Cardamom Fig Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These are the seeds inside the cardamom pods

Cardamom is one of my favorite spices. Popular in Indian cooking, it is one of the main constituents of Garam Masala. It is compellingly strong, yet delicate and sweet.

Considered one of the most valuable spices in the world due to its medicinal and therapeutic properties, cardamom is often used for relieving digestive problems induced by garlic and onion intolerance. It is very beneficial in oral/mouth health and treating halitosis, lowering blood pressure and it has tremendous antioxidant properties. 

Cardamom is used in different ways by different cultures. In the Middle East it's popular to flavor coffee, in Scandinavian communities it's used as a dessert baking spice. In India it is a savory spice for curries. You can also find it used for poached fish, meat dishes, fish stews and it's wonderful on sweet potatoes. 

We are addicted to cardamom in our coffee! We simply add a teaspoon of crushed (an excuse to use my mortar and pestle!) cardamom seeds to our ground coffee and brew in our regular drip coffee maker. Or, if you want to get fancy, try this Pakistani Coffee with Cinnamon & Cardamom from Global Table Adventure.

The recipe below sounds insanely interesting, I'm pretty sure I will be making these this afternoon!

CARDAMOM FIG CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES 

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Recipe Adapted From: Food52
Prep Time: 1 Hour Cooking Time: 15 Mins Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Mins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces dark chocolate chunks (we like 70% cacao)

1 1/4 cup dried figs, chopped (soaked in water if too dry)


Directions:

Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy with an electric or stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, stir together all of the remaining (dry) ingredients. Stir these into the butter mixture on low speed until fully combined.

Refrigerate the dough 30-60 minutes before proceeding.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop the dough in 2-3 Tbs. scoops onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake each sheet one at a time (meanwhile keep the rest of the cookies chilled in the fridge while the first batch bakes) until the edges of the cookies are golden but still look a little doughy in the center, about 15-18 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through the bake time.

Cool the cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Enjoy with a cup of cardamom flavored coffee!