Soft and fragrant, these gluten-free honey cardamom cookies combine floral cardamom with natural honey sweetness for a warmly spiced, low histamine treat. Psyllium husk acts as the gluten-free binder, creating tender cookies that hold together beautifully without xanthan gum. Delicious on their own or paired with fruit or jam, these cookies highlight cardamom’s unique citrusy-floral flavor in every bite.
If you like sweet treats for breakfast or dessert, also try my gluten-free apple fritters and no-bake clif bars.
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✔️ Why This Recipe is Great
Low Histamine Dessert. For me, one of the toughest things about a low histamine diet is the loss of sweets. Or at least, it feels like a loss of sweets, since you're not supposed to have sugar outside of a short list of fruits. In fact, when I first developed this recipe, if I'd eaten any more sugar than you'd find in a mango or an apple, I get a stomachache.
Low in Sugar. So when formulating this low histamine cookie recipe, I was careful to not only keep the ingredients low histamine, but also to keep the sugar level low. This low histamine honey cardamom cookie recipe only contains 7 or 8 grams of sugar per cookie, and all of it is coconut sugar. Coconut sugar has much less impact upon your blood sugar levels (fluctuations of which can trigger histamine release) compared to refined sugar, which is why I stuck to it for this recipe.
🥚 Ingredients
Gluten-Free Flour with Psyllium Husk: I used a blend of sweet rice, sorghum, and arrowroot flour, but you can use a store-bought gluten-free flour if you tolerate all the ingredients - just be sure to add psyllium husk or another tolerated binder to replace the gluten.
Cardamom: this floral, lightly citrusy seed is native to India and adds a beautiful complexity to any dish, as well as an antihistamine punch. Try these cardamom-blueberry coconut milk popsicles for a more unusual use of the spice.
Baking Powder: this one weird ingredient is the secret to cardamom cookies. It basically helps to pull moisture to the surface during the baking process, aiding in the crisp top while keeping the inside soft and moist
Monk Fruit: when you’re trying to eat low-sugar, monk fruit extract will be one of your best friends. It packs a sweetness level approximately 200x that of table sugar, so it should be used sparingly.
Unsalted Butter: this is both the cooking oil and a binder for the cookies. If it's all you have, you can use salted butter, but I'd omit the salt in that case.
Coconut Sugar: this is a lower-glycemic, lower histamine sweetener that adds a nice toasty flavor to the final cardamom cookies.
Honey: possibly the best-kept secret on a low histamine diet, honey is a fantastic way to add a bit of sweetness to these cardamom cookies.
Egg Yolk: the rich, fatty portion of the egg that adds moisture, structure, and tenderness to baked goods, helping bind ingredients together while creating a softer texture and deeper flavor.
Vanilla Powder: this dried, powdered form of the vanilla bean is twice as powerful as the traditional vanilla extract, but be careful that you buy real vanilla, without added sweeteners or fillers.
See recipe card for exact ingredients and quantities.
🍪 How to Make Honey Cardamom Cookies (Step-by-Step)
Step 1) Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. In a large bowl, add your stick of butter, coconut sugar, and honey (image 1).
Step 2) Measure and mix all the dry ingredients except coconut sugar together in a separate bowl (image 2).
Step 3) Cream the butter, coconut sugar, and honey until they're well-combined and just starting to whip up (image 3).
Step 4) Add in the egg & vanilla powder and beat well for about 10 seconds (image 4). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix thoroughly for about 30 seconds.
Step 5) Slowly beat in the dry ingredients scoop-by-scoop until everything is well-combined (image 5); you will need to scrape down the sides a couples times, and you may need to use a hand mixer in case the dough gets hard to handle.
Step 6) Place a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper onto a baking tray. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie onto each tray you're using (image 6), and bake for 12 minutes. The cookies should be slightly browned on the edge but still soften and look a bit undercooked in the center (image 7).
Step 7) Be delicate when taking the cookies off the tray, and do allow them to cool for at least 5 minutes before you serve them. I highly recommend trying them with a scoop of coconut ice cream!
🧈 Variations
- Nut-Free: Omit any optional nut toppings or use sunflower seed butter instead of ghee/butter if tolerated.
- Vegan Option: Replace egg yolk with a flax or chia egg and use dairy-free butter or coconut oil.
- Spice Twist: Add a pinch of ground ginger or a dash of cardamom + vanilla for a slightly different floral-spice flavor.
- Fruit Pairing: Serve with fresh or low-histamine fruit like blueberries or a homemade fruit jam.
- Texture Variation: Roll dough in extra chia seeds or crushed pecans before baking for added crunch.
🥣 Freezing and Reheating
You can safely freeze these cookies for up to 6 months, and defrost them at 375°F (190°C) for 3-5 minutes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or directly on the rack.
👨🏻🍳 Expert Notes & Tips
Butter: if using salted butter, use only ¼ teaspoon salt. Coconut oil should work but I have NOT tested it.
Texture: this reminds me more of a shortbread crumble because of the way the butter interacts with the different flours, but if you let it firm up at room temperature for a half hour after baking, they will stay well intact.
Storage: You can safely freeze these cookies for up to 6 months, and defrost them at 375°F (190°C) for 3-5 minutes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or directly on the rack.
❓ What to Serve With Cardamom Cookies
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Replace the egg yolk with a flax or chia egg and use dairy-free butter or coconut oil instead of unsalted butter or ghee.
Yes, they are designed to be low histamine-friendly, but individual tolerance to honey, psyllium, or cardamom may vary.
Sweet rice flour is recommended for its sticky texture and binding properties; using white rice flour may result in a slightly drier cookie.
Yes, psyllium husk acts as the binder since this recipe is gluten-free and xanthan gum-free. You can try a tolerated low-histamine binder if needed.
Yes, chopped pecans, sunflower seeds, or chia seeds can be added for texture if tolerated.
Yes! They pair beautifully with fresh fruit or low-histamine jams like blueberry or vanilla jam for a sandwich cookie treat.
Have you tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Honey Cardamom Cookies
Equipment
- oven
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup sweet rice flour NOT white rice flour
- ¼ Cup arrowroot flour
- 1 Cup sorghum flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon psyllium husk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon monk fruit extract
- ½ Cup unsalted butter or ghee room temperature
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 large egg yolk or flax egg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. In a large bowl add your stick of butter, coconut sugar, and honey.
- Measure and mix all the dry ingredients except coconut sugar together in a separate bowl.
- Cream the butter, coconut sugar, and honey until they're well-combined and just starting to whip up.
- Add in the egg & vanilla powder and beat well for about 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix thoroughly for about 30 seconds.
- Slowly beat in the dry ingredients scoop-by-scoop until everything is well-combined; you will need to scrape down the sides a couples times, and you may need to use a hand mixer in case the dough gets hard to handle.
- Place a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper onto a baking tray. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie onto each tray you're using, and bake for 12 minutes. The cookies should be slightly browned on the edge but still soften and look a bit undercooked in the center.
- Be delicate when taking the cookies off the tray, and do allow them to cool for at least 5 minutes before you serve them. I highly recommend trying them with a scoop of coconut ice cream!
Notes
Nutrition
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