What is cardamom, and how do you use it?

Cardamom is a spice from the seeds of several plants belonging to the ginger family. Each cardamom pod is spindle-shaped and has the most delicious scent imaginable.

Used for centuries both for cooking and as medicine. Commonly used ingredients in the Middle East and Arabic food. Cardamom has also gained popularity in the west.

Many Indian dishes call for cardamom, including curry dishes, Kheer, and chai.

You will find cardamom in garam masala.

Other benefits of Cardamom

Besides cooking, cardamom is also used as a supplement for its health benefits. Cardamom contains phytochemicals that have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

You will find in the market cardamom as a whole seed. Pre-ground spice powder. Essential oil or as an herbal supplement in the form of a capsule.

What is a substitute for Cardamom?

Not an easy task due to the complexity of the cardamom flavor.

If you are in a pinch, blend warm autumnal spiced to simulate the distinct flavor. Mix equal parts of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ginger, or cloves.

Here are a few helpful tips for the ingredients needed

Unbleached all-purpose flour: Always sift your flour so it will not leave clumps when used with wet ingredients. Make sure it is unbleached, so it is not chemically treated.

Cream of tartar: A white powder that acts as an activator and stabilizes the tiny bubbles in the egg whites by eliminating the egg protein from sticking together.

Salt: fine sea salt is the best in my book for baking. It melts entirely and does not leave you with bits of salt in your cookies.

Baking Soda: Rising agent

Unsalted butter: Always use unsalted butter as you do not want to add extra salt to your cookies and be salted.

Sugar: refined granular white sugar.

Large eggs: Always use large eggs and always at room temperature

Cinnamon: Make sure that you store your cinnamon in a dark place. I buy small jars as I do not use them much in my cooking, but they are always fresh.

Cardamom: Make sure it is fresh and has a fragrant scent.

Equipment you will need

Cookie Sheet

Flour Sifter

Mixing Bowl

Hand held mixer

Cooling rack

Baking tips and step by step to make that beautiful Cardamom Snickerdoodle

Nothing to it recipe that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Eggs must be at room temperature, and the butter must be softened before preparing the cookies.

Sifting the flour will make it so much easier to work with and be clump free.

I enjoy using parchment paper or a Silpat to line my baking sheet. I am not fond of cleaning butter or stuck cookies on the cookie sheet. Therefore, parchment makes the best solution.

If none are handy, do well grease the cookie sheet with butter.

• Preheat the oven. A hot oven will allow you to perfect baking.
• Mixing all the dry ingredients by adding them all to a sifter and passing them thru.
• With the help of a hand-held mixer or a standalone KitchenAid mixer,  beat the butter and the sugar until a fluffy white consistency is formed.
  Add one egg at a time and make sure it is well beaten.
• Stir in the dry ingredients slowly until they form a smooth mixture of dough.
• Pull off similar pieces of dough and roll them between the palms of your hands. It would be best if you formed a 1-inch ball with each piece.
• Prepare the coating sugar with the remaining sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
• Roll the dough ball in the cinnamon-cardamom mixture.
• Space them on the cookie sheet and bake them in the hot oven.
• Bake one cookie sheet at a time if you only have one oven.

Talking about ovens

I have an ancient oven that does not allow me to bake two cookie sheets simultaneously, as one will bake faster than the other.

However, if you have a much younger technology oven in which you can bake two or more cookie sheets and have the perfect result for each cookie, please do so.

Meanwhile, if you are like me and only can bake one cookie sheet at a time, let the cookie sheet cool off between batches, as it may hinder the cooking process. Or have two handy and not be afraid to use them.

Once out of the oven, place your snickerdoodle cookies on a cookie cooling rack and wait a minute before enjoying them.

Storage instructions

Let the cardamom snickerdoodle cookies become cooled entirely before storing them.

This delicious Cardamom Snickerdoodle may be stored in an airtight glass container at room temperature for up to three days.

If you enjoy these Cardamom Snickerdoodle cookies, look at some of my other recipes!

Dried Cranberry Chocolate Cookies – The Best Recipe Ever

Coconut Milk Rice – A Childhood Favorite

Poppy Seed Thumbprints Cookies

Equipment and ingredients used to prepare those beautiful cookies.

Visit my Amazon Storefront for my selection of favorite kitchen essentials. I only recommend equipment that I use and love.

Please read my privacy policy for more info. I only recommend the products that I love and use. This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost.

Originally published on December 21, 2018. Updated on December 1, 2022.