Using a paddle attachment in your stand mixer, beat the soften butter, cream cheese with sugar until it’s smooth. Then, add the orange zest, almond extract and beat it once again.

In a separate mixing bowl, sift the flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk the dry ingredients to combine everything.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, little by little, and bring the mixture together to form a dough. It will be very sticky dough but don’t add any more flour.

Layer clear wrap on the kitchen counter or on a chopping board and drop half the dough mixture into it. Flatten it a bit and tightly wrap the dough. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough. Keep all the wrapped dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until it’s hardened.

After 2 hours, if the dough feels hard enough, start working with one cookie dough at a time. Take two sheets of parchment paper, sprinkle little flour on one sheet, unwrap the dough and place it on the floured sheet. Sprinkle more flour on the dough and place the second sheet on top. Gently but firmly, start rolling the dough and keep turning the sheet around. Without removing the parchment paper, place the rolled dough back into the fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat the step with the second dough.

After 30 minutes, take a plate and add some flour into it. Layer a parchment paper on the cookie sheet and keep it ready. Take out one rolled cookie dough and remove the top parchment paper. Dip the cookie cutter in the flour and press it firmly on the dough. I used only the snowflake cutter. Carefully remove the cut out and place it on the cookie sheet. (If you wish to make hanging edible ornaments, poke a hole on top using a straw or end of your piping tip at this stage). Once you are done cutting out all the cookies, place the cookie sheet back in the fridge. Gather the remaining dough and bring it together into a disc. Sprinkle a little bit of flour and place the parchment paper back on top. Roll and place it back into the fridge. Work with the second rolled out cold dough the same way.

Allow the cut out cookies to cool down in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Then, bake them in the middle rack of the oven, preheated at 350 F, for 8 minutes (Please note that based on the size of your cutout, it might need more or less time).

Once the cookies are baked, take them out of the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before placing them on the wire rack to cool down completely.

Icing can be started only after the cookies are completely cooled down. To prepare the icing, whisk the powdered sugar with milk until it comes together into a smooth icing. Because I did only lining on the cookies, I kept the icing thick. If you want to cover the cookies, add an extra 1 teaspoon of milk and loosen the consistency.

Pipe the icing as per your liking and add some sprinkles. Allow the icing to set completely before storing the cookies in an airtight jar.