Spiced Sugar Cookies
Chewy cookies with warm, spices make these sugar cookies extra delicious! Spiced Sugar Cookies are wonderful any time of the year, but winter is where they shine. These cookies taste like being wrapped up in a warm blanket on a cold winter day while you watch the snow gently fall outside your window. Want to taste that kind of cookie magic? Yeah, I thought so.
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A New Favorite Cookie
This recipe feels nostalgic to me and I don’t know why. The cinnamon and clove remind me of Christmas and have been my family’s go-to cookie recipe at Christmas for a few years. Santa never skips our house on Christmas because he is such a fan of these. You can trust Santa, right?
They sound like a snickerdoodle, right? But they are chewier than a snickerdoodle, so better. They are closer to a sugar cookie but full of warm spice. If a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle had a Christmas baby it would be this cookie. What’s not to love?
These cookies are easy to make and you can’t mess them up. This is a great recipe for kiddos to help out with. My little girl loves to help roll the cookie dough balls in the cinnamon sugar! Spiced Sugar Cookies look beautiful if you want to use a cookie stamp to smash them as well. Wooden cookie stamps can become an obsession with so many beautiful designs, so be careful going down that road.
This recipe requires the dough to be chilled for at least 90 minutes, but that’s a reason why I love it! I always make it a day or two before and keep it in the fridge until I’m ready to roll out balls and bake them. This is another reason why these are awesome if you plan on making several cookie varieties.
Ingredients for Spiced Sugar Cookies
There’s nothing unusual in this recipe, making it a great addition to your Christmas cookie tin lineup, or as a winter treat after a day of sledding (or snuggling).
Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is fine. I’ve never tried this recipe with gluten-free flour so if you do let me know how it goes!
Sugar: Both white sugar and brown sugar are used in this recipe. White sugar is used in the dough itself, as well as in a cinnamon sugar coating. Only a little brown sugar is used but it is vital for the chewy, decadent flavor of the cookie!
Cinnamon: Who doesn’t love cinnamon? It makes you feel warm and cozy!
Clove: If you aren’t familiar with clove, it is almost like a darker, more potent cinnamon. You only need a little to make an impact with a richer flavor.
Nutmeg: Nutmeg is another insanely warm spice! Not hot, but warm, if you aren’t familiar. I use it any time I cook with dark leafy greens, and I love it in desserts and hot drinks. You only need a little or else it can over-power the recipe.
Salt: Just a little bit of salt will offset the sweetness of the Spiced Sugar Cookies and balance the flavors.
Eggs: Use a good farm-fresh egg, if possible. They are always much better for baking besides the health benefits!
Butter: I know many people stay away from salted butter, but I only ever buy salted butter. I honestly can’t tell the difference in taste. Use whatever you’ve got though.
Vanilla: I never bake without a good quality vanilla!
How to Make Spiced Sugar Cookies
Making the cookies is pretty basic. If you have ever made sugar cookies before then this isn’t any different other than maybe smashing them/pressing them with a cookie stamp or your hand or a flat-bottomed mug like I did. If you plan to make these for a holiday or special occasion, shop online for wooden cookie stamps to fit the occasion!
Anyways…
1.) Whip the butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until fluffy, maybe 3 minutes.
2.) Add a large egg and your vanilla and beat for another minute to incorporate.
3.) In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add them slowly to the wet ingredients as it is mixing.
4.) Chill! Some doughs need chiled or they won’t turn out well. Pat this dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it hang out in the fridge. 90 minutes will do, but it can rest in there overnight (or two nights even).
5.) When you’re ready to bake, take the dough out and break chunks of dough off with a spoon. I make probably 1-inch dough balls? I don’t know…I don’t own a cookie dough scooper because I’m a heathen. Roll the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and set them on a parchment-lined or lightly greased cookie sheet cookie sheet. Use a cookie stamp, your hand, or a flat-bottomed mug or bowl and gently press/smash the doughball. If you are using a cookie stamp, You can lightly flour the stamp if the dough starts to stick to it. The flour should bake off from the cookie if any flour transfers over to the cookie from the stamp.
6.) Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE!!! These are tricky little cookies because the dough is brown so you can’t tell when the cookie is “browning” in the oven. Trust me, just take them out between 10-12 minutes and they will be perfect once they have cooled!
7.) Cool on a wire cookie rack and enjoy! These cookies remain chewy and fresh even after a couple of days so they are great to include in a cookie tin gift!
Mrs. Claus Mode: Engaged
It doesn’t matter if it is Christmas or Christmas in July, just get in there and make some Spiced Sugar Cookies! Let me know how it goes!
Enjoy!
Looking for another awesome dessert, that would also pair well with these warm cookies, I might add 🙂 My Classic Vanilla Frozen Custard is the ticket to happiness.
Spiced Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All-purpose flour
- 1 Cup White sugar
- 1 Tbsp Brown sugar light or dark brown sugar works
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Clove
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg freshly grated nutmeg!
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 Large Egg
- 8 Tbsp Butter at room temperature
Cinnamon-sugar
- 2 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup White Sugar
Instructions
- In a mixer on high speed, mix butter and both white and brown sugars until fluffy. 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and whip in the mixer until just combined.
- Combine the flour and spices in a separate bowl and slowly incorporate into the wet ingredients of the mixer at a low speed until combined.
- Form the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 90 minutes, but you can chill it overnight too!
- When ready to bake, form the dough into little dough balls and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the cookie balls on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Use a cookie stamp or your hand to gently press/smash them.
- Bake at 375 for no more than 10-12 minutes! They might seem soft when you pull them out but they will be perfectly chewy once cooled!
