Orange Cardamom Sugar Cookies
Flavored and fuss-free sugar cookies perfect for sharing this Holiday season.
Hello holidays!
I’m sure you are all looking forward to the holidays and baking season. It is the time of the year when you can (normally) get together with your friends and family and indulge in a lot of baking. Although the pandemic may have played spoilsport with most of our plans this year, you can share the love with the gift of cookies. Sugar cookies are everyone’s favorite and are perfect for decorating, gifting, sharing, or as a fun holiday activity with the kids. The ingredients are basic and the process is simple. However, you can take it up a notch with some extra flavors like I did here because, why not! There is a lot of room here for experimenting with flavors.
Sugar cookies can be made to fit the theme for any celebration. All you’ll need is a cookie cutter for the occasion, like a heart shaped cookie cutter for Valentine’s day or a turkey shaped one for thanksgiving. These are perfect for showing off your decorating skills if you want to get creative. I’m consistently mocked during Pictionary nights for my artistic capabilities, sigh. So I’m curious to hear what you think about my cookie decorations. Comment away!
Orange Cardamom Sugar Cookies
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy.
Add in the egg, vanilla and orange extract and beat on high speed until combined, for about a minute, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be semi-soft. If the dough seems too sticky for rolling, add around 1 tablespoon of flour.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each portion on a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle more flour if the dough seems too sticky.
Stack both the rolled-out doughs, with parchment papers under each layer, on top of each other, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F. Carefully remove the top rolled-out dough layer from the refrigerator.
Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all the dough is used. Repeat with the second layer of dough.
Arrange the shapes on a baking sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly browned around the edges.
Allow the cookies to slightly cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the water and meringue powder on medium-high until a slight foam forms. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla until the icing becomes light and airy, in about 2 minutes. If the icing is too thick, add a small amount of water and stir until desired consistency is reached. If the icing is too thin, add a small amount of powdered sugar and stir until desired consistency is reached. Add in gel food coloring if desired.
Decorate the cooled cookies using a piping bag filled with the icing.
Let the icing set. Enjoy the cookies!
Thank you for trying this with me!
I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #ttwmblog and I’ll be sure to find it.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy.
Add in the egg, vanilla and orange extract and beat on high speed until combined, for about a minute, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be semi-soft. If the dough seems too sticky for rolling, add around 1 tablespoon of flour.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each portion on a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle more flour if the dough seems too sticky.
Stack both the rolled-out doughs, with parchment papers under each layer, on top of each other, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F. Carefully remove the top rolled-out dough layer from the refrigerator.
Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all the dough is used. Repeat with the second layer of dough.
Arrange the shapes on a baking sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly browned around the edges.
Allow the cookies to slightly cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the water and meringue powder on medium-high until a slight foam forms. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla until the icing becomes light and airy, in about 2 minutes. If the icing is too thick, add a small amount of water and stir until desired consistency is reached. If the icing is too thin, add a small amount of powdered sugar and stir until desired consistency is reached. Add in gel food coloring if desired.
Decorate the cooled cookies using a piping bag filled with the icing.
Let the icing set. Enjoy the cookies!