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 a bit additional taste! Make them any form you want and have enjoyable adorning along with your alternative of icing.
Name them a compromise cookie. Possibly you wish to adorn Christmas cookies, however you may’t determine between making sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, and solely have the time/power/elements 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 a bit 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 Minimize-Out Cookies Recipe Snapshot
- Texture: These cookies have tender, thick facilities with barely crisp edges, identical to basic sugar cookies and Christmas sugar cookies.
- Taste: Buttery and candy with comforting brown sugar and comfortable spice flavors. Should you choose a plain brown sugar cookie, you may omit the spices.
- Ease: You probably have an electrical mixer and a rolling pin, you may undoubtedly make these cookies.
- Time: This dough wants to relax for no less than 1–2 hours, however the time it takes to make the dough and bake the cookies is fairly quick. The way you determine to embellish the cookies will account for including kind of time.
Key Elements You Want
- Brown Sugar: Like these pecan sugar cookies, utilizing all brown sugar rather than white sugar provides these cookies a deeper, extra advanced taste. I like to recommend darkish brown sugar right here for essentially the most taste, however mild brown sugar is ok if that’s all you’ve.
- Spice: Cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg are the flavour energy gamers right here. If you wish to maintain these cookies as plain brown sugar cookies, you may merely omit the spices.
- Every part Good: You additionally want flour, baking powder, butter, an egg, salt, and vanilla extract. Cookie baking fundamentals!
Right here’s the lineup:
How one can Preserve Brown Sugar Moist
I usually use Domino model sugar. I’m not sponsored by or working with the model—I identical to the standard of their merchandise for baking! However even shopping for a name-brand brown sugar at the next value level doesn’t assure the sugar shall be (or keep) completely tender and moist.
To maintain brown sugar tender, 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 completed so for years.
In case your brown sugar turns into arduous and crumbly, all just isn’t 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 keep 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 unhealthy), and you should buy 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 embody 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 elements are mixed, it’s time to roll out and chill the dough.
My #1 Tip for Making Minimize-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 when you’ve ever tried rolling out chilled sugar cookie dough, chances are you’ll keep in mind how troublesome it’s to flatten chilly, stiff dough. So, roll out the dough whereas it’s nonetheless tender (proper after making it), after which chill the rolled-out dough. Right here’s my actual technique, 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 immediately on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you may simply switch it to the fridge.
- Decide the entire thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it within the fridge. Bear in mind, you’ve 2 slabs of dough. Should 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 no 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 completed when the sides are set and the middles nonetheless look barely tender. 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 Minimize-Out Cookies
For the cookies you see pictured right here, my crew and I used royal icing to embellish the cookies formed like reindeer, bushes, sweet canes, and gingerbread individuals. And we used cookie adorning buttercream to embellish the snowflake cookies.
Should you’re new to adorning with royal icing, it might assist to observe my video tutorial on the best way to adorn sugar cookies. I’ll stroll you thru 4 easy and approachable strategies which can be an important place to start out when 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 great fundamental piping tip to have in your assortment.
I even have an simple cookie icing glaze you can attempt as an alternative. It takes longer to dry than royal icing, however it’s fast and straightforward to make, it doesn’t require piping baggage/ideas. I take advantage of squeeze bottles for it! It’s great when you have younger bakers keen to assist adorn.
And, after all, don’t overlook the sprinkles. Should you plan to dedicate a complete day to cookie-baking, right here’s how How one can Host a Cookie Adorning Day information. 😉
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is a part of my annual cookie countdown known as Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the most important, most scrumptious occasion of the yr! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza web page together with:
Brown Sugar Minimize-Out Cookies
Prep Time: 2 hours, half-hour
Prepare dinner Time: 12 minutes
Whole Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: 24 3-inch cookies
Class: Cookies
Methodology: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
These brown sugar cut-out cookies are good for the vacations or anytime you crave sugar cookies with a bit additional taste. Make them any form you want and have enjoyable adorning along with your alternative of icing. The variety of cookies this recipe yields is determined by the dimensions of the cookie cutter you utilize. Should you’d wish 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 pace till utterly clean and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat on excessive pace 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 elements to the moist elements and blend on low pace till mixed. Dough shall be a bit tender. If the dough appears too tender 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 evenly floured parchment paper or a evenly floured silicone baking mat. With a evenly 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 might 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 no less than 1–2 hours, or as much as 2 days.
- As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line massive 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, reduce the dough into shapes. Re-roll the dough scraps and proceed slicing till all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Word: It doesn’t appear to be a variety of dough, however you get a variety of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Prepare cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 11–12 minutes or till evenly 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.
- Enhance the cooled cookies with royal icing, cookie buttercream, or simple cookie icing; high with sprinkles, if utilizing. Be at liberty to tint any of those icings with gel meals coloring. For adorning inspiration, my How one can Enhance Sugar Cookies tutorial is useful.
- Take pleasure in cookies immediately or wait till the icing units to serve them. Plain or adorned cookies keep tender for about 5 days when coated tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cowl and refrigerate for as much as 10 days. If adorned with cookie buttercream, cowl and retailer adorned cookies at room temperature for 1 day, or within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Directions: Plain or adorned sugar cookies freeze properly as much as 3 months. Anticipate 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 can even 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 carry 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 slicing into shapes and baking. See this put up on the best way 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 Luggage (Disposable or Reusable) | Couplers | Piping Ideas Set | Assorted Sprinkles (Like These or These)
- Can I Skip the Spices? Sure. If you’d like a plain brown sugar cookie, you may omit the spices with no different modifications to the recipe.
- Room Temperature: Room temperature butter is crucial. If the dough is just too sticky, your butter might have been too tender. Room temperature butter is definitely cool to the contact. Room temperature egg is most well-liked so it’s shortly and evenly combined into the cookie dough.
- Icing: Use royal icing, simple cookie icing, or cookie adorning buttercream. See put up above to learn concerning the variations.
- Can I Double the Recipe? Sure. Double the entire elements 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.