Sugar and Spice Cookies

I love sugar cookies. They’re one of my favorite kinds to bake, but they are occasionally too plain. I wanted to add a little spice to my cookies, but sometimes gingersnaps are a little too much. So I got to thinking: why couldn’t I modify my favorite sugar cookie recipe and make it into a sugar and spice cookie? I could. So I did.

A little bit of vanilla, some tasty fall spices, and a few minutes in the oven and I had a delicious cookie. Perfectly sweet with a little bit of kick that warms you up on a cold, kind of snowy day.

These cookies are soft. They’re like little puffy clouds of sugar and spice deliciousness. The cream of tartar makes these cookies so soft and puffy, but it does have the downside of having a slightly tinny taste. Fortunately, the cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon completely cover the tin taste that the cream of tartar can cause. And you still get to enjoy puffy cookies!

Sugar and Spice Cookies

Yields 24–30 cookies, depending how much dough you eat. My dad’s Snickerdoodle recipe, modified.

If you like ginger, I would recommend adding 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs together in a large bowl. Beat thoroughly until the mixture is light and puffy. I usually do this in my Kitchen Aid mixer.
3. In a separate bowl, mix all of the remaining dry ingredients together until they are well-blended.
4. Pour the dry mixture into the delicious butter, sugar, and egg mixture until everything is thoroughly mixed.
5. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, but longer if possible. I left mine in for an hour, my dad leaves his in overnight.
6. Remove the dough from the fridge. Using a tablespoon, scoop out generous lumps of dough and roll them into balls.
7. Place the dough balls onto the cookie sheets and slide them into the oven.
8. Bake the cookies for 10–15 minutes. 10 minutes for super soft and barely-cooked insides, 13 minutes for soft fully-cooked insides, 15 minutes for perfectly crispy outside with a still perfectly-soft inside.
9. Remove from the cookie sheet and place them on a cooling rack immediately.
10. Hide them from your boyfriend so he doesn’t eat them all before dinner.