Cardamom-Walnut Crescents Recipe (2024)

I covered the dough w/plastic wrap to make a log, then refrigerated over night. It was so easy to cut 1/4" slice then cut it in half again, using my fingers to push the dough into an EXAGGERATED crescent shape---mine looked like slightly curved slugs with only a slight crescent. The texture is almost ethereal. For the 8/2017 (partial) eclipse, I painted the interior crescent side with melted chocolate chips. The cardamom/orange flavor held up against the chocolate---yummy!

These are easy, delicious and ethereally light. I used freshly ground green cardamom seeds to amp up the flavor. Jarred ground cardamom is a pale shadow of fresh. Next time I might skip the vanilla sugar topping to get an even less sweet result.

It is absolutely crucial to chill the dough before & after shaping and most importantly, let the cookies cool in the pan for at least the 5 mins recommended. I think that's why other bakers complained about the crumbling.I did use all the zest from a large orange & about a scant teaspoon of cardamom. The taste is lovely.

Walnut halves will give you good results here; we're amending the recipe above to include that information. Unfortunately we published this recipe before we began including metric weights, but you'll find that many baking recipes in Cooking do include them now.

Every Xmas I make about 35 dozen cookies, limited to the 3 favorites in my family. Made these last year for the first time. They were devoured. A great thing about the recipe is that the food processor does most of the work. This year I made double the recipe and they were gone in a flash. There will now be 4 Christmas cookie recipes every year.

I think chopped walnuts will work just as well as the more expensive walnut halves (if you can find them...) since all the dough ingredients get ground up to coarse meal texture in the food processor.Most experienced cooks will realize this, but there are folks who will believe "The Times said "walnut halves" so I have to find walnut halves!"

Made this, yum. “Sophisticated flavor” someone said at the cookie swap. Note for folks commenting that it is dry: it is 1/4 POUND (which is 1/2 cup or 1 stick) of butter. It would be dry with less. I almost put in only 1/4 cup but a friend rereading the recipe saved me.

Dani, if you make sure your dough is refrigerated, and work quickly to shape your cookies, they will hold their shape while baking. Adding more flour might toughen up your cookies. Cheers!

Made per recipe w/ delightfully delicious, tender, not-to-sweet cookies as outcome. Maybe bit more cardamom next time. Vanilla sugar essential finishing touch. Some say refrigerate dough before and/or after shaping. I wouldn't. Dough is just right but you need to handle gently. Use a 2 tsp 'ish' ice cream scoop to portion dough. Gently roll each portion between fingers into a little "log". Then bend each log to crescent shape. Easy. 18 min bake time. Made 25.

Dead easy, super delicious, very forgiving. I was far too lazy to make them into moons/crescents. I also didn’t bother with the sugar vanilla topping. This was like a light, spiced shortbread. Definitely making this again.

The texture of these cookies is phenomenal! SO tasty! Don't make the mistake I made and add orange extract since there was no zest in the house, it overpowers the cardamom. Otherwise, great!

These are delicious! Great texture as others said, light and buttery. The orange/cardamom flavor was subtle, I may try adding a little more of each next time for more flavor but everyone loved them as is. I mixed chocolate chips, butter, and milk and dipped some of the cookies halfway as another note suggested. Yum!

These are, without exageration, the best cookies I have ever eaten. The only tricky part is getting a smooth crescent shape. I've resorted to patting the balls of dough into flattened circles and then using a small cookie cutter to take a bite out of the circle, but I bet someone has found an even better method. I'm also using a slightly larger amount of dough for each cookie. Ideas?

I used the zest of an entire orange and slightly increased walnut amount to one full cup. Baked it at 350F for about 25 mins.Turned out excellent. Very delicious cookies and very easy to make.

The nicest thing about these cookies is that they are not too sweet. The recipe is simple and the texture of the cookies is lovely.

These are wonderful! I used Morna’s log technique which worked great. Made them twice this season. The second time I increased the orange zest and cardamom because I just like those flavors so much, but they are also good as written. Dipped some of the points in chocolate. This cookie is definitely staying in the rotation.

These cookies are delicious and so easy to make! I used the zest from 1 whole orange, but will up the amount even more next time. I also plan on upping the cardamom.

Oh, my - this is my new favorite cookie!! First of all, it’s the easiest cookie ever with minimal effort. Second, it’s wonderfully not too sweet - perfect with coffee or tea or a glass of milk (oat milk in my case!)I read all the reader tips and used the chill and slice method - thanks to those who mentioned that idea!I also (accidentally) sprinkled the butter vanilla sugar on top before baking - and will do it again.

I found the orange/cardamom/walnut combo to be pleasant, but the cookies themselves are underwhelming. Tastes like crumbly, sweet flour. Maybe needed some larger walnut pieces to break up the monotony. Easy to make but shaping them into crescents is a challenge. I made yule logs instead in keeping with the season. I will not bother to make these again.

Followed the instructions exactly. They were easy and came out great.

A really lovely flavor - an excellent cookie. I didn’t bother to shape them nor use the vanilla sugar dusting. No need. Best cookie of the season in my opinion.

Delicious! Made just like instructed and they came out great. No need to freeze before baking.

Made this for a party and people loved them. Very easy to make. Don't sweat shaping in a crescent, the baked cookies look great with a dusting of confectioners sugar.

Easiest way to form them is to roll out dough to a half inch tube, cut into lengths, and curve and form ends with fingers. I used a light sprinkle of powdered sugar as fraisage for rolling out. I used bread flour in the mix in hopes they would be a bit less fragile. It may have helped.

I made these as specified with fresh ground cardamom that I removed from the pods, European butter and BLACK walnuts gathered from the tree in my back yard. This recipe makes cracking the black walnuts worth the effort. Their unique flavor really shines in this cookie. So delicious!

Has anyone made these with vegan butter? My DIL has a dairy allergy.

Jump to step 3 and make the vanilla sugar first.You won't have to wash out the food processor before making the dough!

I added the powdered sugar and they are excellent.

These are very tasty. I used freshly ground cardamom and I skipped the vanilla sugar. I might add powdered sugar but they’re basically perfect as is with a cup of coffee. I’ll make these again.

A lovely light shortbread type biscuit. No need for vanilla sugar on top and freshly ground green cardamon seeds is the way to go.