First, let me apologize for the continued lack of pictures. As soon as I have camera action again, we’ll get pictures of these up.
One of my favorite Christmas cookies to eat or to give claims many lines of descent: Swedish nut balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding cakes–I know I’m missing some other names–these are simple butter cookies, shaped into balls and rolled in confectioner’s sugar after baking. Lovely bite sized cookies, always melt-in-your-mouth with a nice crunch at the same time. Another plus is that they freeze well, and with another quick toss in the sugar before serving, they are as good as to eat as when they were first made.
I’ve always made them with finely ground pecans or almonds, but this year I came across a recipe that does not use nuts, and the flavor comes from an unusual mix of browned butter and ground cardamom. These are both a couple of my favorite flavors, and to combine them in a cookie just felt like the right thing to do. And now that I’ve made them, I’ve gotta say I’m glad I did!
I would definitely encourage you to try these out, and play around with the spices if you don’t like cardamom. They are a good holiday cookie to share with friends who may have problems with nut allergies, and these cookies, as well as all the nutty variations I mentioned above, would be a nice treat for a friend of mine who is allergic to eggs.
Hope you enjoy! This recipe was taken straight from the Land O’Lakes website, and I highly recommend it.
BROWNED BUTTER CARDAMOM COOKIES
Cardamom and browned butter give these melt-in-your mouth cookies irresistible flavor!
Preparation time: 30 min Baking time: 10 min
Yield: 4 dozen cookies
|
1 |
|
cup LAND O LAKES® Butter |
|
3/4 |
|
cup sugar |
|
1 |
|
egg yolk |
|
1 |
|
tablespoon vanilla |
|
1/2 |
|
teaspoon ground cardamom |
|
2 |
|
cups all-purpose flour |
|
1 |
|
cup powdered sugar |
Melt butter in 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just begins to turn golden brown (5 to 8 minutes). Immediately remove from heat. Pour into bowl; refrigerate until cooled (30 minutes).
Reader's Thoughts...
Leng McCormack says
These are amaze-balls! I love those mexican wedding cookies and unfortunately unable to make thwm at home due to my kids’allergies. But these are my answer from baking gods and goddesses. Just followed the direction and ingredients, no changes made. So good!!
Rebecca says
Hooray, Leng! That makes me so happy!! I think I need to whip up a batch of these, myself. They’re so good.
Rebecca and/or Val says
Okie dokie I have to weigh in on these cookies. They were just sublime. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to try them just do it. Ooooooh so good.
Rebecca
Valerie says
Thanks, Hallie, I hope you enjoy them!
Hallie says
Brown butter cookies are the best, this recipe is defiantly going on my list to make, they seem so simple yet so flavorful with the cardamom and the browned butter.