Oh gosh! I've been absent for a long time here, but this blog will not suffer death. It was just on hiatus for a bit, vacationing with Kate Moss in Thailand. There was also a couple boring technical difficulties involved, including accidentally deleting a million photos (too much hot tea!)
So, about these cookies... It is as if cardamom, walnuts and butter hath sprung from a rainbow and been blessed with Sasha and Malia's sweet little hands. My friend Blyth loved them. Will definitely use this recipe many more times.
They survived the beating I gave it when midway through baking I realized I had been reading the wrong recipe (that's what happens with all those tabs) for the last few steps and the cookies were actually supposed to be shaped into balls, not flat disks. So, yes, I took them out of the oven and reshaped them with paper towels or else they would have burned.
Cardamom Walnut Cookies (Adapted from epicurious.com)
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (epicurious does give you the option of using powdered sugar in addition to this, but I think it's such a drag trying to dust it off your black wool sweater.)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom (I would recommend crushing about 6-8 cardamom pods with their seeds in a mortar and pestle.)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted, finely chopped (I made some of the walnuts into a paste in my spice grinder.)
Mix 2 cups granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cardamom in large bowl.
Combine remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom, butter, vanilla extract, lemon peel and salt in another large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat at medium-high speed until well blended (I mixed it by hand). Add flour and chopped nuts. Beat until smooth dough forms, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Gather dough into ball and wrap in plastic; chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Using hands and generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie, roll dough into forty-eight 3/4-inch balls; transfer to baking sheets. Bake cookies until golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on sheets.
Add 12 warm cookies to large bowl of granulated sugar and cardamom and toss gently to coat. Repeat with 12 more cookies. Let remaining 24 cookies cool completely on sheet. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container.)
Porn. I know it when I see it.
Posted by: Brian | January 23, 2009 at 05:24 PM
those sound good. nice to see an update = ) i am hoping to try an ethiopian restaurant this weekend. rachel ray profiled DC and visited one... it made my mouth water...
Posted by: Quyen | January 23, 2009 at 06:36 PM
I'm gonna have to try these.
Posted by: Michael Tyznik | January 24, 2009 at 01:58 AM
Great comeback! Any Thai treats for us?
Posted by: Mallika | January 24, 2009 at 04:31 AM
You were greatly missed! These cookies look delicious, they remind me of Indian 'laddoos'.
Posted by: Yogeeta | January 24, 2009 at 06:43 PM
Omigosh, those look so delicious. I love how they're rolled in the sanding sugar. MMM. Your blog is great.
Posted by: rebekka | February 02, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Brian - I know how you hate porn. I will take a gritty urban food photo next time.
Quyen - Thank you for the nudge! Did you go to the Ethiopian restaurant?
Michael- Let me know when you do!
Mallika- Thank you! No Thai treats yet..but have been thinking about mango with sticky rice lately.
Yogeeta- Thank you! mmm, ladoos. Now I have a craving.
Rebekka- Thank you very much!
Posted by: Michelle | February 03, 2009 at 06:13 PM
hello I love this recipe about Cardamom Walnut Cookies I did the last night
Posted by: valtrex online | January 28, 2010 at 04:33 PM