Cardamom Raisin Snickerdoodles

This past month I have been involved in the Food Blogger Love Cookie Exchange.  #fblcookieexchange

I happened to be looking for some holiday cookie ideas on Pinterest and landed on Sarah's website, Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Since I was going through a job transition and was trying to get back into food blogging, I thought this was a great idea. Plus, who doesn't love baking cookies. As part of the cookie exchange, I was asked to make a donation to either Climates Animal Rescue or No Kid Hungry, which I happily did. Then, I would be sent three names and would be responsible to send each a dozen cookies. Finally, I am to write about the exchange with the cookie recipe and Sarah will put together a list with all the recipes. (Link is at the bottom of the story.)

I decided that I wanted to make some new varieties of cookies this holiday season so the hunt for a new recipe was on. I went through many of my cookbooks to see if I could find cookies that were unique but not too challenging. I have learned from many years of making cookies, sometimes the simplest of cookies are the ones everyone enjoys. So, I found three I was going to try: 1. Chocolate Biscotti with Dried Cherries and Pistachios 2. Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookies and 3. Cardamom Raisin Snickerdoodles. 

Fast forward - I made all three types of cookies. I figured once I tasted them, and had my husband and mother-in-law taste them, I would pick a winner. Into the box and out in the mail they would go. Issue - I liked the Chocolate Biscotti, Jeff liked the Cardamom Raisin Snickerdoodles and Althea LOVE, LOVE, LOVED the Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Now that I didn't know which cookies to send and a box that was just too big, I had to make some decisions. So, I packed all three types in the box and sent them off with a tasting of our favorite Andria's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My cookie recipients were:

1. Kaylin of Keep It Simple Sweetie
2. Sarah of Sarah Cooks the Books
3. Linda of The Orange Bee

 In the meantime, I received

1. Bittersweet Chocolate Espresso Chip Shortbread Cookies from Faye of Live Bake Love (Espresso and chocolate! YUM!)
2. Almond Biscotti from Pavani of Cook's Hideout (Perfect with a cup of coffee, delicate crunch!)
3. Opa's Gingerbread from Kate of Kate's Recipe Box (Reminded me of the amazing gingerbread we ate in Germany)

These cookies were all amazing. It was so nice to sample them through the week as I normally had biscotti for breakfast with coffee, gingerbread as a mid-afternoon snack with hot chocolate and shortbread for dessert with a little red wine. I guess this is what cookie heaven is like.

If you are interested in any of the recipes, follow the link to the all the amazing recipes: Food Blogger Love Cookie Exchange Recipe.

So, just a little bit about the Cardamom Raisin Snickerdoodles. They are amazing, light and buttery with a holiday spice flavor. I love adding cardamom to recipes with apples and oranges so this was perfect. The uniqueness to this recipe is it has the feel of cinnamon and nutmeg, yet none are included. It's definitely a different flavor, pleasing and festive. I am going to add this to my cookie list this year. I'm actually going to try to add a bit of orange rind the next time I make them. I thing it would balance the flavor of the cardamom with the raisins. 

Give them a try and tell me what you think. It could be the best cookie you make this season.

Thank you Sarah for putting this together. It's a lot of work but I am truly grateful!

Cardamom Raisin Snickerdoodles 

(Adapted from Food 52 - Baking)

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour

1 cup of white sugar 

1/2 cup of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of ground cardamom

1 cup of butter, melted and cooled

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of raisins

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugars, tartar, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Mix until blended. Put aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk eggs into the melted butter. Once blended, add vanilla and mix until blended.
4. Using a spatula, mix the egg and butter mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients.
5. As the mixture begins to come together, add the raisins. Stir until the dough comes together.
6. In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1 teaspoon of cardamom. Mix together. You will be using this mixture to roll the cookies before you bake them.
7. Start making cookie balls approximately 1-1/2 inches in size and roll in the sugar and cardamom mixture. Place on cookie sheet.
8. Bake 6-8 minutes or until slightly golden and the tops look dry.
9. Remove from oven and place on cookie rack.
10. Cool and enjoy!

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.