honey cardamom snowflakes *

I really love the flavor of cardamom, so when I saw these cookies, I knew I had to try them. I added the orange juice because I think oranges and cardamom taste great together.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. sift together the flour, cardamom, salt, and baking soda.
2. in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended and slightly fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. scrape down the bowl and the beater. add the orange juice, honey, egg, and vanilla. continue mixing on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. add in the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dough is well blended and comes together in moist clumps, 30 to 60 seconds.
4. divide the dough roughly in half. on a piece of plastic wrap, shape each dough half into a smooth 5-inch disk. wrap well in the plastic. refrigerate until chilled and firm enough to roll out, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
5. position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºf. line two or more cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners.
6. working with one disk at a time, roll the dough on a floured work surface to about 3/16 inch thick. dust with additional flour as needed. choose one or more snowflake (or any other shape) cookie cutters that are about 2-1/2 inches wide and cut out shapes.
7. arrange the cookies about 1 inch apart on the lined cookie sheets. gather the scraps and gently press together. re-roll and cut. repeat with the remaining dough.
8. bake one sheet at a time until the cookies’ edges develop a 1/4-inchwide light-brown rim, 11 to 13 minutes (rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning). let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 10 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. makes six dozen

the plastic-wrapped dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month. thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe.