Rocky Recipes: Orange Cardamom Cookies

Cookie season has arrived. The holidays are just around the corner and that means all sorts of baked goods. The classic spice-based cookie this time of year is usually the friendly gingerbread man. But here at Rocky we don’t like doing things the ordinary way. So we got to work crafting a spicy, chewy, delectable, simple recipe inspired by our warm and cozy Orange Cardamom holiday scent.  

Just like our Orange Cardamom seasonal scent, these cookies contain nourishing oats, spicy cardamom, and energizing orange. We’ve also included a pinch of cinnamon and black pepper. So if you’ve ever wanted to take a bite out of your Orange Cardamom bar soap, this is your chance! 

This recipe is not only delicious, but party friendly since it’s vegan, nut-free and can easily be made gluten-free by replacing the whole grain flour with an all-purpose, gluten-free flour (buckwheat flour would work nicely). If gluten intolerances are an issue, you should also make sure that your oats are certified gluten-free. 

This recipe also calls for coconut sugar, which is made from the dehydrated sap of the coconut palm. Coconut sugar contains small amounts of minerals, antioxidants and fibre, and also has a slightly lower glycemic index than regular sugar—meaning it gives you a slightly less intense blood sugar spike. It also has a deeper flavour and complexity than regular sugar, making it a great addition to this recipe. But if you don't have any on hand, feel free to substitute with brown sugar. 

These cookies are also super quick to make, which means you can whip up a batch in under 25 minutes (including baking time!) — just in time for that holiday potluck you forgot about.

Orange Cardamom Oat Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 13 minutes
Makes 14 cookies

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp good quality cardamom powder
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1.5 tsp orange zest (about one whole orange)
• Juice of half an orange (approximately ⅛ of a cup)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of black pepper 
• 1 ½ cups rolled oats (not quick oats), gluten-free if necessary
• 1 cup whole grain rye flour, or whichever flour you have on hand
• 1 cup coconut sugar, or brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.  

2. Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan, remove from heat. 

3. Add cardamom, orange zest and juice, cinnamon, black pepper and vanilla. Stir together and set aside. 

4. In a separate bowl, add oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.

5. Pour the coconut oil mixture from the pot into the dry ingredients. Use a mixer (or just a fork and some muscle power) to blend until it comes together as a dough. 

6. Roll into roughly 14 balls and place on baking sheet.

7. Bake for 13-15 minutes and allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully placing on a cooling rack to cool completely. 


Make ahead party tip!

Roll the dough into a log and wrap tightly in paper, then place in a reusable airtight freezer bag as an earth friendly alternative to plastic wrap. When you need to be the life of the party (or maybe you just want some extra cookies), slice into ½ inch disks, place on a cookie sheet and bake from frozen.