CardaMonday! ok, that was dumb. Cardamom recipes.

Cardamom is my favorite spice, I think. Cumin is one of my favorites, too, but I'm a little under the weather and cardamom seems SO soothing...I even add a little extra to my homemade chai because I like it so much.
I buy cardamom from the Indian grocery in bulk, and grind it myself. It doesn't get as powdery smooth as the commercially prepared spice, but it is SO much more fragrant and I find the teeny tiny black and gray specks in my baked goods sort of appealing. Also, the bags of whole seeds at the Indian grocery are cheaper (I'm a big fan of cheap!!)

I'm making Cardamom Bread right now. This recipe makes one loaf, and uses a bread machine for the dough mixing. I have no idea where this recipe originally came from, but I've changed it up so much, at this point it's irrelevant. If you know how to make bread, follow your usual steps. The ingredients are listed in bread machine order.

3/4c warm milk (I microwave mine 1 m)
1 egg, beaten
1/4c honey
1/4c applesauce
1T oil or melted butter
1/4t salt
3c flour
1/2t cardamom (I really use about 1t or more.)
1T vital wheat gluten (optional)
2t yeast

Combine all ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle. punch down, reshape, and place in greased loaf pan to rise. Let rise 45 minutes in a warm place, or until double. I use my oven with the light on (I even "preheat" it by turning on the light when I start the bread machine).

An action shot of the bread right before baking.

Bake at 350 for 20 m, or until light brown on top and hollow-sounding when thumped on the bottom. Cool 10 m before removing from pan. I usually cool 5 minutes before slicing.

 I included lots of pics, because someone said they never used bread recipes if they didn't have a picture, so here they all are! You can click on 'em, too!

This is a simple sugar cookie, great with tea! Simple cookies like this are a big favorite around here, and we make these to share for Christmas, too.

Cardamom Cookies

1 1/2c flour
1/2t baking powder
1/2t salt
3/4t cardamom
1/4t allspice
1/4t cinnamon
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2c sugar
1 egg
1/2t vanilla

Whisk together dry ingredients, except sugar, in a bowl. In another large bowl, beat together butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla. Reduce speed, then mix in the dry ingredients. Roll into a l2in long log, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

to bake
preheat oven to 350
Slice log 1/4in thick, place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes. I don't like to let my sugar cookies brown, but if you like them crisp let them start to brown just a bit at the base of the cookie. Cool on the sheets 3 minutes before moving to the racks.

Enjoy! I'm having a big ol' slice of the cardamom bread right now!