Gingerbread Cardamom Cookies with Orange Citrus Glaze

Are you in the mood to bake a sweet treat on these chilly cold January days? Give this outstanding ginger cardamom cookie a try! Made with molasses and warming spices like ginger and cardamom, and glazed with fragrant orange peel, this cakey ginger cookies are soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside and a fabulous treat to have with a warm cup of tea 🍪🫖❄️!

The occasion 🎄

Our daughter Rani made these outstanding ginger cardamom cookies last December as her Christmas present for her Dad – Hitesh. For a foodie like Hitesh homemade cookies made by his daughter hit all the warm and fuzzy feelings on Christmas morning 🎄🎁😍😁.

Soft and like a cake on the inside a little crunchy on the outside, with a lovely citrus glaze and bits of candied ginger, folks these cookies were so yummy! Molasses, ginger, and cardamom add wonderful warm flavors and the citrus glaze really amps up the sophistication of these cookies.

Rani found the recipe on food blog Sunday Table by Sara Lynn. This recipe is based off of a recipe Sara found in one of her grandma’s old cookbooks! All Sara did is amp up the flavor by adding freshly ground cardamom and orange glaze. Sara says these gingerbread cookies have become one of her more popular holiday recipes.

Folks, the recipe looks long but each step is very easy. Don’t let the long instructions prevent you from making these delectable cookies! These fabulous cookies freeze well too. So make a batch, have a couple and save the rest for later. Happy cookie baking!

Gingerbread Cardamom Cookies with Orange Citrus Glaze
recipe from Sunday Table

Ingredients:

480 grams all purpose flour (4 cups)
12 grams Dutch process cocoa powder (2 Tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda optional, for very soft cookies
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly-ground cardamom or 1 Tablespoon pre-ground
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
226 grams unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)
210 grams dark brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
162 milliliters molasses (1/2 cup)

Orange Glaze

168 grams powdered sugar, plus more for stamping (1 1/2 cups)
60 milliliters whole milk, more or less as needed (1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest (1 large orange)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda (if using), salt, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla until incorporated. Then, beat in the molasses until thoroughly mixed.
Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, beating just until the dough comes together. Don’t over-mix the dough! Stir the dough with a rubber spatula to make sure there are no dry spots.
Using a #40 (2 Tablespoon) cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Then, flatten each ball into a thick puck. (Note: Rani did not use any cookie stamp). Dust a cookie stamp lightly with powdered sugar. Firmly and evenly press the cookie stamp into one of the balls of dough. Repeat with remaining dough until all of your cookies are stamped. If you want clean edges, use a 2-2 1/2 inch cookie cutter to cut off the rough edges.
Line the cookies on the prepared sheet pans about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate the cookies for about 15-30 minutes.
Rani’s modification: Press bits of candied ginger on the cookies before baking.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes just until they’re baked through. The cookies will puff up a little, but they will deflate.
Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes, and then place the cookies on a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Make the orange Glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Add more milk (1 Tablespoon at a time) if it’s too thick or more powdered sugar (1 Tablespoon at a time) if it’s too thin. The icing should be fairly thin (the consistency of warmed honey) so it doesn’t cover up the design of the cookies.
Once the cookies are cooled, dip the top of each cookie in the glaze OR just drizzle the glaze over the cookies like Rani did. Then dust with powdered sugar. AND do like Rani did and grate orange zest over each cookie for an additional pop of flavor and it looks pretty too!
Place the glazed cookies on a wire rack over a parchment-lined sheet pan and let any extra icing drip off. Let the icing harden for about 20-30 minutes.
Once the glaze is hard, store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Enjoy!