Food Recipes Cardamom Bun Cookies 1.6 (7) 7 Reviews These holiday cookies are your ticket to winning the holiday cookie swap. (Not that it's a competition, right?) By John Somerall John Somerall John is a highly trained test kitchen professional with over a decade of cooking and recipe writing experience and a passion for all things related to food. He has a profound understanding of what makes food taste great and look amazing, while also being able to translate difficult recipes into manageable feats for the home cook. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on November 15, 2021 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Caitlin Bensel Hands On Time: 35 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Yield: 24 cookies This is the batch of holiday cookies to take to the annual cookie swap, thanks to their inviting pinwheel shape and crave-worthy cream cheese glaze. These pinwheel cookies are reminiscent of a cinnamon roll, but they borrow their warm spiced flavor from trendy Swedish cardamom buns. The key to nicely round and even cookies is freezing the log of dough before slicing, so make sure not to skip this crucial step. For other festive flavor profiles, replace the cardamom with pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or classic cinnamon. Ingredients 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided ¼ cup red or green sanding sugar 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom 1 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar 3 tablespoons whole milk 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened Directions Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add egg and 2 teaspoons vanilla; continue beating, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Shape dough into a rough ball. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 14-by-10-inch rectangle (1/8-inch thick). Stir together sanding sugar and cardamom in a small bowl. Remove top sheet of parchment and sprinkle dough with sanding sugar mixture. Working from longer side of rectangle, slowly and tightly roll dough into a log, using parchment to help lift and roll dough as you go. Wrap log in parchment and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove log from freezer and slice crosswise into ½-inch-thick rounds. Transfer to baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. Bake until lightly browned around edges, about 12 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Beat confectioners' sugar, milk, cream cheese, and remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cookies. Let glaze dry completely before storing cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Print