brown sugar & spice cookie sandwiches with brown butter icing + {GIVEAWAY!}

I’ve made progress.

Baby cookie steps, if you will.

One of my goals this year was to embrace baking and actually get to know all-purpose flour, baking powder, yeast, sifting, cream of tartar, and those other  more scientific “baking” words. It’s not their fault. I just play better with saute, simmer, melt, and season. My savory homies have kept me full and satisfied.

However, I realized over the past thirty-one years, I have been projecting what it means to be a true baker. You don’t have to bake goods 24/7, sleep with flour under your pillow, or own a bakery. In fact, this year has been fun trying to figure out the hype in the art of baking. I’ve made some fun things (like this guy!) and even though it’s just the icing tip, I am excited to learn more! And of course, eat more CAKE!

Well, when my friend Bridget, author of Baked at 350, released her new cookbook  Decorating Cookies Party I knew I had to get my mitts on it. Not only is Bridget extremely talented, her blog is full of amazing cakes, treats, and the cutest cookies you ever laid your eyes on. Have you seen her Big Bang Theory cookies? Ridic.

Decorating Cookies Party is full of 10 celebratory themes from birthdays to sports to baby showers that will make any party an 11/10 situation. So, what to make? I instantly spotted the brown sugar and spice cookies, and got to thinking. What if I turned these fellows into a sandwich, stuffed them with brown butter icing and gave them away during the holidays? I thought Bridget would totally approve.

I made the dough, rolled it, cut out little circles, plopped them on a baking sheet (fun little factoid from the cookbook, did you know you can freeze cookies for five to ten minutes before putting them in the oven? It totally keeps them from spreading!), and baked them into a buttery bliss.

After letting them cool, I spread some brown butter icing, sandwiched them up, and poured disco dust on top like a true baker. Now, if you want, this cookbook has a zillion ways to jazz up these cookies like pastel sprinkles and food coloring pens. So, if you want a chance to have your very own cookie decorating party, enter for a chance to win your very own copy.

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! CONGRATS TO #21, HEATHER!****

All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me, what’s your favorite cookie?

Giveaway Details: One US resident winner will receive a copy “Decorating Cookies Party” by Bridget Edwards. The winner will be chosen randomly and will have 48 hours to respond. This giveaway will run from Monday November 3rd to Friday November 7th at 9pm MST. Good luck!

Print Recipe

Brown Sugar & Spice Cookie Sandwiches with Brown Butter Icing

Yield: Makes about 9 sandwich cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

for the brown sugar and spice cookies:
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, cold and cut into chunks
1 cup light-brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Gold disco dust, garnish

for the brown sugar icing:
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup cream
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extra

Directions:

for the brown sugar and spice cookies:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and spices. Set this mixture aside. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar until combined and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla mixing until combined. Add the flour mixture in three parts, mixing on low speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. After the last addition, the dough will look very think and crumbly.

Prepare a rolling surface and roll out a portion of the dough. Cut as many shapes from the dough as possible and place them on a prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. If the dough is crumbly or contains bits of unincorporated flour, knead it together until it's cohesive and of a uniform consistency. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Freezing the cookies will help keep them from spreading. Meanwhile, knead the scraps and remaining dough together and continue that rolling, cutting, and freezing process on a second cookie sheet.

After freezing, immediately place the cookies on the center rack of your oven and bake them for 9 to 12 minutes or until they appear done in the center. The baked cookies won't change much color. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled take about a tablespoon of the icing and spread it onto the bottom of the cookie. Top the icing part with the bottom of another cookie to create a sandwich. Dust tops with disco dust.

for the brown sugar icing:
Place brown sugar, butter, and cream in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and stir. Remove saucepan from heat. In a large bowl, add confectioners sugar and vanilla. Pour brown sugar over the confectioners mixture and beat until smooth. You may want to set the icing in the fridge for about 5 minutes to let it thicken.

brown sugar and spice cookies ingredients and directions are from the Decorating Cookies Party by Bridget Edwards

All images and text ©Lauren Grier for The Curious Plate