I love making cookies, and I love making recipes. My family has always loved cardamom in everything, so I began to try and experiment with it in some of my baking. This particular experiment making crispy cardamom pistachio cookies turned out great (after a few tries) so I’m sharing it here. In the Ingredients section below, I’ll also explain the science behind how they make this recipe work, but if you want to jump straight to making these delicious cookies. go right ahead!
Ingredients (and the science behind them):
- 8 Tbsp (114g) Softened Unsalted Butter – Using softened butter leads to an airier, lighter cookie that tends to be softer as the butter creamed with the sugar incorporates air into the dough. Meanwhile, melted butter creates a denser chewier cookie that spreads more. In this recipe I opted for softened butter even though it leads to softer, more compact cookies because I wanted the cookies to still feel light and not dense, and used other ingredients to get the flatness and crispiness I wanted in these cookies.
- 2/3 cup (134g) granulated white sugar – White sugar is essential for thin, crispy cookies as the white sugar is not acidic and therefore does not react with the baking soda and make the cookies rise, this allows the cookies to spread and crisp up on the baking sheet. For denser, chewier cookies, opt for the more acidic brown sugar.
- 1/2 tsp salt (don’t use if pistachios are salted) – The salt that is in most baked goods is essential for 2 main reasons. The main reason is that salt helps balance the intense sweetness of sugar and create a more balanced flavor profile. Secondly, salt acts as a flavor enhancer especially to the butter and pistachios making their flavor more pronounced and complex. For these reasons regardless of the type of cookies you want to make you should usually add salt, as it will help the flavor of your cookies immensely.
- ½ tsp vanilla extract – while these are not vanilla cookies, the vanilla in these helps round out the flavor and add some more “cookie flavor” to these cookies.
- ½ tsp baking soda – Baking soda is one of the most important ingredients to give these cookies a crispy texture especially when paired with granulated white sugar instead of brown sugar. This is because baking soda creates an alkaline environment in the cookie dough. This alkaline environment prevents negatively charged protein molecules from binding and therefore delays the setting of the proteins in the cookie dough. This results in a much flatter and crispier cookie, especially when paired with the non-acidic white sugar to prevent rise in the cookies due to an acid-base reaction. For less flat cookies use less baking soda or use some brown sugar in place of white sugar. Alternatively add mix of baking soda and baking powder to create a larger rise without switching to brown sugar as baking powder already contains the acid necessary for the acid-base reaction.
- 1 medium egg – Eggs provide structure and stability in cookies and using whole eggs creates an airier, crispier cookie, while only using egg yolk will result in a denser, richer cookie.
- 90g All purpose flour – The most standard type of flour and the best flour for most cookies due to its moderate gluten content, that provides structure while still keeping the cookies soft.
- ½ tsp cardamom – The most prominent flavor in the cookie, it is relatively strong so a ½ teaspoon is enough to strongly flavor the cookie.
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios – The amount of mix-ins in your cookies is important as when too few mix-ins are added, they are unevenly spread throughout the cookies and their flavor is lost, but when too many mix-ins are added they can impact the structure of the dough, this is one element that depends heavily on the specific ingredient and requires experimenting.
Rose Syrup (Optional):
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar – White sugar is best for keeping a neutral color and flavor and sugar is what creates the viscosity of the syrup.
- ¼ cup water – This syrup uses a 2:1 ratio of water to sugar for a richer syrup.
- 1-2 tsp rosewater – The main flavoring agent in the syrup, add the rosewater to your own personal taste
- 1 – 2 drops of food coloring (optional) – Adds some optional color to the syrup.
Step By Step:
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease 1 baking sheet (Optional: Stainless steel for extra crisp), do not line with parchment paper.
- Step 2: Add the butter and sugar to a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and cream until all sugar granules have dissolved and the mixture has become more pale, about 3-4 mins.
- Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Step 4: In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cardamom, and salt (if using), and mix until well combined.
- Step 5: Add the flour mixture to the butter 1.2 a cup at a time, mixing with a spatula or paddle attachment until combined.
- Step 6: Add the chopped pistachios, folding in until even distributed.
- Step 7: Use a ice cream scoop or a generous tablespoon to scoop the cookies out onto the greased baking sheet, spaced apart to leave room to spread.
- Step 8: Bake the cookies at 325F for 18-20 mins or until golden on the edges and your desired level of crispiness.
- Step 9: Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheets before serving.
Rose Syrup:
- Step 1: Add the sugar, water, corn syrup to a medium saucepan.
- Step 2: Heat on medium heat until it reaches a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
- Step 3: Let the syrup boil until it reaches your desired consistency or for about 3 minutes.
- Step 4: Take the syrup off the heat and let cool slightly before transferring to another container.
- Step 5: Add the rose syrup (and food coloring if using) once the syrup has cooled and mix until combined.
Recipe
- 8 tbsp (114g) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt (Don’t use if using salted pistachios)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 medium egg
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ½ chopped pistachios
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease 1 baking sheet (Optional: Stainless steel for extra crisp), do not line with parchment paper.
- Add the butter and sugar to a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and cream until all sugar granules have dissolved and the mixture has become more pale, about 3-4 mins.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cardamom, and salt (if using), and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter 1.2 a cup at a time, mixing with a spatula or paddle attachment until combined.
- Add the chopped pistachios, folding in until even distributed.
- Use a ice cream scoop or a generous tablespoon to scoop the cookies out onto the greased baking sheet, spaced apart to leave room to spread.
- Bake the cookies at 325F for 18-20 mins or until golden on the edges and your desired level of crispiness.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheets before serving.
Rose Syrup:
- Heat on medium heat until it reaches a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
- Let the syrup boil until it reaches your desired consistency or for about 3 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat and let cool slightly before transferring to another container.
- Add the rose syrup (and food coloring if using) once the syrup has cooled and mix until combined.
