Cardamom Poppyseed Slice & Bake cookies

Classic slice and bake cookies marbled with a cardamom poppyseed dough, these cardamom poppyseed slice & bake cookies are perfect for any cookie box!

What type of cardamom is best for baking?

There isn’t one type of cardamom best for baking but rather different types that are better for different recipes. In my Cardamom Babka, it’s more important to use just the black seed center so that you get little black flecks instead of a grey sugar filling. But with these cookies any form of green or black ground cardamom will work. Different ones will produce a different flavor. The ground cardamom you usually find at the grocery store is a little bit more mild but also works great in these cookies.

What is a slice and bake cookie?

Slice and bake cookies, also known as icebox cookies, are a shortbread type of cookie with a soft but crumbly melt in your mouth texture. Slice and bake cookies get their name because the dough is pressed into a log and then sliced into cookies and baked.

Do you have to grind poppyseeds?

While not required to grind poppyseeds it does help to release their flavor and creates a finer texture which is more pleasant in this style of cookie.

Can these be made in advance?

Yes! The dough is best if you can let it rest over night in the fridge and the cookies will keep well in an airtight container for at least a couple of weeks at room temperature.

Additional Recipes to try:

• Chocolate Slice and Bake Cookies
• Stollen Bites
• Lebkuchen Cookies

Tips for making Slice & Bake Cookies

• Do not turn your mixer onto high speed with this cookie dough. It’s better to beat the powdered sugar and butter together for longer but at a medium speed than quickly on high speed because you don’t want air bubbles in the dough.
• I recommend grinding poppyseeds in a spice grinder to get a fine texture with such a small amount but you can also use a mortar and pestle.
• Be careful not to overwork the dough especially once the flour has been added, you want to mix and knead the dough as little as possible.
• To make shaping a log easier, I recommend wrapping the dough in two separate portions. This will keep the dough log from cracking and make it easier to it in the fridge.
• Before rolling the dough in poppyseeds and slicing it, let it sit at room temperature for at least ten minutes. Allowing the dough to soften slightly will make both rolling and slicing the cookies a bit easier.
• These cookies shouldn’t really brown but they should look dry on the surface.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely before transferring and storing to minimize any breakage.

Ingredients

• Butter: Unsalted butter is used for the crust and the filling but salted will work too.
• Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar gives these cookies their super soft melt in your mouth texture.
• Fine Sea Salt: I use fine sea salt when baking. You really want the salt in this recipe to enhance all of the flavors and balance out the sweetness.
• Vanilla Bean Paste: With such a simple cookie, using ingredients with a bit more flavor makes a world of difference but if you don’t have vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract will work too!
• All Purpose Flour: I used standard all purpose flour for the dough!
• Poppyseeds: I like to order poppyseeds in bulk or buy them at a bulk store but you can also use the ones from the spice section in the grocery store!
• Cardamom: Any form of green or black ground cardamom will work for these cookies. The ground cardamom you usually find at the grocery store is a little bit more mild but also works great in these cookies.

How to make Cardamom Poppyseed Slice & Bake Cookies

Make the dough

• Add the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla to a medium mixing bowl. Use a mixer to beat on medium speed until smooth. Don’t use high speed as it will incorporate too much air into the batter.
• Pour in the flour and mix again on medium until just combined.
• Grind the poppyseeds and add them into a second mixing bowl. If necessary grind the cardamom as well and pour it into the bowl with the poppyseeds. Stir to combine.
• Dump approximately half of the dough into the bowl with the poppyseeds and cardamom and use a spoon or rubber spatula to mix until mostly combined.
• Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pour out half the plain vanilla cookie dough and half of the poppyseed cookie dough. Use the plastic wrap or parchment to press the doughs together and shape into a log that is about 2″ in diameter.
• Twist the ends like you’re wrapping a candy and if you used parchment paper make sure it is really sealed or place it in a ziploc bag.
• Repeat with the second half of both doughs and place both logs into the fridge to chill for a minimum of two hours or up to overnight.

Bake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Remove one log of cookie dough and leave it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Pour 25 grams of poppyseeds (not ground) onto a cutting board in a stripe that is about as long as the log of cookie dough.
• If not using a USA Pan baking sheet, line your baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
• Unwrap the first log of cookie dough and roll the vanilla dough side in the poppyseeds. You can roll the entire log if you prefer.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the end off of the log. After that cut 1/4″ thick slices from the log. Place the sliced cookies onto the baking sheet leaving at least 1/2″ to an 1″ of space between them.
• The cookies won’t spread much but they still need air flow to bake properly.
• Bake the cookies for 6 minutes and then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 6 minutes.
• Once baked take the pan out of the oven and leave the cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Repeat with the second log of cookie dough, sprinkling more poppyseeds on the cutting board as needed.

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