Autumn Spice Decorated Sugar Cookies

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Autumn Spice Sugar Cookies are amazing! I tweaked my regular sugar cookie recipe to feature the best, in my opionion, fall flavours. Almost like a ginger snap but more pumpkin spice in flavour. You have to add them to your fall baking!

I am not a professional cookie decorator. Everything that I use, you either have in your own kitchen or can easily get without spending too much.

If you follow this recipe for royal icing you need meringue powder. (I get mine from Michaels.) If you cannot find it, you can find recipes for royal icing using egg whites. For this recipe, I do not flavour my icing. The cookies are so full of flavour from all the spices and molasses. I think a flavoured icing as well would be, a little bit, overkill. The royal icing adds the sweetness to make the cookies a really special treat. Just like whipping cream on your pumpkin pie!

Alternatives for Autumn Spice Sugar Cookies

• The flavour of the cookies makes them a great stand-alone cookie, without anything added to them at all!
• Make a simple buttercream and turn the cookies into sandwich cookies.
• Mixing a small bowl of cinnamon sugar and dust one side of the cookies before baking them.
• Using the cookie dough as a pie crust. Make an autumn themed pie. I’m thinking pumpkin or apple. I am planning on making this very soon! Keep an eye out for that recipe!
• Similarily, using the dough in your favourite autumn tart recipe.
• Make a sugar cookie crust for the bottom of a pumpkin cheesecake.

Royal Icing

Royal Icing is the type of icing that sets hard on top of a cookie. That is why it is my go-to icing for decorating sugar cookies. It is relatively simple to make. You will need two different consistencies.

The stiffer consistency is for the border, it gives you defined lines and keeps the flood icing from spilling out all over the place.

The next consistency is the flood icing. That is the runnier icing, it looks like liquid honey. This is what you are going to use most.

To achieve this, I make a big batch of royal icing, to the first piping consistency, for the borders. I split it up into bowls. (The amount I need for colours I will be mixing). I tint all of my icing with food colouring.

Place a small amount of each colour in piping bags, (one colour per bag). Then I add a small amount of water to the bowl of icing that remains. I mix, and thin it down, until I have the consistency I need for the flood. Then, I bag all off my flood icing. To seal the bags, I either tie a knot or use a chip clip.

The proper consistency is the trickiest part of making royal icing, go slow when adding your water, a little goes a long way!

Ingredients for Autumn Spice Sugar Cookies

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom

1 cup butter, softened

1 ¾ cups sugar

1/4 cup fancy molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Method for Autumn Spice Sugar Cookies

1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and the spices. Stir to combine.
2. In the bowl of the standmixer, with the paddle attachment, or a bowl by hand, cream the butter and sugar until light.
3. Add the molasses, mix.
4. Add the vanilla, mix.
5. One at a time, add the eggs. Beat after each addition.
6. Mix in the dry ingredients, until they just come together. If they are too dry, add a little milk. If they seem to wet, add more flour.
7. Separate into two discs, cover with cling-film, and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours or over night.

After chilling the autumn spice sugar cookie dough

1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out and cut with cookie cutters.
2. Contiue to put the dough back together, roll, and cut, until all of the dough is used up.
3. Place the cut out dough onto lined cookie sheets. Place in the freezer for 30 mins.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Bake the cookies for 9-12 mins.
6. Allow the cookies to cool. Then decorate!

Ingredients for Royal Icing

2 lbs. of icing sugar. (Recipes I have found say it is exactly one bag in American packaging. If you are not from America, like me, and your bag is measured in Kg, it will be slightly less than one bag. I usually just hold back about ¾ of a cup, but you can use a scale if you would like to be precise.)

5 Tablespoons meringue powder.

2/3 cup warm water. (You may need more or less to reach the proper consistency)

Method

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, add the sugar and the meringue powder.
2. Mix to combine and break up any lumps.
3. Add the water and mix on low until the icing starts to form.
4. Turn the beater up to medium and beat for 4-5 mins, or until light and fluffy and holds a stiff peak. (You may need to add more water to reach the consistency for the piping consistency, just go a little at a time)
5. Keep your icing sealed, either with cling-film or a damp cloth, when not in use or it will start to dry and set.