Coffee Cookies with Rose and Cardamom

These coffee, cardamom, and rose cookies began—as several of my cookies do—with a conversation.

Yasser and I were talking about coffee and the flavors in my current latte. He said he wanted one, and quickly revised it to needing one! That sealed the deal–it had to become a cookie, especially given that the flavor involved. Cardamom is a common coffee companion around the world. But I wanted something more than a straightforward coffee-and-cardamom cookie. A little rosewater completed the idea.

Rose can be tricky. If you’re not careful, you have either no rose, or you basically transforms your cookie into a monster that tastes like soap. In this recipe, it is very subtle; just enough to give a floral finish.Coffee arrives first, followed by warm spice and then that subtle hint of rose.

The result is a cookie that feels familiar and unexpected at the same time—which, of course, is exactly the sort of cookie I love to make.

A Note About the Delay

This recipe took longer to reach the blog than I intended, for two very good—and very ordinary—reasons.

First, our family welcomed a new exchange student. Those first weeks together matter, and I wanted to devote plenty of time to helping her settle in, getting to know one another, and beginning to build the relationship that will shape our year together. Cookies could wait.

Then came the usual back-to-school whirlwind. I have a full-time job, children, and all the commitments that arrive with the beginning of a new school year. When time and energy are limited, recipe testing, photography, and blog writing sometimes have to move to the bottom of the list.

I love this blog, and I remain deeply invested in the dream of a larger cookbook project. But unless and until Around the World in 180 Flavors is picked up by a publisher—and working on cookies becomes part of my actual job—there may occasionally be delays between recipes. That doesn’t mean I have stopped developing ideas or that I am abandoning the project. It simply means the blog has to coexist with my family, my work, and the rest of my life.

Thank you for continuing to come back, even when new recipes take a little longer than planned.

And if you like coffee, check out my Mexican Mocha Cookies and Kaffeost-inspired Coffee Cookies, and stay tuned for my final (for now) coffee-themed cookie.

Coffee Cookies with Cardamom and Rosewater

Recipe by Sarah

0.0 from 0 votes

Difficulty: Easy

Yield

2

dozen

Prep time

15

minutes

Baking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• Coffee with Cardamom and Rosewater Cookie Dough

• 1 cup Butter

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Instant espresso powder

• 3/4 teaspoon Cardamom

• 1 1/4 cups Sugar

• 1 Egg

• 1 Egg yolk

• 3/4 teaspoon Rosewater

• 2 1/2 cups Flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

• Coffee and Rosewater Glaze

• 1 1/4 cup Powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon Light corn syrup

• 1 tablespoon Water

• 1 teaspoon Rosewater

• 1/2 teaspoon Instant espresso powder (dissolved in one tablespoon of hot water)

• pinch Salt

• pinch Cardamom

• crushed edible rose petals (optional garnish)

Directions

• Coffee Cookies with Rosewater Cardamom Dough
• In a stand mixer, cream the butter, instant espresso powder, and cardamom until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and rosewater and mix until fully combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until thoroughly mixed.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just combined.
• Glaze
• Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl. Whisk thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Adjust the thickness to your preference by adding more powdered sugar or liquid. More sugar will make it thicker, and liquid will make it thinner.
• Assembly
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Scoop approximately 1-tablespoon portions of dough and shape them into uniform rounds. If you don’t have a scoop, you can use a tablespoon instead. It’s what I do most of the time.
• Place the rounds about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes.
• Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack
• Either dip the cookies into glaze or drizzle with glaze, depending on you preference. Optionally, sprinkle with some crushed edible rose petals.