Cardamom-Brown Butter Gingerbread Cookies

230g unsalted butter

159g brown sugar, packed

255g molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

447g All-Purpose Flour

Royal Icing, for decorating

1. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is cooking evenly. As the butter melts, it will begin to foam. The color will progress from lemony-yellow to golden-tan to, finally, a toasty-brown. Once you smell that nutty aroma, and the butter is the color of graham cracker crumbs, take the pan off the heat and transfer the browned butter into a heatproof bowl.
2. In a saucepan set over low heat, or in the microwave, melt butter, then stir in the brown sugar, molasses, salt, and spices. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, and beat in the egg.
3. Whisk the baking powder and soda into the flour, and then stir these dry ingredients into the molasses mixture. The dough will be very soft and sticky, but don't be tempted to add more flour; it'll firm up once it's chilled. Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a thick rectangle. Wrap well, and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. The dough may be sticky and hard to roll if not thoroughly chilled, so make sure it's cold before continuing.
4. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Get out several baking sheets; there's no need to grease them, though lining with parchment saves effort on cleanup. Cut out shapes with a floured cookie cutter, cutting them as close to one another as possible to minimize waste.
5. Once the dough has chilled, take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough 1/4" thick. Flour both the top and bottom of the dough if it starts to stick. Alternatively, place the dough on parchment, and put a sheet of plastic wrap over it as you roll, pulling the plastic to eliminate wrinkles as necessary when rolling; this will keep dough from sticking without the need for additional flour.
6. Transfer the cookies to ungreased cookie sheets (or, if you've rolled right onto the parchment, remove the dough scraps between the cookies). Bake the cookies just until they're slightly brown around the edges 8 to 12 minutes, or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for several minutes, or until they're set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.