Cardamom is a spice commonly used in Indian cooking. It can come in a pod form or in a seed form or ground.
In my picture here I have both the pods and the seeds. The pods are used in a rice pilaf dish, you don't eat them in the rice, you eat around them. They add flavor to the dish while it's cooking. The seeds are ground up to make homemade curry powder or to use as a stand alone seasoning. I actually have a coffee grinder just to grind spices. I don't have a coffee grinder to grind coffee.
Cardamom is expensive in the grocery store, I had one of those quick inhales when I saw that a bottle of ground cardamom was $11. Yikes! If you want to make this recipe you only need a teaspoon, so borrow some from a friend, buy it in bulk from an ethnic grocery store (much cheaper, $9 for a big bag) or buy just a little bag in a spice shop. However you find it, get some and try this recipe.
The dough is a delight to work with. It rolled out easily and the cookies cut and separated and moved to the pan nicely. That's the hardest part about rolled and cut cookies, getting them to the pan in one piece.
I cooked them a little less than the recipe indicated because I like them just barely golden around the edge.
Here they are right out of the oven. This dough does not spread much, so it really holds the cookie's shape. I like that in a cookie dough, too.
I made up a glacé icing (a glaze) but for some reason had difficulty with the proportions so it was runnier than I was looking for, but I still piped it on, sort of, and it set up nice and firm after a few hours, so the cookies can be stacked.
I think the spiciness of cardamom adds a layer in the flavor that is surprising and very pleasing. It makes you think ground walnuts or ground almonds were used. It adds a nutty kind of flavor. With the super sweet glaze it's quite a yummy combination.
I did say I made these with Maddy, she was able to cut out a few of the stars, glaze them herself with the piping bag (although she could have used a knife) and topped them off with a festive array of sprinkles that I taught her to place in her hand first and use her fingers to sprinkle them. You just can't rely on those shakers. I would show you a picture of her cookies, but they are already gone. Get in my belly!
2 comments:
Yum! You are so brave with the cookie cutters. I have learned so many times that even when I think I have it all figured out and it's gonna work that it never works for me...but yours look beautiful!!!
The easiest way to make your cookies turn out great is to cookie cut them right on the cookie sheet so you don't have to move them before you bake them. That's how I'm doing the walls on my gingerbread house.
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