Easy Vegan Cardamom Cookies. These soft cookies are a cross between cardamom shortbread and Snickerdoodles. Vegan Soyfree Palm Oil free Recipe. Glutenfree option. Jump to Recipe
If you love cardamom, you will love these cookies! Soft, melt in your mouth cookies that remind you of shortbread, snickerdoodle, and Indian Desserts, all rolled into one.
I use seeds from whole green cardamom pods and ground cardamom for extra flavor punch. The nut butter and almond flour add the texture. The cookie is easily refined sugar free and is palm oil free. Change up the spices to cinnamon, chai, pumpkin pie spice for variation.
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Tips to make Cardamom Cookies with amazing texture and flavor
- Use a neutral flavor nut butter so that it doesn’t overshadow the cardamom flavor (or any other spice flavor you use). some peanut butters have a strong flavor. Almond or cashew butter works best.
- Use both ground cardamom and cardamom seeds
- The dough should be soft for the best crackling.
- Bake longer for crispier cookie and a min less for softer.
Step by Step Photos
Mix the wet ingredients. Fold in the dry to make a soft dough.
Chill, divide the dough into balls, roll in spice+ sugar, flatten on a parchment lined sheet and bake.
Vegan Cardamom Cookie - Cardamom Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Wet
- 1/3 cup (86 g) smooth almond butter or peanut butter or cashew (some peanut butters have a very strong flavor, so choose a more neutral flavor nut butter)
- 1/4 cup (56 ml) oil
- 1/3 cup (0.02 ml) maple syrup
- 1 tbsp (14.79 g) applesauce or non dairy yogurt
Dry
- 3/4 cup (177.44 g) flour (I use a mix of whole wheat and all purpose), see gf option in notes
- 1/3 cup (37.33 g) almond flour
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) baking soda
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) cream of tartar (optional)
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- seeds of two green cardamom pods, coarsely crushed (or use 1/4 tsp more ground cardamom)
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp (1/4-1/2 tsp) ground cardamom powder (us full 1/2 tsp if omitting cardamom seeds)
Coating
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cane sugar or use more coconut sugar
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cardamom
Instructions
- In a bowl combine peanut butter, oil, Maple syrup, Apple sauce/ yogurt. Mix until smooth.
- In another bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and cardamom. Mix well
- Add to the wet bowl and combine to form a sticky dough. Add a tablespoon or more flour if the dough is too sticky. You can also do this after chilling.
- Chill the dough for 20 mins
- Mix the coating ingredients in a shallow bowl.
- Take the dough out of the fridge. Divide it into equal size balls of inch or larger. Roll the balls into coating mixture and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten them.
- Bake at 350 F (176 C) for 11 to 12 minute
- Cool completely before storing
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Marie
I made these and they turned out *amazing*! (I needed a recipe that was non-dairy, non-wheat, and customizable for my daughter, who is on a strict elimination diet for breastfeeding a sensitive infant.) I used sunflower butter instead of the nut butter, flax meal instead of almond flour, and only 1/4C maple syrup to cut the sugar a bit. I also used demerara sugar instead of regular cane sugar in the coating. I omitted the crushed cardamom and used more ground cardamom, plus about 1/4tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter. The only thing I might change next time is to make “flegg” from some of the flax meal (mix 1 part flax meal with 3 parts water and let sit to thicken — creates an egg-like protein that I think would help to bind the cookies, which were a little bit crumbly).
Vegan Richa Support
Wonderful!
Amy
What Is the difference between using cream of tartar and not using cream of tartar? How does it come out differently?
Vegan Richa Support
it can be omitted, it acts as a leavener, also,
It’s what separates a tangy, chewy snickerdoodle from an ordinary cinnamon-coated sugar cookie. The acid in cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their distinctive tangy flavor, and the chew happens because cream of tartar prevents sugar in the cookie dough from crystalizing into crunchiness.
Andrea
Would it be OK to add candied ginger, minced very small? Or powdered ginger? I love the combo of cardamom and ginger.
Richa
Yes! Candied ginger will work so well!
Lynley
I live this recipe so much. Baked it at least 6 times. My extended family loves them!
Do you have any suggestions for cutting down on the added sugars? Would mashed banana be a good replacement for the agave syrup? What about the coconut sugar sprinkle replacement? Any other suggestions?
TIA
Vegan Richa Support
wow! you could use more apple sauce in place of the maple syrup, or the banana would actualy work. as for the sprinkle – it’s totally optional or you could just use a tiny bit. or date sugar but it has the same sweetness as coco sugar
Lynley
Thanks. Keep up the good work! Your recipes are amazing!
Keren
These sound so good!! What kind of oil do you recommend using? Thanks, Keren
Vegan Richa Support
any neutral oil such as safflower or canola
Esther Hausman
delicious and easy. Added crushed roasted salted pistachios and it was quite a yummy addition!
Thanks!
Richa
Awesome
Dee
So easy, and fail proof. Turned out beautifully, and tasty!
I added half almond butter and half peanut butter, however, the peanut butter over powered the cardamom. I didn’t add oil (except from the almond and peanut butter). Next time I’ll add a tiny less maple syrup too as they are quiet sweet especially with the apple sauce. otherwise, YUM!
Vegan Richa Support
Awesome ! thank you Dee
Monisha
They were delicious ! The first bite had me remarking -This is the best thing I’ve ever made !!
Thank you !
