Cardamom Cookies
Updated Nov 30, 2025
A simple recipe for soft and chewy cardamom cookies made with ground cardamom, molasses, and lemon, ready in about 20 minutes.
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Love these cardamom cookies so much!
I’ve been on a big cardamom cookie kick lately, and these are the ones I keep coming back to. They’re soft, chewy, and full of that warm cardamom flavor with just a little molasses and lemon running through each bite. Super simple to make, and they’re the kind of cookies I like to bake and share around the holidays.
Cardamom doesn’t always get the spotlight when it comes to spiced cookies, but it deserves way more attention. It’s sweet, a little citrusy, slightly savory, and it’s actually been used in Christmas baking for centuries. If you’re into gingerbread cookies or other warm-spiced cookies, you’ll get why I’m obsessed with these.
– Yumna
How to Make Cardamom Cookies
Cardamom Cookie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cardamon
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, combine softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Cream with electric beaters on medium-high until fluffy.
- Add egg, molasses, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat on high until creamy and light and just combined.
- On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined.
- Divide the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls using a spring-loaded scoop.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are firm and slightly darker at the edges.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Chill your dough before baking. This will keep the cookies from spreading too much (and it’ll keep the centers ultra soft and moist).
- Soften your butter before using. I like to take mine out of the fridge 30 minutes (or even an hour) before I want to make these cardamom cookies.
- Don’t over-mix your dough. The ingredients should be just combined at each stage. If you over-mix the flour, the gluten will over-develop and your cookies will come out flatter and crisper.
- Leave space between the cookie balls on your baking sheet. Your cookies will spread during baking, so make sure you leave a little room for them expand without running into each other.
Serving Ideas
- Pair with a hot drink. I love dunking these cookies into a hot matcha latte, a pumpkin spice latte, or a whipped coffee. For a caffeine-free, kid-friendly option, homemade apple cider is good, too.
Comments
Hi! these look AMAZING! Do you think it would work to make them as cut-out cookies? I’ve got some cute cookie cutters I’ve been wanting to try.
These cookies spread quite a bit while they’re baking, I’m not confident they’ll keep their shape if you use cookie cutters. But you could try chilling the dough for 30-60 minutes and see if it works? If you’re interested, I do have Christmas Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread Cookie recipes that would work well with cookie cutters.
My family loved them! These will be added to our family favorites!
Yay, I’m so glad!! Thank you!
Great recipe, so tasty and satisfying, a big hit!
Yay! So glad you liked it, Asherah!
Excellent recipe! So good that I sent it to my sister & she loved the recipe too! Making another batch today!
So glad to hear!
Perfect with a cup of tea. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Glad you liked them, perfect little afternoon treat.
These cookies are delicious! soft and crispy. Two things that I did differently; I did not freeze the dough, they did spread a little but still beautiful. And I used GF flour and still wonderful! The molasses is a great addition
Thanks for letting me know about the tweaks you made, they sound great!
Have you tried to make this vegan and gluten free? I’m wondering what flour and egg replacement combination would work best to maintain the same consistency and taste profile?
I have not. But I might try oat flour and a flax egg for the first batch to test it. If you do try it you’ll have to come back and let me know what you think and the overall results. I’d love to add it to the post for others!
I love cardomom, so I loved these cookies! I reduced the granulated sugar to 1/2 cup and used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1.5 cups I bleached white, and they turned out great. Thanks for creating and sharing this recipe!
Yum, so glad to hear!
In the tips it says to chill the dough before baking, but the recipe doesn’t mention this at all. If you are supposed to chill them, how long do you recommend?
Great question! Chilling is optional, but if you do prefer a tighter cookie, I recommend chilling for 30 mins to an hour. Hope that helps!
These cookies are amazing!!! I had never baked with cardamom before – no idea what it tasted like, kept hearing of it used in recipes and wanted to try it. I loved these cookies!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you got around to trying it and enjoyed!
There is 2 ½ teaspoons ground cardamon in this recipe!
Can I use maple syrup to sub the molasses?
You can, but it will slightly change the flavor profile.