Cardamom is one of my all-time favorite spices… I know, coming from someone who loves as many spices as I do, that doesn’t mean much. I want to sing it’s praises from the mountaintop. Sadly, because people do not understand it’s potency, it goes woefully underused. Cardamom is the third most expensive spice by weight in the spice markets (below only saffron and vanilla). Unlike saffron, cardamom has a ton of flavor, and a little goes a long way. This is likely why Cardamom gets a bad rep, it can easily overpower any other flavor in a dish. Cardamom comes in whole pods or in powdered form. For these cookies I’m using cardamom powder. I like these cookies because the cardamom just adds a subtle heat to a deliciously sweet pecan cookie.

Cardamom Pecan Sandies (about 4 dozen):

• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Powdered Sugar Topping

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process your pecans to small 1/8 inch pieces. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix all your dry ingredients except the pecans. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three additions, mixing well after each addition. Gently fold in pecans until well incorporated.

Using your cookie scoop form the dough into 1 inch balls spaced about 1 1/2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies start to crack. Allow cookies to cool on your cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar topping.