Like a cross between basic sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, these brown sugar cut-out cookies are made with butter, darkish brown sugar, and a contact of cozy spices. Excellent for the vacations or anytime you crave sugar cookies with somewhat additional taste! Make them any form you want and have enjoyable adorning together with your alternative of icing.
Name them a compromise cookie. Perhaps you need to adorn Christmas cookies, however you’ll be able to’t resolve between making sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, and solely have the time/vitality/components to make only one…
…or possibly you like the festive spiced taste of gingerbread cookies however can’t discover molasses the place you reside…
…or possibly you like sugar cookies, however crave one thing with somewhat extra taste…
Meet the answer that’s positive to please everybody: brown sugar cut-out cookies.
(Now, deciding whether or not to high them with royal icing, simple glaze icing, or cookie adorning buttercream… you’re by yourself for that one!)
Brown Sugar Reduce-Out Cookies Recipe Snapshot
- Texture: These cookies have smooth, thick facilities with barely crisp edges, similar to basic sugar cookies and Christmas sugar cookies.
- Taste: Buttery and candy with comforting brown sugar and comfortable spice flavors. When you favor a plain brown sugar cookie, you’ll be able to omit the spices.
- Ease: You probably have an electrical mixer and a rolling pin, you’ll be able to positively make these cookies.
- Time: This dough wants to relax for not less than 1–2 hours, however the time it takes to make the dough and bake the cookies is fairly brief. The way you resolve to brighten the cookies will account for including roughly time.
Key Components You Want
- Brown Sugar: Like these pecan sugar cookies, utilizing all brown sugar instead of white sugar offers these cookies a deeper, extra complicated taste. I like to recommend darkish brown sugar right here for probably the most taste, however mild brown sugar is okay if that’s all you may have.
- Spice: Cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg are the flavour energy gamers right here. If you wish to preserve these cookies as plain brown sugar cookies, you’ll be able to merely omit the spices.
- Every thing Good: You additionally want flour, baking powder, butter, an egg, salt, and vanilla extract. Cookie baking fundamentals!
Right here’s the lineup:
The right way to Maintain Brown Sugar Moist
I sometimes use Domino model sugar. I’m not sponsored by or working with the model—I similar to the standard of their merchandise for baking! However even shopping for a name-brand brown sugar at the next worth level doesn’t assure the sugar can be (or keep) completely smooth and moist.
To maintain brown sugar smooth, retailer it in an hermetic container in a cool, dry place, like a pantry, drawer, or cabinet. I retailer my flours and sugars in these containers, and have finished so for years.
In case your brown sugar turns into laborious and crumbly, all is just not misplaced! You’ll be able to soften it up once more by including one thing that absorbs moisture, equivalent to a slice of bread or a marshmallow, to the container and letting it sit in a single day. Simply bear in mind to take away the (now-stale) bread the following day, earlier than it turns moldy.
For a extra everlasting answer, use a terracotta sugar saver. Terracotta absorbs moisture (and doesn’t go dangerous), and you should purchase a brown sugar-saver bear or disc that’s particularly designed for this function. You’ll be able to even purchase brown sugar storage containers that embrace a terracotta piece proper within the lid, like this one. They’re actually useful.
This brown sugar cookie dough comes collectively shortly with an electrical mixer. As soon as all of your components are mixed, it’s time to roll out and chill the dough.
My #1 Tip for Making Reduce-Out Cookies
Roll the dough out earlier than chilling. I’ll clarify why that is so profitable. Divide the dough in half, roll out every portion, after which chill:
Most sugar cookie doughs require chilling so the cookies maintain their cookie cutter form within the oven. However should you’ve ever tried rolling out chilled sugar cookie dough, chances are you’ll bear in mind how tough it’s to flatten chilly, stiff dough. So, roll out the dough whereas it’s nonetheless smooth (proper after making it), after which chill the rolled-out dough. Right here’s my actual methodology, and it really works for chocolate sugar cookies, too:
- Divide the dough in half as a result of smaller sections are simpler to roll out.
- Roll out the cookie dough instantly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you’ll be able to simply switch it to the fridge.
- Choose the entire thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it within the fridge. Keep in mind, you may have 2 slabs of dough. When you don’t have sufficient room for two baking sheets in your fridge, merely stack the items of rolled-out dough on high of one another, with parchment paper or silicone baking mat in between.
After the rolled-out dough chills for not less than 1–2 hours, use cookie cutters to chop out shapes. Make sure to re-roll the dough scraps as wanted.
The cookies are finished when the sides are set and the middles nonetheless look barely smooth. These cookies maintain their form properly within the oven, and bake up with a pleasant flat floor that’s good for adorning.
Now, for everybody’s favourite half!
