These Brown Butter Honey Cardamom Cookies are the perfect treat for your Valentine this year!
It’s just a little over 10 days to one of my favorite holidays folks. The most romantic day of the year…Valentine’s Day!
I’ve been a fan of this holiday since I was a kid. I get all nostalgic thinking of that super special Valentine Box from my good old grammar school days.
I remember having a crush, I mean a huge crush, on a boy four grades older than me. I was in 4th grade, he was in eighth grade.
His parents were friends with my parents, and I’m guessing my mother let it slip that I had a crush on him, and somehow a special Valentine card, a Snoopy one if I remember correctly, ended up in my Valentine card pile.
He made all my dreams come true, signing it…Love, Doug. I think I gushed over it for days!! (weeks, months, whatever, I was like 10.) It’s a sweet memory I’ll never forget.
Nowadays, Tom and I usually celebrate the holiday at home with a nice dinner, some wine and always a special dessert.
This year I’ll be making two desserts, something chocolate and these Brown Butter Honey Cardamom Cookies. I found the cutest heart cutouts from Michael’s Craft Store and when I saw the recipe for these cookies in Martha Stewart’s new cookie cookbook, Cookie Perfection, I knew I’d have to give them a try.
Martha used an embossed rolling pin to make hers and they looked just lovely, but since I haven’t invested in one yet, I went for cutouts.
I absolutely love the spice cardamom. If you’re a chai fan, then you know the flavor because it’s included in the chai spice blend.
Cardamon is both sweet and savory. It’s citrusy, earthy, and highly fragrant, yet still delicate.
The nuttiness from the brown butter and sweetness from the honey give these cookies additional flavor and richness.
I know cut outs take a bit more time, but isn’t your sweetheart worth the extra effort?
Bake a batch and I bet your Valentine will be swooning! Enjoy!
A few other Valentine’s favorite are my White Chocolate Raspberry Bars, my Pink Grapefruit and Thyme Shortbread Hearts, and my Valentine’s Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies.
A Few Cook’s Notes for Brown Butter Honey Cardamom Cookies Recipe:
Martha Stewart’s recipe called for 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, but I made the recipe a few times and I found 2 1/2 cups worked best for me.
Only reroll your scraps one time, and make sure to freeze your cutouts for about 15 minutes before baking.
Brown Butter Honey Cardamom Cookies
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook until the butter is golden brown, making sure to swirl the pan often, about 5-6 minutes. You will begin to smell a nutty flavor and see little brown bits at the bottom of the pan when the butter is browned. Remove from the heat and pour into a heat proof bowl to cool until solid.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cardamom and salt until well combined. Set aside, In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, dark brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the honey, cream, egg yolk, and vanilla. Continue to beat for one minute. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Divide dough into four equal pieces and wrap with plastic.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. Working with one piece of dough, roll on a lightly flour surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter and transfer to prepared sheets, placing 1 inch apart. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking time, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on sheet for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temp for 2 weeks.
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection cookbook
Cardamom is my very favorite flavor! It always reminds me of baking with my grandma when I was little. I need to try these cookies! How can you go wrong with brown butter AND cardamom?
The flavor of the cardamon and the sweetness of the honey works perfectly Kelsie!
Sweet memory for sure! Valentine’s Day is all about our fur baby’s b day, but I do love celebrating! These cookies would be a lovely addition. Brown butter makes everything so much better so can’t wait to give these a try :) Pinned! Have a great week ahead!
Awww! Happy birthday to sweet little Riley! XO
Such a sweet post! Perfectly fitting for Valentine’s Day! These cookies will surely make my guy happy!!
I love them with the cardamon Annie, but I’ve also made them omitting the cardamon and substituting cinnamon. Equally as delicious!
I love stories like that from valentines days, so cute! Also, what lovely looking cookies and great flavours.
Lol! I remember it like it was yesterday Matt! I’m loving Martha’s book! So many great recipes!
Such perfect cookies for Valentine’s Day. Love the brown butter, honey and spicing. I can just imagine what a wonderful treat they would be!
