Christmas Spice Cookies are as good a reason as any to bring up a subject we all feel now and then. Holiday dread.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the other reasons we celebrate this time of year. But there’s one little part of the holiday that gets me a little down. Christmas Cookies. Just the phrase Christmas Cookies brings up visions of sugar plum fairies ransacking my kitchen– leaving a sticky red and green sugar residue across everything.
Which I suppose means that it’s not the holiday mayhem or even the Christmas Cookies themselves that I dread. It’s the cookie decorating. It can be so tedious and fussy. That’s where these Christmas Spice Cookies come in. They’re every bit as festive as any cookie dribbled in sugary food dye, but they’re a breeze to make.
It’s a recipe I spiced up from a classic sugar cookie recipe. The standard holiday version is rolled and cut out with cookie cutters. That’s the classic way to go. But I don’t see the point of all that muss and fuss. Because the main reason cookie cutters were invented was to open the door to cookie decorating. You know what cookie decorating leads to don’t you? That’s right, way too much sugar, messy food dyes, sticky counters and neat little piles of cookies tied up in red and green ribbons. I don’t think so. Not my style.
Because if I want a Christmas Spice Cookie– I want it soon. So my extra buttery version gets made in advance. The dough is kept in the fridge or freezer until the cookie monster strikes. Then in true slice and bake style I have fresh from the oven cookies in 7 or 8 minutes. Any time, any day… Even Christmas Day.
However I realize it is the holidays and I’m not immune to a little Christmas cheer, so I also rolled the edges of these Christmas Spice Cookies in turbinado (raw) sugar. Because even if I don’t much like cookie decorations, a little bling never hurt no cookie. GREG
Ingredients
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ounce crystallized ginger (finely chopped)
- 1 cup ubsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon whole milk
- ½ cup turbinado sugar
Directions
In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ground ginger, and salt. Stir in crystallized ginger; set aside.
Place butter and granulated sugar in bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, and beat until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Divide the dough in half, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, un-wrap the dough and roll it by hand into a log about 1‑inch in diameter. Repeat with the second pack of dough. If dough has warmed during rolling, return it to the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. The dough may even be frozen at this point and thawed when ready to bake.
Sprinkle a work surface with half of the turbinado sugar. Roll one of the logs through the pile coating the entire log with as much of the sugar as will adhere. Repeat with the remaining sugar and the second log. Slice each log crosswise into generous ⅓‑inch thick rounds. Place them at least 1‑inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 8 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week
anything “extra buttery” is my kind of dessert, and I love this blend of spices. xo
Thanks for sharing this Awesome tips! Can’t wait to make mine now!
I love the spices you used for your cookies. Happy Holidays!
And everything nice. Hey honey, a little bling never hurt nobody! These look wonderful. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Ginger and spice and everything nice. That’s you. Merry Christmas.
Slice and bake cookies are always super tasty, but I love the spice in these! They look awesome!
This is definitely the kind of non fussy baking I love. Love icebox cookies, perfect.
Happy Holidays.
Slice and bake is the stuff! And the roll out and decorate type usually are not as tasty, in my opinion…I am living the thought of the crystallized ginger in a cookie.
I love the idea of crystallized ginger in your sugar cookies. A yummy surprise in the first bite! Happy Holidays.
I love slice and bake cookies and how you treat the dough, just hanging out in the fridge waiting for you, I treat all my cookie dough like that, but it’s usually pre-rolled in balls. Then I can just bake off how many ever I need. And then there’s the freezer dough balls. Won’t even admit to how much is in there. LOL
I love the buttery-ness. I can just see it, Greg! and the SPICE. Yes. Regular sugar cookies are too boring! pinned
Totally agree — I did an icebox cookie post Friday and they were actually good — gave ’em all to the local firefighters but “slice and bake” is the way to go — folks LOVE fresh-baked cookies. Happy holidaze, my friend.
I’m a big fan of the “slice and bake” style of cookie. Anything that requires a cookie cutter or piping bag is a bit too fussy for me. Love the combination of ginger and spice here — especially the crystallized ginger. I’m sure it adds an intriguing burn 😉