Orange Cardamom Snickerdoodles
This recipe is basically the same as my original Snickerdoodle recipe, but the flavor combination of the orange and cardamom is so special that I had to give it its own post. I also converted the measurements to weight, for better accuracy.
Side note: If you do not own a digital kitchen scale, this is your gentle reminder to buy one. I use mine so much more than I’d expect to, and it makes baking a lot more accurate with less cleanup because you don’t need all the measuring cups and spoons. It’s a win/win.
I ended up with a random week off at home, because one of our dogs is having their first round of chemo (pause for the impending sadness of knowing that my soul dog has less time with me than expected), and I needed something to distract myself. With the holidays upon us, there’s no better time to bake a thousand cookies, right?
And since I’m virtually incapable of following a recipe (even my own), these were born.
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
310 g (1 1/3 cups) granulated sugar
1 large egg
10g (2 tsp) vanilla extract
8g (3/4 tsp) orange oil
411 g (3 cups) AP flour
8g (2 tsp) cream of tartar
6g (1 tsp) baking soda
6g (2 tsp) cinnamon
6g (2 tsp) cardamom
Zest of two oranges
4g (1 tsp) kosher salt
For the topping:
65g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
3g (1 tsp) cinnamon
3g (1 tsp) cardamom
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (or silicone baking mats if you’re fancy).
In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, cream of tartar, and salt, and whisk together. Set aside for later.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar, and whip for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add the egg, the orange oil, orange zest, and the vanilla extract, and continue to beat for another minute. (If it starts to look like it separating, that’s ok, it’s just the acid in the orange oil/zest)
Slowly add the dry ingredients in 3-4 separate batches. When it is just combined, turn off the mixer, and scrape the sides to make sure everything is mixed together. The dough for these is really thick and sort of crumbly. I often finish it by hand to save the motor on my kitchenaid.
In a small dish or bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom for the topping and toss together with a fork until they’re mixed.
Either using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough into your hand, roll into a ball, and toss in the spiced sugar. Place them on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart, and bake for 8-9 minutes.
When the timer goes off, pull the cookies out and gently press down on them in the middle with a fork (this is what keeps them chewy). Put them back into the oven for another 2 minutes, and then take them out.
Let them cool on the pans for about a minute, and then transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.
Recipe will yield about 3 dozen.