Vegan Richa Support
wow! great
Aga
Super delicious! I love cardamom so have used a bit more in the dough. Baked them for 7 minutes and they came out perfect! They are morish!
Alla
I love the cookies! Soooooo delicious!!!
Richa
thanks!
Terri
My son took one to have with a glass of milking, came back for three more 😊
Sarah
Delicious and nicely spiced! I didn’t have a lot of peanut butter, so I added cooked white beans to the wet mixture (weird I know) and blended it all together before adding to the dry mixture. Oh, and also used banana instead of applesauce or non dairy yogurt. I also used all spelt flour.
These turned out wonderfully and I found that the pb did not overpower the cardamom taste. I love cardamom yet am disappointed when you can’t taste it in things that claim to have it in there. So these are perfect. Thank you!
Richa
awesome!
Vinny
Will do.
Thanks, Richa❣️
Vinny
Subtracted a star from my rating as even after adding additional cardamom, both ground and crushed seeds, the cardamom flavor is too subtle for the stronger flavored peanut butter.
That said, these are very delicious peanut butter cookies.
I doubled the recipe and refrigerated half the dough to bake the following day and they still came out great.
I used a drinking glass I placed in the freezer to flatten the doughballs which prevented sticking.
Richa
Use almond butter or cashew butter .Some peanut butter brands have a much stronger flavor.
Veronika
Hey richa, can I just ground the almonds and Oats? I did not found the flours
Richa
yes put them together in a blender and blend in bursts of a 5-10 seconds until powdery. Theywont be a fine flour, but will work just fine. Just move them around and pulse till they are not too coarse
Jenny
Yum! I have been wanting to make some cardamom cookies for a while. I don’t have apple sauce or vegan yogurt…are these vital? Can I sub with anything else? What do these add to the recipe? Thanks!
Richa
it added a bit of moisture as we are using lesser oil. You can add any other fruit puree, mashed pumpkin or banana, cashew cream
Jenny King
Thanks!
Jo
With the option you Give for making gluten free, does that mix directly replace the 3/4 cup flour in the listed recipe and if it is do I still add the 1/3 cup almond flour as per recipe ? Would I need to use any more liquid or to up the raising agents ?
They look great and wanted to give it a go , gluten free and vegan
Thank u !
Richa
that replaces just the regular flour.You still will add the other almond flour and other dry ingredients. You might need a bit more of the gf blend as it absorbs less moisture compared to wheat based flours.
Jo Parsons
Thanks for prompt reply Richa
Looking forward to trying them out x
Kathryn
These are some of our favorite go-to cookies. They are my husband’s favorite. Very unique flavor—delicious!
Richa
yay!
Alicia Ogard
I liked these cookies! P.S. I am obsessed with your blog!
Keren
Fantastic. Instead of almond flour I used ground sunflower seeds and used solely whole wheat flour. Reduced sweetness just a bit, too, as I’m used to minimally sweet cookies/cakes. This is so delicious! I’ll be making them again and again. It’s incredible how using ground seeds adds so much flavour. Cardamom might just be my favourite spice.
Dawn
Would these freeze okay? I’d like to make a couple of batches for a community group but need something that will last a few days in the fridge or freeze well. Thank you!
Richa
they’ll be fine either way. For longer than 3 days, freeze for fresher taste
Dawn
Thank you so much!
kari
Can I substitute regular flour or chickpea for almond flour?
Richa
you can sub regular flour.you might need less of it.
Pia
Hi Risha, do you think I can substitute the nut butter for tahini? If so, would there need to be any adjustments? Thanks.
Richa
Yes you can. You might need a few tbsp more flour. Also tahini is a very acquired flavor. If you havent tried it in cookies before, you might find it too salty or bitter. Try the recipe with just 3 tbsp of tahini, that way you might not need extra flour and also the flavor will be milder
Lucy
I can’t wait to make these! Do you think I could use an equal amount of pumpkin purée in place of the apple sauce/yogurt? (I have some I need to use up.) Thanks!
Richa
yup
Lucy
Thanks! We loved them.
I think this will also be a great template to veganize this saffron-vanilla snickerdoodle recipe that I used to make pre-veg days. 👍🏼👍🏼
Richa
awesome! saffron vanilla is definitely a winner flavor!
Preeti
What’s a good substitute for maple syrup ?
Richa
Sugary or Jaggery syrup of half string consistency
Cassie Autumn Tran
Wow, these look so spicy yet sweet and crisp at the same time! Heck, I could eat the cookie dough on its own before baking! Anyways, would this recipe work with canned pumpkin or mashed banana instead of applesauce or yogurt?
Emily
Made these yesterday. They are so buttery and melt in your mouth. i couldnt believe it! and no butter! i used pumpkin pie spice + cardamom seeds, soo good.
Richa
i know right! perfect shortbread crumb
Ginnis
Do you think it would be okay to delete the oil? I am oil-free and this would be a lot of extra oil for me.
Richa
Yes, they should be fine without. Just add more nut butter. You might need a bit less flour with nut butter
Sue
Richa, these look soooo good. Will bake soon! Thanks for the recipe.
Ellen
Just made these yesterday. I didn’t have almond flour so I used quinoa flour, my 2 year old daughter gobbles them up. I like that they are not too sweet.
Richa
awesome!!
Sue
Richa – is it a 1/4 Cup oil?
Richa
yes. updated
Nicole
These look really good. Would there be a good substitute for the oil?
Thanks!
Richa
more nut butter