Really Nice Spice Cookies Recipes

SUGAR AND SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix the flour, the baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together in a bowl.
• Cream the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth; beat the egg and vanilla extract into the butter mixture. Add the flour mixture in small amount to the butter mixture, beating each addition until blended. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheets.
• Roll the dough out on a floured work surface with a rolling pin to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch cookie cutters. Arrange the cut cookies onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges begin to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

CINNAMON, SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees F).
• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and 2 cups sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and ginger; stir into the sugar mixture until well blended. Mix in cinnamon chips. Dough will be stiff. Roll into walnut sized balls and roll each ball in remaining sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tops are crackled. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Soak the currants in the brandy for 10 minutes. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, and dark chocolate. Mix well with a whisk.
• Put the butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon and orange zest in a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment and beat to combine but not aerate much, about 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly add the egg and mix for about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the currants and brandy. Mix until everything comes together.
• Gently knead the dough in the bowl with your hands until it comes together and is uniform. Divide the dough into 1 3/4-oz / 50g chunks and shape each chunk into a perfectly round ball. Place the balls on 1 or 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 3/4 inch / 2 cm apart, and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top firms up but the center is still slightly soft. Remove from the oven. Once the cookies are out of the oven, allow to cool for only 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. While the cookies are still warm, whisk together the glaze ingredients until a thin and smooth icing forms. Pour 1 tablespoon of the glaze over each biscuit, leaving it to drip and coat the biscuit with a very thin, almost transparent film. Finish each with 3 pieces of candied peel placed at the center. Leave to set and serve, or store in an airtight container for a day or two.

SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.
• Combine sugar, butter, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Combine flour, currants, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Stir into the butter mixture alternately with tablespoons of milk until the flour is fully incorporated.
• Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Press down lightly with a fork. Dip fork in sugar or water if it sticks.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let stand on the baking sheets for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

SCREAMING SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with a handheld mixer until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the sugars, and continue beating until light, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating until smooth. Gradually add the dry ingredients while mixing slowly to make a smooth dough. Divide dough in half and press each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Transfer 1 disk of dough to a floured work surface and roll about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into cookies with a pinched tuna can (see below). Transfer cookies with an offset spatula to a nonstick or silicon lined baking sheet.
• Cut out eyes and a mouth with a pastry tip, fat straw, or a knife. Press the lollipop sticks into the narrow end of each cookie, if using. Repeat with remaining dough. Press excess dough together, roll and cut into cookies. Refrigerate cookies for at least 30 minutes.
• Evenly space the racks in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Put the candies in a small plastic bag and hit with a rolling pin to break into little pieces.
• Bake the cookies just until they are set, about 20 minutes. Remove baking sheets from the oven and carefully sprinkle the broken candies into the eyes and mouth of the cookies. Continue to cook until the candy liquefies, about 3 minutes more. Cool cookies on pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool cookies on a rack.
• For the icing: Whisk the water, egg white powder and orange extract in a medium bowl until foamy but smooth. Gradually whisk in the confectioners' sugar to make a smooth icing. Spread a layer of icing over the entire surface of the cookies with the back of a teaspoon. Let rest until the icing sets, about 30 minutes. Serve or store in a covered container for up to 3 days.

BROWNED BUTTER SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Place butter in a small heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, 5-7 minutes; cool slightly., Beat brown sugar and browned butter in a large bowl until blended. Beat in egg, then rum. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg; gradually add to brown sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes., Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° until bottoms are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

SPICE ROLL-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice, nutmeg, mustard, and cloves into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in another large bowl at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat 1 minute. Add molasses; beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Form each half into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic; chill until firm, at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to 1/8-inch thickness for smaller (2-inch) cookies and 1/4-inch thickness for larger (3- to 4-inch) cookies. Using decorative cookie cutters, cut out cookies and transfer to prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. If cookies become too soft to transfer to baking sheets, place in freezer on waxed paper for 5 minutes before continuing. Gather scraps, roll out dough, and cut more cookies, repeating until all dough is used. If not icing cookies, decorate with sprinkles or other sugar toppings, if desired. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are firm on top and slightly darker around edges, about 8 minutes for smaller cookies and up to 12 minutes for larger cookies. Cool completely on rack. Line baking sheets with fresh parchment as needed. Decorate cookies with Royal Icing, then sprinkles or other sugar toppings, if desired. Let stand until icing sets. DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 4 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight containers at room temperature.