Orange Cardamom Almond Flour Cookies

Name: Orange Cardamom Almond Flour Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups almond flour, (blanched, superfine ground); 6 tbsp unsalted butter, (softened); 6 tbsp confectioner's sugar; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp ground cardamom; 2 tsp orange zest, (divided, 1 tsp for the batter, 1 tsp for garnishing the chocolate-dipped cookies.); 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate

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Gluten-Free Orange Cardamom Almond Flour Cookies dipped in chocolate make a beautiful addition to a holiday cookie tray. An easy slice-and-bake recipe! Use this recipe to make Cranberry-Almond Shortbread Cookies, too!

Orange Cardamom Almond Flour Cookies with plaid ribbon in background

These Orange Cardamom Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are full of buttery goodness! They have hints of holiday flavours: subtle spice from cardamom, a citrusy tang from orange zest, and a mild nutty flavour from almonds.

They're a delicious twist on traditional shortbread cookies, made gluten-free using almond flour.

These grain-free cookies have a crisp bite and they're soft and tender inside. Not only that, they're dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with orange zest for some festive flair. These gluten-free almond flour shortbread cookies are a favourite for holiday baking or for cookie swap parties!

Picking up a cookie from a tray of Orange Cardamom Almond Shortbread

Everyone has their traditional recipes that they bake during the holidays. Besides these grain-free shortbread cookies, I have several favourite recipes for gluten-free cookies and bars. Some I make year-round, like Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies. These are the ones I usually make at holiday times:

Nana's Butter Tarts
Butter Tart Squares
Gluten-free Maple Walnut Squares
Cranberry Lemon Oat Bars
No-Bake Chocolate Almond Snowballs
Roasted Almond Chocolate Truffles
Cranberry White Chocolate Macaroons and of course,
Gingerbread Cut-out Cookies
And I almost forgot a family favourite: Crispy Salted Coconut Cookies!

But shortbread is a classic and these chocolate-dipped gluten-free Cardamom Orange Almond Flour Cookies will be on our holiday cookie tray this year, right beside these gluten-free Rosemary Shortbread Cookies!

You can whip up a batch of these slice-and-bake almond flour cookies in about 20 minutes or less. Let's get started! Here's what you'll need to make these Slice and Bake Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies.

🛒 Ingredients

almond flour: blanched, finely ground almond flour. I use either the Kirkland Brand from Costco or Bob's Red Mill Superfine Almond Flour.

butter: unsalted is best for baking. It must be softened, but not melted, as I've explained below.

confectioner's sugar: also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar. Using confectioner's sugar makes a light, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

salt: just a hint

vanilla extract: pure

ground cardamom: a warm intensely-flavoured spice that gives these cookies a hint of spice.

orange zest: this tiny bit adds so much flavour to these almond flour cookies!

a square dish with 15 Chocolate Dipped shortbread cookies

🥄 Instructions

This is a quick and easy recipe for gluten-free holiday shortbread cookies. You can either make slice-and-bake cookies or drop cookies. Here are step-by-step instructions.

Cream the softened butter and sugar in a medium bowl.
Add the almond flour, salt, vanilla, cardamom and orange zest and stir to thoroughly combine.
To make slice-and-bake cookies, place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log about 8 inches long.
Chill for 2 hours or even overnight, then slice and bake.
Alternatively, you can scoop the dough with a cookie scoop, flatten slightly on a baking sheet and bake. If you don't chill the dough, the cookies will turn out slightly larger and flatter, but they still hold their shape and are delicious this way. Your choice!
To make chocolate-dipped cookies: Melt chocolate over, not in, hot water. To temper the chocolate, melt 2 ounces of the chocolate, then remove from heat and stir in the remaining ounce.
Dip the cookies, one by one, partway into the melted chocolate.
Return to the baking sheet to set. Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of orange zest. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Slicing dough for slice and bake rolled cookies

Frequently asked questions

Why do I have to soften the butter first? Is it really necessary?

Cookies are usually made by creaming softened butter and sugar together. Creaming forms air pockets that fill with steam while the cookies are baking, resulting in a tender crust and airy texture.
What does softened butter look like? It should be firm enough to hold its shape, but when you poke it, it should leave an indentation. You can pick up a piece in your hands and it will be pliable.

If you've forgotten to take the butter out of the fridge ahead of time, (and who hasn't done that?) the best way to soften it is to leave it unwrapped on the counter at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.

You can also use this quick hack: Heat a glass or a measuring cup of water in the microwave, pour out the water and cover the butter with the warm glass. The heat and steam from the glass will warm the butter to gently soften it.

If you just can't wait, microwaving it is possible, but it is usually not a wise choice! It only takes a few seconds to turn butter from hard as a rock to melted. So if you must, you can try microwaving it for 8 - 10 seconds, no more, or you'll regret it!

How do I measure almond flour?

This recipe calls for two cups of finely ground blanched almond flour. If you simply scoop it directly from the bag, you may find you have too much, as the flour gets packed.

I use the spoon and sweep method: Use a spoon to fill a measuring cup with flour until you have roughly the required amount, then level it with a knife.

I scoop roughly two cups, sift it, then scoop again, leveling it with a knife scraped across the top of the measuring cup. The most accurate way to measure almond flour is with a digital scale. Two cups of almond flour weigh 192 grams or 6.8 ounces.

Why do you have to temper the chocolate?

Tempering chocolate gives it a beautiful smooth, glossy finish and it helps to prevent it from melting on your fingers. It also sets it up for making dipped cookies and other treats.

🔁 Possible variations

Instead of using the slice and bake method for these Orange Cardamon Almond Flour Cookes, you can use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough, flatten it slightly with your fingers on a baking sheet, or make a cross-hatch pattern with a fork.

Try these flavours:

Cranberry-Almond Shortbread Cookies (shown below). Substitute ½ teaspoon pure almond extract for the vanilla extract and add ¼ cup finely chopped dried cranberries to the dough. Sprinkle with a few sliced almonds before baking.

Cardamom Orange Shortbread Cookies with Cinnamon-Sugar Dust. Follow the original recipe but don't dip in chocolate. Combine ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon sugar and sprinkle on top of the cookies before baking.

Cranberry-Pistachio Almond Flour Cookies: add ¼ cup finely chopped cranberries and ¼ cup finely chopped pistachios to the dough.

Or simply leave out the flavour additions and make them deliciously plain!

Two kinds of Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies stacked

🥶 Storage and freezing instructions

Store these shortbread cookies at room temperature for 3 to 5 days in a container. For longer storage, refrigerate or freeze them.

These cookies freeze beautifully. Cool completely on a wire rack, then pack into an airtight freezer container. They will last for 3 months or more.

If you'd like, you can also freeze the dough before baking. Form into a log, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Then thaw, slice, bake and have fresh warm cookies in just a few minutes!