The sweet combination of orange and cardamom is what makes these cookies so special. The icing can be applied and decorated over or if you want to make things simple, drizzle the icing over the cookies with a fork and decorate with a few French Dragees.
INGREDIENTS:
2½ cups of White Lily flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 extra large egg – room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
Whisk the flour, cardamom, and salt together. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy; about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg, the grated orange peel and vanilla; beat to blend completely. Reduce the mixer to low and work in all the flour slowly. Separate the dough into two balls, place in a zip top bag and shape each one into a disk. Refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Working with one disk of dough at a time, remove from the refrigerator and let the dough stand for 15 minutes. Roll the dough out into a 1/8 inch thickness and cut out shapes. Gather dough scraps together into a ball and refrigerate for several minutes until cold. Re-roll and re-cut shapes. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Keep the shapes cold until time to bake. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, 3 inches apart, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes on the sheet and remove to racks to cool completely.

When the cookies have completely cooled, mix the powdered sugar with the orange juice to form a thick icing. Ice your cookies and decorate as desired.