Swedish Cardamom Buns (Kardemummabullar)

Total Time Prep: 1 hour + rising Bake: 15 min.
Yield 1-1/2 dozen
Test Kitchen Approved
The only difficult part of a Swedish cardamom buns recipe is practicing restraint and not eating them all in one day. We’ll show you how to make, shape and bake this Nordic favorite right at home, with plenty of tips and pictures for guidance.

Ingredients

  • 4-1/4 to 4-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons cardamom seeds, crushed
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • FILLING:
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • EGG WASH:
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • TOPPING:
  • 4 teaspoons coarse sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add milk, vanilla and cardamom to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add eggs; beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  2. For filling, in a small bowl, combine sugar, butter and cardamom until a paste is formed. Punch down dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 20x15-in. rectangle. Spread butter mixture over dough to within 1/4 in. of edges. Fold top third of dough towards middle; fold bottom third of dough to meet top edge, covering remaining dough.
  3. Flatten slightly with rolling pin to a 20x9-in. rectangle. Cut into 1-in. strips and twist.
  4. Hold one end of each strip with your thumb and pointer finger. Loosely wrap the end of the dough around your fingers twice; keeping cut surfaces up. Tuck end under to create a knot.
  5. Place onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°.
  6. In a small bowl, combine egg and water. Brush egg wash over buns. In a separate small bowl, combine coarse sugar and crushed cardamom seeds. Sprinkle over buns. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

1 bun: 235 calories, 8g fat (4g saturated fat), 49mg cholesterol, 101mg sodium, 37g carbohydrate (14g sugars, 1g fiber), 5g protein.

These Swedish buns are bursting at the seams with cardamom flavor. Crushed cardamom is in the dough and the filling, and you can even make a cardamom sugar for sprinkling on top if you want even more. —Margaret Knoebel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Recipe Creator

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