Orange Cardamom Cookies
Warm and cozy and bright and citrusy all in one cookie, what a treat! These will be a great addition to any Christmas cookie tray!
I wanted a cookie with a bright flavor and when I make Chai Cookies they have cardamom in them and was going to use lemon for these, but I decided on orange and…
Oh, my goodness! I’m glad that flavor combo worked out as delicious as it did.
These cookies have lots of orange zest and the warm cozy flavors of vanilla, nutmeg, and cardamom.
This year I wanted to simplify some of my Christma cookie baking and decided to drizzle glaze icing over most of my cookies and I’m so glad I did, it saved me a ton of time and to be honest no one seemed to miss the precise icing, so keep it simple is my new favorite cookie icing. My old favorite method was dipping cookies into glaze icing, no need for a piping bag for either method.
Check out my Simplifying Christmas post for more tips on how to enjoy by doing less!
Even the mixer is looking all pretty with the orange zest, cardamom, and fresh grated nutmeg.
It’s been said oranges were a popular item to receive in your stocking. As fresh fruit was such a treat, just as now… years later candy would be a welcome gift in a stocking now.
Orange Glaze icing:
Mix 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice. Top with fresh orange zest. Add more orange juice or powdered sugar to achieve the thickness/thinness of the frosting desired.
Another great option to cut out cookies for this recipe is to use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, they bake up nice and plump, without any spread, and are fun to sink your teeth into, tender and delicious.
Orange Cardamom Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, salted which is 2 sticks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, chopped from 1 softball size navel orange
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg this really gives the cookie a great flavor, I love fresh nutmet. Use dry if you cannot locate fresh nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt I love salty sweets and yes use salted butter and a pinch more salt, omit the additional pinch if you prefer.
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In the bowl of a mixer beat butter with sugar until fluffy 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the egg and mix on medium-low to combine
- Next, add in the flour, orange zest, cardamon, nutmeg, and vanilla
- Scrape down the sides and be sure all ingredients are well-mixed.
- Roll out cookie dough with a little flour or between parchment paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap.
- Cut into the desired shape with cookie cutters or use a knife and make squares or triangles. Alternatively, I 've used a 2 tablespoon scoop and the cookies bake into rounded mounds (they do not spread out) which I liked, biting into a thick cookie is fun.
- Bake cookies on parchment lined baking sheets for 8-9 minutes for cut out cookies, and 14-15 minutes for drop cookies until bottoms are golden in color and edges are firm.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely.
- Prepare the glaze icing by mixing the powdered sugar with orange juice until smooth, and adjust the proportions to get the consistency you want. Drizzle over cooled cookies and let the icing dry completely before moving or stacking cookies.