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Orange Cardamom Pistachio Sugar Cookies
These flavorful cookies combine roasted pistachios, orange zest and cardamom in a buttery cookie dough that is rolled in fragrant spiced sugar before baking. They are so delicious and perfect for tea or on a holiday cookie platter!
Ingredients
Cookie dough:
- ½ cup (113g) salted butter, softened
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) honey
- 2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (40g) roasted salted pistachios (no shell), finely ground plus extra for topping
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (150g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Spiced orange sugar:
- 3 tablespoon (42g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Make the cookie dough. Combine soft butter, both sugars, honey and orange zest in a large bowl and beat with a wide rubber spatula for 1-2 minutes until smooth and a bit fluffy. It will lighten in color a tad. You can also use an electric handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Mix in egg and vanilla until well incorporated then mix in pistachios and set the bowl aside for 5 minutes to let the pistachios hydrate.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend well. Add it to the butter mixture and fold it in gently. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Make the spiced sugar. Combine sugar and orange zest in a small bowl and rub together well until the sugar is fragrant. Mix in spices.
- Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and roll into smooth balls, then roll them around in the spiced sugar so that they are evenly coated. Place them onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart and sprinkle some pistachios on top of each dough ball. Flatten slightly if you prefer thinner cookies. Bake for 11-13 minutes until lightly golden around the edges but still slightly soft in the middle. Let cookies cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies individually to a wire rack to cool completely.
