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 further taste! Make them any form you want and have enjoyable adorning together with your alternative of icing.
Name them a compromise cookie. Possibly you wish to enhance Christmas cookies, however you possibly can’t determine between making sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, and solely have the time/power/substances to make only one…
…or perhaps you’re keen on the festive spiced taste of gingerbread cookies however can’t discover molasses the place you reside…
…or perhaps you’re keen on 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 prime them with royal icing, simple glaze icing, or cookie adorning buttercream… you’re by yourself for that one!)
Brown Sugar Lower-Out Cookies Recipe Snapshot
- Texture: These cookies have delicate, thick facilities with barely crisp edges, identical to basic sugar cookies and Christmas sugar cookies.
- Taste: Buttery and candy with comforting brown sugar and comfy spice flavors. In the event you favor a plain brown sugar cookie, you possibly can omit the spices.
- Ease: If in case you have an electrical mixer and a rolling pin, you possibly can positively make these cookies.
- Time: This dough wants to sit back for at the least 1–2 hours, however the time it takes to make the dough and bake the cookies is fairly brief. The way you determine to embellish 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 provides 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 ok if that’s all you could 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 possibly can merely pass over 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 Maintain Brown Sugar Moist
I sometimes 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 a better value level doesn’t assure the sugar will likely be (or keep) completely delicate and moist.
To maintain brown sugar delicate, 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 carried out so for years.
In case your brown sugar turns into exhausting and crumbly, all isn’t misplaced! You’ll be able to soften it up once more by including one thing that absorbs moisture, akin 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 subsequent day, earlier than it turns moldy.
For a extra everlasting resolution, 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 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 substances are mixed, it’s time to roll out and chill the dough.
My #1 Tip for Making Lower-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 if you happen to’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 delicate (proper after making it), after which chill the rolled-out dough. Right here’s my precise 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 straight on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you possibly can simply switch it to the fridge.
- Choose the entire thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it within the fridge. Bear in mind, you could have 2 slabs of dough. In the event you don’t have sufficient room for two baking sheets in your fridge, merely stack the items of rolled-out dough on prime of one another, with parchment paper or silicone baking mat in between.
After the rolled-out dough chills for at the least 1–2 hours, use cookie cutters to chop out shapes. Remember to re-roll the dough scraps as wanted.
The cookies are carried out when the perimeters are set and the middles nonetheless look barely delicate. These cookies maintain their form properly within the oven, and bake up with a pleasant flat floor that’s excellent for adorning.
Now, for everybody’s favourite half!
Adorning Brown Sugar Lower-Out Cookies
For the cookies you see pictured right here, my workforce and I used royal icing to embellish the cookies formed like reindeer, bushes, sweet canes, and gingerbread folks. And we used cookie adorning buttercream to embellish the snowflake cookies.
In the event you’re new to adorning with royal icing, it might assist to observe my video tutorial on learn how to enhance sugar cookies. I’ll stroll you thru 4 easy and approachable strategies which can be an incredible place to start out if you happen to’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 primary piping tip to have in your assortment.
I even have an simple cookie icing glaze you could possibly attempt as an alternative. It takes longer to dry than royal icing, but it surely’s fast and simple to make, it doesn’t require piping baggage/ideas. I exploit squeeze bottles for it! It’s great you probably have younger bakers keen to assist enhance.
And, after all, don’t neglect the sprinkles. In the event 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 Lower-Out Cookies
Prep Time: 2 hours, half-hour
Cook 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 excellent for the vacations or anytime you crave sugar cookies with somewhat further taste. Make them any form you want and have enjoyable adorning together with your alternative of icing. The variety of cookies this recipe yields is dependent upon the dimensions of the cookie cutter you utilize. In the event 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 fully easy and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat on excessive velocity till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the perimeters and backside of the bowl and beat once more as wanted to mix.
- Add the dry substances to the moist substances and blend on low velocity till mixed. Dough will likely be a bit delicate. If the dough appears too delicate and sticky for rolling, add extra flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating nicely after every addition.
- Divide the dough in half. Place every portion onto a bit 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.
- Frivolously mud one of many rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a bit of parchment on prime. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on prime. Cowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at the least 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. Fastidiously 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 slicing till all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Notice: It doesn’t appear to be loads of dough, however you get loads of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Organize cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 11–12 minutes or till evenly browned across the edges. Permit cookies to chill on the baking sheet for five–10 minutes, then switch to a wire rack to chill fully earlier than adorning.
- Beautify the cooled cookies with royal icing, cookie buttercream, or simple cookie icing; prime with sprinkles, if utilizing. Be happy to tint any of those icings with gel meals coloring. For adorning inspiration, my How one can Beautify Sugar Cookies tutorial is useful.
- Get pleasure from cookies straight away or wait till the icing units to serve them. Plain or adorned cookies keep delicate 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 nicely as much as 3 months. Watch for the icing to set fully 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 way 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 convey 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 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 Ideas Set | Assorted Sprinkles (Like These or These)
- Can I Skip the Spices? Sure. If you’d like a plain brown sugar cookie, you possibly can omit the spices with no different adjustments to the recipe.
- Room Temperature: Room temperature butter is crucial. If the dough is just too sticky, your butter might have been too delicate. 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 substances and divide the dough into 3 or 4 sections in step 4.
- Remember to take a look at my prime 5 cookie baking ideas AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.