Such a delicious combination of flavors Jennifer! Martha’s book is awesome!
Ahhhhhh….Super Sweet! I remember in 4th grade being extremely embarrassed of boys – especially if I received a special Valentine! Thank goodness I outgrew that faze! I love these cookies and the cookie press. So special for that special someone!
Lol! Tom will be enjoying a few of these this Valentine’s Day!!
Aww Mary Ann!! That’s SUCH an adorable story. Remember the days when little things like a Valentine from your crush can make your heart pitter patter for days!? These sweet little cookies make me so nostalgic for all the Valentine’s things! Pinning!
I remember it like it was yesterday Katherine! Lol!
What a lovely memory, Mary Ann – it’s amazing how a little thing like a valentine card is something that you fondly remember after all this time. Just love these cookies – so cute and sweet – absolutely perfect for Valentine’s day!
Thanks so much Geraldine! I can remember that crush like it was yesterday! Lol!
Ooooh, Mary Ann, these cookies are so sweet! And, I’m crazy for cardamom! I loved the story of your sweet Valentine in 4th grade, too! What a nice boy! I’m not sure any of the boys I knew in grade school would’ve ever done something so sweet. Love this!
I think his mother made him do it!! Lol!
Mary Ann, I loved reading the story of your childhood crush! So cute!! And my husband and I usually stay at home to celebrate as well…always a good dinner and some wine! These cookies would be the absolute perfect and cutest dessert! Love this idea!
Valentine’s Night is always a special dinner date night in for us Haylie!
aww…love to hear about your childhood crush, Mary Ann. And these cookies are adorable + I love cardamom in sweets!
Me too Marissa! Thanks!
That is the sweetest – your elementary crush…! I remember at 10 all I wanted was valentines cards from friends and those heart candies from, well, anyone lol! The flavor profile of these simple buttery cookies give me heart eyes, Mare! What great finds – a new book and that cutout is SO appropriate! Absolutely perfect!
I love the cut out from the craft store Traci! And I can never pass up a cookie with cardamon!
Is the dough supposed to be chilled before rolling? Otherwise I think I’m missing the point of the plastic wrap….
No Rachel. No chilling needed. You’re just covering the dough with the plastic wrap to keep it from drying out while you’re rolling each portion. Enjoy!
My kitchen smells amazing! Love the combination of flavors. a delicious cookie, not too sweet and perfect with a cup of tea. Great recipe!
I love this flavor combination too Maria! So happy you enjoyed them!
I had some issues with the dough, after trying it a few times b, it was very dry and crumbly. So I added the whole egg and about a tablespoon of unsalted butter (not browned) before mixing in the dry ingredients, and it seemed to do the trick in making the dough workable. I chilled it a little before rolling out as well, since it was a little wetter.
As for the cookie, the taste is great, I halved the cardamom because I really wanted to taste the brown butter
and honey. It’s also great without cardamom, very buttery and rich. Thank you for this recipe!!
So happy you tweaked it to your liking and enjoyed it Rachel! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Hi MaryAnn- Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I was wondering about the brand of the LOVE heart cookie press? Thank you!
Hi Jenny! I got that at Michael’s Craft Store last season.
Thank you Mary Ann! I found them on ebay!
Awesome Jenny!
Just made these, and they are delicious, but I think the recipe may need a bit of tweaking.
There wasn’t enough moisture in the dough once it was all mixed, so the dough was more or less a crumbly pile until I added some more of the heavy cream, a little bit at the time until it came together enough to roll. Once baked, the texture was nice and chewy, so overall it worked out, but without that modification I don’t think this would have been successful.
Hi Dayna. I didn’t have an issue with Martha’s recipe. Perhaps it was the way you measured your flour? Always spoon into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. If you scoop the measuring cup into your flour cannister you will most likely be adding too much flour, thus making the dough drier. Give that a try next time and I think you’ll see the difference. Thanks so much for trying the recipe and for taking the time to leave your feedback!