Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions:
Make the dough:
Step 1
Whisk together flour, zest, cardamom, and salt.
Step 2
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Quarter dough and form each piece into a 6-inch disk, then chill, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
Cut and bake cookies:
Step 3
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Step 4
Roll out 1 piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper into an 11-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Slide dough in parchment onto a tray and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
Step 5
Cut out as many cookies as possible with cookie cutter (chill dough again if necessary), reserving and chilling scraps. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.
Step 6
Bake until edges are golden-brown, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto a rack to cool completely.
Step 7
Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) on cooled freshly lined baking sheets.
Step 8
If icing cookies and coloring icing, transfer small batches to small bowls, 1 for each color, and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color of icing into separate sealable bags, pressing out excess air, and snip an 1/8-inch opening in 1 bottom corner of each bag. Pipe icing onto a plate to test consistency. If too thick, thin a small batch with a few drops of orange juice.
Step 9
Decoratively pipe icing onto cookies, then sprinkle with decorative sugar (if using) and let dry completely, about 1 hour (depending on humidity).
Cook's notes:
· To make three-dimensional cookies, start with cut (but not baked) cookies on lined baking sheet. Make a 1 1/2-inch-long notch (1/3 inch wide) in each cookie, cutting toward center. If you want to make the cookies into ornaments, punch out a small hole (for string or ribbon to go through) on each side of notch on half of cookies using a piping tip with a 1/4-inch round opening. Bake and cool as directed. To make sure pairs of cookies fit, interlock cookies (one cookie with holes and one without) at notches to form sphere- or cube-like shapes. If necessary, carefully trim notches with a small sharp knife. If desired, ice unassembled cookies, avoiding middle portion near notch. Tie string or ribbon (if using) through holes of cookies and interlock. · Using a pastry bag fitted with a piping tip results in cleaner lines of icing. · Dough can be chilled up to 2 days. · Cookies (not interlocked) keep, layered between sheets of parchment if iced, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.