Bittersweet Chocolate Cardamom And Orange Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Make dough:
• 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.
• Cut and bake cookies:
• 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).

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl until combined.
• Beat together butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 4 minutes with a handheld. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until combined well. Add chocolate and nuts and mix until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Roll 1 scant tablespoon of dough into a 1-inch ball, then flatten slightly with palm of your hand to form a 1/3-inch-thick disk and coat with confectioners sugar. Make more cookies in same manner, arranging them 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until they puff up and tops crack slightly, 8 to 10 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Recoat cookies with confectioners sugar.