- 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
- Equipment: a 3-inch round or 2 3/4-inch square cookie cutter
- Garnish: citrus icing (optional); food coloring (optional); decorative sugar (optional)
- Whisk together flour, zest, cardamom, and salt.
- 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.
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) on cooled freshly lined baking sheets.
- 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.
- Decoratively pipe icing onto cookies, then sprinkle with decorative sugar (if using) and let dry completely, about 1 hour (depending on humidity).