Cardamom Sugar Thins Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cardamom, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours., Roll each disk directly on parchment to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. snowflake-shaped cookie cutter, leaving at least 2 in. between cookies. Remove trimmings; repeat with remaining dough, refrigerating dough as needed., Place parchment with cookies on baking sheets. Bake at 325° until edges are lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and milk. Pipe over cookies and sprinkle with coarse sugar and/or glitter. Let dry completely.

Steps:

• Crack cardamom pods open to remove seeds. Discard husks.
• Combine cardamom seeds and 2 tablespoons sugar in a spice grinder; grind until fine and evenly textured. Combine with remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Transfer to a glass container; seal.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 11 by 7 by 1 1/2-inch baking pan by lining with parchment paper.
• Combine the sugar and cardamom in a small bowl, and mix with a spoon to combine. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff, beat in sugar mixture (1 tablespoon at a time) until egg whites are thick and glossy. Add the flour, salt and pistachios, and mix with a spatula to combine. Spread mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, until firm to touch and top is golden. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees F. With an electric knife, or very sharp knife, cut thin slices (1/4-inch thick, 7 inches long) and place on a large cookie sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until crisp, dry, and firm. Store in airtight container.

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, bring the milk to 105 to 110 degrees. Remove it from the heat and pour it into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top, give it a quick whisk and let it rest a few minutes to dissolve and activate. If the yeast looks like it's clumping, whisk it gently.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, butter, cardamom, salt and the yeasted milk. Mix on the lowest setting until just combined and beginning to form a dough, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue on low to knead dough, about 2 minutes. It should go from shaggy and coarse to smooth and shiny. Working inside the bowl, give the dough a couple more kneads by hand to bring it together. You can also knead the dough entirely by hand on a work surface. (It'll take 8 minutes or so.)
• Line a 9-by-13-inch quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and dump the kneaded dough out onto it. Using your hands, pat and shape the dough into a large rectangular block. Make 4 or 5 shallow, 1/4-inch-deep slashes in the dough with a knife. Cover the baking sheet with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and transfer the dough to the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.
• Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, cardamom and salt on low speed just to form a granular paste. (It should resemble marzipan.) Don't overbeat it: You don't want it to be too soft or get fluffy. You can also do this by hand in a bowl, combining the ingredients with a spatula or bench scraper.
• Line two 13-by-18-inch baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator - it will have risen, but don't be surprised if the rise isn't significant - and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes so it's not so stiff that you can't roll it out. Place the dough on a thick silicone mat or a very lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out to a roughly 15-by-18-inch rectangle a little more than 1/8-inch thick, with the shorter side facing you. As you roll it in both directions, pause occasionally between rolls to relax the dough by patting it, lifting it and pulling it to straighten out any ripples.
• Dot the surface of the dough with mounds of the filling. Using an offset spatula, gently spread the filling all over the surface of the dough.
• With the short side of the dough facing you, fold the top third of the dough down over the middle third of the dough, then fold the bottom third up to cover the remaining dough.
• Go over the dough with the rolling pin a couple of times, vertically, to flatten the edges, and stretch it a few more inches before cutting and shaping. You want a 12-by-16-inch rectangle (the longer side will be facing you). If any filling oozes out, use your offset spatula to remove it so your workstation doesn't get sticky.
• Using the straight edge of a ruler and a pastry cutter (or very gently using a small, sharp knife), trim any uneven edges. Cut the dough vertically into 16 1-by-12-inch-long strips. Starting from the end, gently wrap one strip around the tips of your index, middle and fourth finger (or just the index and middle if you've got strong hands), like a bandage, two or three times, letting the dough overlap and working cautiously so it doesn't tear. Place your thumb on top of the wrapped dough, on the side closer to your wrist, to secure the shape, then loop the remaining end of the strand over and through the center of the bun, tucking it under at the base of the bun. You should have a rounded bun made out of bandage-like strips. The knotted part will be unexposed, hidden at the bottom.
• Place each bun on the prepared baking sheets as you go, patting it down for a flatter shape. Space the buns evenly (you can eyeball it). Leave them to proof at room temperature, uncovered, for about 1 hour. They should expand and soften.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Finish the buns: In a small bowl, using a fork or whisk, beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon water until well combined and frothy.
• Grind the cardamom pods in a spice grinder, making sure you break down the tough outer husks. Transfer the ground spice to a small bowl and whisk it together with the sugar.
• Lightly brush each bun with the egg wash, and generously sprinkle the tops of the buns with the cardamom sugar, using about 1/2 teaspoon per bun.
• Bake for 8 minutes, then lower temperature to 375 degrees, rotate trays completely (180 degrees and top to bottom, bottom to top) and continue baking for an additional 12 minutes. The surface of the buns should be golden brown. (Some butter may seep out of the buns and pool - that's normal - but if you're worried that it will burn on the trays, cover the buns with parchment paper toward the end of baking, once they've reached the desired color.)
• Let the buns cool for 10 minutes before eating, so the spiced, sweet buttery goo that pools around their edges can harden into crispy candylike edges, or let them cool entirely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, cardamom and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in walnuts., Shape dough into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 15-17 minutes. , While warm, roll cookies in remaining confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Whisk together flour, zest, cardamom, and salt.
• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Quarter dough and form each piece into a 6-inch disk, then chill, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
• Cut and bake cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper into an 11-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Slide dough in parchment onto a tray and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Cut out as many cookies as possible with cookie cutter (chill dough again if necessary), reserving and chilling scraps. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.
• Bake until edges are golden-brown, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto a rack to cool completely.
• Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) on cooled freshly lined baking sheets.
• If icing cookies and coloring icing, transfer small batches to small bowls, 1 for each color, and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color of icing into separate sealable bags, pressing out excess air, and snip an 1/8-inch opening in 1 bottom corner of each bag. Pipe icing onto a plate to test consistency. If too thick, thin a small batch with a few drops of orange juice.
• Decoratively pipe icing onto cookies, then sprinkle with decorative sugar (if using) and let dry completely, about 1 hour (depending on humidity).

Steps:

• Make the dough: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth and well blended. Beat in sugar and vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour and salt until just incorporated.
• Scrape dough onto plastic wrap and form a ball. Divide dough into 4 portions and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• Make the filling: Combine 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon cardamom, the cinnamon, walnuts (if using) and dried cherries in a medium bowl. Stir until well mixed. Set aside.
• Roll out and form the rugelach: Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners, or slightly grease the pans with nonstick cooking spray. Remove dough from refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, or until malleable enough to roll out.
• On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll out each dough portion, one at a time, into a 9-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Rotate dough while rolling to ensure it does not stick to work surface.
• Using the back of a spoon, evenly spread 2 tablespoons cherry jam onto the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup the dried cherry-walnut filling over the jam, and, using your hands, press the filling firmly and evenly over the dough.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the dough circle, like pieces of a pie, into 12 triangles. With an offset spatula or thin knife, loosen the triangles from the work surface. Starting at the wide end of the triangle and working to the narrow tip, roll up each piece and bend the ends around to form a slight crescent shape.
• Place rugelach, narrow tip tucked beneath, on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each. Refrigerate, lightly covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes (and up to 24 hours) to help them keep their shape on the oven. Clean work surface before rolling out the next batch of dough.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cardamom. Brush rugelach with milk and sprinkle cardamom sugar on top.
• Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate cookie sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer sheets to wire rack to cool completely.