Spiced Springtime Sugar Cookies Recipes

SPICED THANKSGIVING SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Put the sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times to finely grind. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pulse just to combine.
• Add the butter and pulse until all of the butter is incorporated into the flour and the mixture is sandy. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the mixture comes together in big clumps.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead a few times to form a ball. Divide the dough in half, pat into 2 discs about 1/4-inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes to make rolling easier. Put 1 disc of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out with desired cookie cutters and arrange on one of the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gently gather any scraps into a ball and press into another disc. Chill the disc until firm enough to roll and cut out as many cookies as possible.
• For the icing: Sift the meringue powder and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl and add 6 tablespoons water. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high until the mixture is glossy and soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Add food coloring if using or divide into several batches and color with different shades of food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired. The cookies can be store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

EASY SPICED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
• Beat in the vanilla and egg scraping down the bowl after mixing in.
• Sift together the dry ingredients then add to the butter mixture. Mix on medium speed until incorporated.
• Divide the dough into two then roll each piece out between two sheets of parchment paper.
• Using a cookie cutter, cut out cookies then place on cookie sheets.
• Place the cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350°F.
• Place the baking sheets into the oven and allow to bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
• While the cookies are baking, stir together the sugar and spices and set aside.
• Remove from the oven and allow to chill for 10 minutes before coating in the sugar and transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

SPICED HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight until firm.
• 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface* to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with favorite cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
• 3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• 4. For the Icing, mix all ingredients except food colors. (Stir in additional milk to thin icing or more confectioners' sugar to thicken, if needed). Place small amount of icing into small shallow bowls, using one bowl for each color desired. Stir drops of food color into icing until desired shade is reached.
• 5. To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil-covered baking sheet to dry. (The foil-covered baking sheet will catch drips.) To add decorative details to cookies, spoon tinted icing into resealable plastic bag. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner. Squeeze icing through hole in plastic bag to decorate cookies. If desired, Colored Sugar may be sprinkled onto freshly iced cookies.
• For the variations below, omit the cinnamon and the nutmeg. Use the following extract in place of the vanilla extract in the cookies:
• Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Almond Extract.
• Orange Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract.
• Lemon Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract.

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.

SPICED SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• To make the cookies, first combine the flour, salt, baking powder, ground ginger and cinnamon. Whisk until incorporated, and set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Next, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Don't worry if the mixture clumps slightly, it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.
• Gradually add in the flour mixture and switch to a rubber spatula if necessary. The mixture will be thick and may be a little sticky. Scoop the cookie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, covering it well. Shape the dough into a small disk. This ensures that a skin does not form on the dough, and it remains smooth.
• Chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight, or until it is firm to the touch. The longer the dough chills, the more pronounced the spice flavors will be. When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. If the dough has been chilling for several hours, leave it for around 10 minutes to soften slightly, as it will be quite firm.
• Dust a work surface and the dough with flour and roll to a ½ cm or ¼ inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough as you like. Fear not if you don't have cookie cutters: you can do several things. You could roll the dough into a log instead of a disk when refrigerating, then slice the log into ½ cm or ¼ inch slices. You could also roll the dough into 1 tablespoon sized balls, roll the balls in granulated sugar, then place onto the cookie sheet and press down to form a disk. Alternatively, you can use the rim of a glass to cut out shapes. Gather the scraps, then roll out the cookie dough again, adding a touch more flour when necessary to prevent sticking.
• Place the cut-outs onto the parchment-lined baking tray and bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden brown (11 minutes will give you a slightly softer cookie, 13 minutes will give you a slightly crunchier cookie). Let the cookies cool for several minutes on the tray, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them completely before icing.
• To make the icing, use a wooden spoon to combine the butter and confectioners' sugar as best you can. It will be relatively dry. At this stage, add the vanilla, followed by the milk or water a little at a time, until you obtain your desired consistency. If the icing ends up being too thin, add some more sugar. If it's too thick, add more milk. If you'd like, you can color the icing with your food coloring of choice.
• Spread the icing onto the cookies, using a butter knife or using a piping bag with the end snipped off just slightly, and top with sprinkles. Wait until the icing has hardened (this takes around an hour, or less if refrigerated) before stacking or serving. The icing makes enough for the cookies specified in the recipe, but if you'd like to have multiple colors, you might like to double the icing recipe so that there is enough per color.
• Storing: These cookies last for around a week once frosted, and slightly longer unfrosted. The dough, unbaked, freezes well too!

EASTER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg yolk and extracts. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 8-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Decorate as desired.