• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cream the butter, sugar, and spices together until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl to get everything incorporated. Beat in the egg and almond flour and take a minute to get everything well combined.
• With your mixer on low blend in the flour and baking soda and blend until the dough comes together and there is no dry flour left. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate the butter and flour well.
• Turn the dough out onto a board and bring together into one piece, if it's crumbly, knead it a bit. Cut the dough in 2 and form flat discs, as if for pie dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Roll out the dough to your desired thickness and cut your cookies. If you spray the inside of your cutters with cooking spray, they will release the dough easier. Place the cut out cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, depending on thickness (the surface will still be pale.) Let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
• When the cookies are completely cooled you can frost with royal icing and add decorative sugars, etc., if desired.

royal icing

• Lightly whisk the egg whites just until frothy. Add the lemon juice (or vinegar) and vanilla.
• Start adding the powdered sugar gradually, beating until smooth and glossy. Beat until you reach your desired consistency:

  Flooding icing: beat until thick but not stiff. Ribbons of frosting dripped from the beater should melt back in.

  Piping/detail icing: keep it thick ~ stiff peaks that hold shape.
• Transfer to a baggie with the edge clipped, or a piping bag. Or, you can just spoon the icing down over the cookies for total coverage like I did. Add in food coloring if you like.