Beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg, extract and sour cream; beat until well blended.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, ginger, cloves and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in two additions; beat until incorporated.
Combine cranberries and orange peel in a small bowl; set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture for topping. Stir remaining cranberries and orange peel into dough. Cover and refrigerate at least 45 minutes.
Form chilled dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until cookies are light golden around edges. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets 1 minute then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For the frosting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, cooking until the butter bubbles, foams and turns amber in color and smells nutty. Remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl. Let butter cool 5 minutes. Stir in confectioner’s sugar. Add 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla; beat until smooth, adding more milk if necessary for a soft frosting.
Spread frosting over cookies and top each with a pinch of reserved cranberry/orange peel mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
