Orange Cardamom Tree Biscuits Recipes

ORANGE & CARDAMOM TREE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Split the cardamom pods and tip the seeds into a mortar, then grind to a powder with the pestle. Tip the flour, rice flour and cardamom powder into a food processor. Chop the butter into small pieces and add to the food processor with the orange zest. Pulse to a fine breadcrumb texture. Add the icing sugar and mix briefly, then add the egg yolk and 1-2 tsp cold water and pulse to a firm dough. Wrap and chill for 15 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll out half the dough at a time and stamp out 8cm rounds or squares and transfer to the baking sheets. Gather up the trimmings and roll out again to make more biscuits. Use a cocktail stick to make a hole in each biscuit for hanging from the tree. Press a festive rubber stamp into the surface of each biscuit. Chill for 30 mins.
• Bake for 8-10 mins until just golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
• Dust each biscuit liberally with icing sugar, then brush off the excess from the surface, leaving a white imprint on each biscuit. Tie up with pretty ribbon or string and hang from your tree.

ORANGE CARDAMOM KRUMKAKE

Steps:

• Grease the krumkake iron with oil or vegetable spray. Heat iron over medium low heat. You should only need to grease the iron once. If using an electric krumkake iron, follow manufacturer's directions for preheating.
• Sift the flour, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a large bowl. Stir the sugar, salt, and orange zest into the flour mixture until evenly blended.
• Place the butter and half-and-half into a microwavable bowl. Cover and cook in microwave until warm, about 25 seconds. Cool slightly. Whisk the eggs, one at a time, into to the half-and-half mixture. Stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture until well blended.
• Using preheated krumkake iron, place 1 tablespoon of batter onto each krumkake mold, using a second spoon to scrape off the batter. Close the krumkake iron, and cook until the iron stops steaming and the cookies are golden brown, 30 to 60 seconds. Carefully peel the krumkake cookie from the iron and while still hot, and wrap around a wooden krumkake cone to make the traditional cone shape. Hold in place until set, about 10 seconds, remove and cool completely on waxed paper. Repeat with remaining batter.

ORANGE CARDAMOM COOKIES

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).

FLOURLESS ALMOND COOKIES WITH CARDAMOM, ORANGE ZEST, AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream sugar and oil in a large bowl until mixture resembles texture of wet sand, about 3 minutes. Add egg and orange zest and beat until just combined.
• Whisk almond flour, potato starch, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl. Fold dry ingredients into oil mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.
• Spread pistachios in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Divide dough into 2 balls. Roll each ball into 1 1/2" wide logs, then roll logs in pistachios to coat; reserve remaining pistachios for decorating, if desired. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Using a sharp knife, slice dough into 1/4"-thick rounds and arrange on baking sheets (about 12 per sheet). Sprinkle with reserved pistachios, pressing lightly to adhere (alternatively, drizzle with melted chocolate after cookies are baked, see below).
• Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until undersides are golden, 8-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks. Let 1 sheet cool completely before lining again with parchment and baking third batch.
• If you didn't sprinkle the cookies with pistachios, melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between bursts, until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle cooled cookies with chocolate and let set before serving.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be formed into logs 3 days ahead; keep chilled. Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CARDAMOM BISCUITS (NAN KHATAI)

Steps:

• Split the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Pound the seeds to a powder in a pestle and mortar with 1 tsp of the sugar.
• Beat the butter until soft, then gradually add the remaining icing sugar and the ground cardamom. Continue beating until light and creamy, about 10 mins.
• Sieve the flour and gram flour into a bowl and whisk in the semolina and a pinch of salt. Stir into the butter and sugar in two increments. Gently bring everything together into a soft dough.
• Roll the dough into small, marble-sized balls with your hands and arrange, spaced out, on baking trays lined with baking parchment.
• Slightly flatten the top of each ball and press a whole almond or some chopped pistachios in the middle of each one. Chill for 20 mins.
• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Bake the biscuits for about 20 mins or until golden. Leave to cool before storing in an airtight tin.