hand painted cookies

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 scant cup canned puréed pumpkin

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Mix with a whisk.

2. In the bowl of stand mixer (or using a hand-held one), cream the butter on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and combine well, then add the granulated sugar and mix until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and then add the vanilla and the pumpkin and combine well.

3. Swap out the wire whisk attach and put in the flat beater. In three batches, add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed. If using a hand-held, you might want to mix in the dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. You don’t want to overmix during this stage. A dough will form. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

(FYI: THIS DOUGH IS VERY STICKY. It sort of reminds me of bread dough)

4. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray a large cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. On a floured surface, roll the dough out flat until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using the cookie cutters of your choice, cut out and carefully transfer dough shapes to prepared cookie sheet. Roll up remaining dough into a ball, wrap it back up and put it back in the refrigerator. If using sprinkles, or crystallized sugar, sprinkle onto the raw cookies and press it in lightly with your finger. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

5. After removing from the oven, let them cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer them to a rack or a plate to cool completely. Add icing if you so desire!

This is the icing recipe I used. I found it on allrecipes.com, I did not have a good icing recipe of my own for sugar cookies since I do not make them very often.  The original ingredients did not seem to work. The icing did not come out smooth like it said it would. After some modifications, I was able to dip the cookies in the mixture. I added a little extra milk and corn syrup and it worked great! I painted the icing on with a paint brush with a main color. I added a dab of another icing color in the middle and used a toothpick to make the swirly design. 

Sugar Cookie Icing