CArdemom is my favorite spice and I will sneak it in anywhere, anytime for a little extra brightness and herbal scent. My family, on the other hand, isn’t that enthusiastic, so I often have to tone it down and leave a subtle nod in the background. But if I want to be selfish, these are the cookies I make; light, crumbly and positions cardamom as the star it deserves to be.
Cardamom and chocolate chip cookies
Be sure to grind the cardamom seeds fresh from their pods in a mortar for a significantly better flavor than using the pre-ground stuff.
Preparation 20 minutesplus chill
Cook 15 minutes
makes 12 sandwich cookies
200 g salted butter, softened
85 g icing sugar
1 tsp cardamom, freshly ground
2 egg yolks
230 g flour
80 g cornflour
For the ganache
150 g dark chocolate, finely sliced
200 ml whipped cream
25 g unsalted butter, softened
Beat the butter, sugar and cardamom for three to four minutes until pale and creamy, then add the egg yolks and beat again to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour and cornstarch. Pour this into the butter mixture and mix until just blended. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it cool for a few hours until firm.
Preheat the oven to 200C (180 Fanned Air)/390F/Gas 6 and line two baking trays with baking paper. Roll out the cooled dough on a lightly floured surface and use a 6-7cm round cutter to cut out discs. Roll out the dough again and cut out as many discs as possible.
Bake the cookies in batches for 11-13 minutes, until the edges are firm but the cookies are still quite pale. Let cool completely on a rack.
Meanwhile make the ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in a small saucepan until it steams. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, let stand for 20 seconds and stir until smooth. Stir in the butter until it melts and let the ganache sit for 10-15 minutes to thicken slightly.
Spoon the ganache into a piping bag, cut off the end and pipe some ganache on half of your cookies. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich and serve.