Adorning Brown Sugar Reduce-Out Cookies
For the cookies you see pictured right here, my group and I used royal icing to brighten the cookies formed like reindeer, timber, sweet canes, and gingerbread individuals. And we used cookie adorning buttercream to brighten the snowflake cookies.
When you’re new to adorning with royal icing, it might assist to look at my video tutorial on learn how to adorn sugar cookies. I’ll stroll you thru 4 easy and approachable strategies which might be an important place to begin should you’re new to cookie adorning. For the pictured cookies, I used Wilton piping tip #4 for outlining and flooding with icing. It is a fantastic primary piping tip to have in your assortment.
I even have an simple cookie icing glaze you possibly can strive as an alternative. It takes longer to dry than royal icing, however it’s fast and simple to make, it doesn’t require piping luggage/ideas. I exploit squeeze bottles for it! It’s fantastic you probably have younger bakers keen to assist adorn.
And, after all, don’t neglect the sprinkles. When you plan to dedicate an entire day to cookie-baking, right here’s how The right way to Host a Cookie Adorning Day information. 😉
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is a part of my annual cookie countdown referred to as Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the largest, most scrumptious occasion of the 12 months! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza web page together with:
Brown Sugar Reduce-Out Cookies
Prep Time: 2 hours, half-hour
Cook dinner Time: 12 minutes
Complete Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: 24 3-inch cookies
Class: Cookies
Technique: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
These brown sugar cut-out cookies are good for the vacations or anytime you crave sugar cookies with somewhat additional taste. Make them any form you want and have enjoyable adorning together with your alternative of icing. The variety of cookies this recipe yields will depend on the scale of the cookie cutter you utilize. When you’d prefer to make dozens of cookies for a big crowd, double the recipe.
Directions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and salt collectively in a medium bowl. Put aside.
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar collectively on excessive velocity till utterly clean and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat on excessive velocity till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl and beat once more as wanted to mix.
- Add the dry components to the moist components and blend on low velocity till mixed. Dough can be a bit smooth. If the dough appears too smooth and sticky for rolling, add extra flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating properly after every addition.
- Divide the dough in half. Place every portion onto a chunk of flippantly floured parchment paper or a flippantly floured silicone baking mat. With a flippantly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use extra flour if the dough appears too sticky. The rolled-out dough could be any form, so long as it’s evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Flippantly mud one of many rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a chunk of parchment on high. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on high. Cowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for not less than 1–2 hours, or as much as 2 days.
- As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Rigorously take away the highest dough piece from the fridge. If it’s sticking to the underside, run your hand beneath it to assist take away it. Utilizing a cookie cutter, minimize the dough into shapes. Re-roll the dough scraps and proceed reducing till all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Be aware: It doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of dough, however you get a whole lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Prepare cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 11–12 minutes or till flippantly browned across the edges. Enable cookies to chill on the baking sheet for five–10 minutes, then switch to a wire rack to chill utterly earlier than adorning.
- Adorn the cooled cookies with royal icing, cookie buttercream, or simple cookie icing; high with sprinkles, if utilizing. Be happy to tint any of those icings with gel meals coloring. For adorning inspiration, my The right way to Adorn Sugar Cookies tutorial is useful.
- Get pleasure from cookies straight away or wait till the icing units to serve them. Plain or embellished cookies keep smooth for about 5 days when coated tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cowl and refrigerate for as much as 10 days. If embellished with cookie buttercream, cowl and retailer embellished cookies at room temperature for 1 day, or within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Directions: Plain or embellished sugar cookies freeze properly as much as 3 months. Watch for the icing to set utterly earlier than layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. You too can freeze the cookie dough for as much as 3 months earlier than rolling it out. Put together the dough by means of step 3, divide in half, flatten each halves right into a disc as we do with pie crust, wrap every in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the discs within the fridge, then deliver to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill rolled-out dough within the fridge for 45 minutes–1 hour earlier than reducing into shapes and baking. See this publish on learn how to freeze cookie dough for a video tutorial.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Picket Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin | Vacation Cookie Cutter Set | Cooling Rack | Piping Baggage (Disposable or Reusable) | Couplers | Piping Suggestions Set | Assorted Sprinkles (Like These or These)
- Can I Skip the Spices? Sure. If you need a plain brown sugar cookie, you’ll be able to omit the spices with no different adjustments to the recipe.
- Room Temperature: Room temperature butter is crucial. If the dough is simply too sticky, your butter could have been too smooth. Room temperature butter is definitely cool to the contact. Room temperature egg is most popular so it’s shortly and evenly blended into the cookie dough.
- Icing: Use royal icing, simple cookie icing, or cookie adorning buttercream. See publish above to learn concerning the variations.
- Can I Double the Recipe? Sure. Double the entire components and divide the dough into 3 or 4 sections in step 4.
- Make sure to take a look at my high 5 cookie baking ideas AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.
