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Cinnamon spiced sugar cookies with browned butter frosting…shaped like cute little pumpkins, because it’s basically October and time for all things pumpkin.
Happy Friday everyone!! Hoping you’ve all had a great week. I had an interesting day on Wednesday. I went down to Denver late in the afternoon to fly out to LA to film for Hallmark Home and Family and ended up back at home that same night. Let me explain, we were about to leave the gate when we were told there were mechanical issues and the plane could not fly. Totally not fun, but better known on the ground than in the air!
I made a call to the super nice people at Hallmark to explain the situation and they were so sweet about my travel mishaps. They offered to simply Facetime the interview, and even agreed to reschedule a live interview when I’m in town in mid October. I had such a fun time doing the Facebook interview (it airs this morning, so tune in to Hallmark!), and am feeling just so grateful for all these amazing opportunities.
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Okay, on to these cookies, they are basically fall in a cookie…well, almost. There’s no actual pumpkin in these cookies. One, I have so many pumpkin recipes coming up that I didn’t feel as though these cookies needed to have pumpkin included in the them. Two, I also didn’t want to start in on the pumpkin recipes too early. Personally, I can start to get a little bit of a pumpkin overdose before Thanksgiving is even over, and I’ve decided I’m not letting that happen this year.
So long story short, I’m trying to pace myself with the pumpkin recipes this year. I’m going to try to slowly roll them out…but don’t worry, I have one all set for you guys next week!
ps. I just realized, I already cheated with this pumpkin beer broccoli cheddar soup from earlier this week…
Anyway, I made these cookies, kind of on a whim, last week. Normally I try to have my blog recipes pretty planned out, but sometimes an idea comes to mind that either sounds so good or so fun to create that I just have to do it that very day.
That’s what happened with these cookies. It was kind of a dreary, moody day…and very Halloweeny. I just felt like making something cute and pumpkin shaped was appropriate. I’ve already shared my very favorite sugar cookies with you guys, but then I thought about making more of an autumn style sugar cookie, and these cinnamon spiced sugar cookies immediately came to mind.
Of course, I had to make them in the shape of pumpkins.
Like my favorite sugar cookie recipe, these are extremely easy to make. The only real difference is the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg. Adding cinnamon to a sugar cookie might not sound all that amazing, but trust me it is so good. It’s basically like cinnamon toast, but in a buttery, soft sugar cookie form.
And, as if the cookie alone was not enough, I went ahead and added a browned butter frosting. And then, to really seal the deal, I added the lightest dusting of cinnamon sugar. In full disclosure I added the cinnamon sugar more for a glittery look on my cookies, but I’m not going to lie, it was pretty delicious.
OKAY, now here’s the thing. I am no professional cookie decorator. I may or may not have worked hours (seriously hours) on trying to make these cookies look like cute pumpkins, but the funny thing is, the look of the cookies you see here is not originally what I was going for at all. Nope, I was actually trying to make them look like real pumpkins. But you know what? Turns out that I love how these cookies ended up. I didn’t use any food dye and this simple design only takes minutes to create. It’s natural, rustic, and very me. Yes, kind of loving them.
Also, the frosting…oh my gosh…THE BEST. And yes, that needed to be in all caps. The cookies are truly amazing on their own. They’re soft, sweet, and loaded with cinnamon flavor. But let’s be real, what is a sugar cookie without frosting, you know?
The frosting adds that special final touch, and well, it’s just delicious. The toasted brown butter and extra pinch of cinnamon just screams fall. Meaning you need to make these cookies this weekend and then every weekend from now until December. Oh, and when December hits, turn them into christmas shaped cookies! YES. DO THAT.
Cinnamon Spiced Sugar Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Servings: 60 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 129 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Browned Butter Frosting
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until evenly combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, beating until combined and the dough forms a ball.2. Generously flour your work surface. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a disk. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you are using enough flour or your dough will stick. Cut out the cookies into your desired shapes. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer, freeze until very firm, about 15-20 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the remaining disk of dough.3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 8-12 minutes (for soft cookies) or until just lightly golden brown. Do not over bake. Cool on the baking sheet five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.4. To make the frosting. Add the butter to medium pot. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir often. Remove from the heat and let cool 5 minutes. Whisk in the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons water, the vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth, adding 1 tablespoon of water to think the frosting as needed. If the frosting gets too thin, just add a little more sugar and if it gets too thick, add a splash of water. The frosting should be thin enough to drizzle, but think enough to hold it's shape.5. Frost each cooled cookie. If making pumpkins, I used melted chocolate to draw on the pumpkin "leaves". Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar. Keep cookies covered in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
Cookies today…tomorrow we kick off “spooky” cocktail Saturday!
Judging by the photos it looks like the frosting hardens. Is that the case? I was thinking these would be good for a cookie box.
Hi Tamra, this frosting actually stays pretty soft. I would recommend using the below cookie instead. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/vanilla-wreath-cookies/
Can you freeze these?
Hi Sarah, The cookies freeze really well, but I would recommend adding the frosting after thawing the cookies for BEST results. I haven’t ever frozen this frosting on the cookies, so I am not sure how it would turn out. That said, if you’d like to try it, I do think it could be ok, but again I have not done so. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving! xTieghan
These look amazing. I am wanting to make them for Thanksgiving, Can they be stored in the freezer after frosting? Is there a frosting you know of that can be frozen?
Hey Kristie! The cookies freeze really well, but I would recommend adding the frosting after thawing the cookies for BEST results. I haven’t ever frozen this frosting on the cookies, so I am not sure how it would turn out. That said, if you’d like to try it, I do think it could be ok, but again I have not done so. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving! xTieghan
AMAZING….and they turned out at high altitude no less!!! Thank you, thank you, Tieghan….I am so happy I can bake again and have a cookie recipe that I know will turn out great!!!
Amazing!! Thank you so much for trying these cookies, Judi! xTieghan
I just have to tell you, these cookies are one of the best cookies I have ever eaten. I’ve made them and brought them to the office twice, and now it is required that I bring them for our Thanksgiving luncheon every year. So thanks for making me an office star! I could seriously eat the brown butter icing by the spoonful, it is so good.
Haha that is so amazing!! Brownie points at work! Or should I say cookie…. Thank you so much Laura! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, thanks for the awesome recipe. They are heavenly. Melt-in-your-mouth and the browned butter icing…mmm. I made a couple minor changes, one based on necessity and one on desire. I ran out of regular flour so substituted tapioca flour, only the last 1/2 cup though. And instead of vanilla in the icing, I did a large pinch of flaky salt along with the cinnamon. Wow!
I decided to make these on a work night, so I was not up for rolling and cutting out pumpkins, cute as they are. So… I rolled the dough into two logs, froze them for about 60 min each, and sliced them into 1/4 inch thick cookies. When cool, i spread the icing on them. Just as yummy, not as cute.
Note: I made my icing too soon but it loosened up easily with a Tbsp of hot water. Also, on the cookies, my icing did harden enough to stack them. Thanks again!
Cindy
Hi Cindy! I am so glad these tasted amazing for you and I am sure yours came out just as cute! Thank you for trying them! xTieghan
Does the frosting harden so they can be stacked on top of each other?
Hi Tessa! This is more of a soft frosting that does not harden, so these are not the best cookies for stacking. So sorry!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
How long do these stay fresh? Looking to bake on Sunday and serve on Tuesday! Can’t.
wait to make them!
Hey Gia! The cookies are good for up to 4 days. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
What size cookies are they ?
Hi Jen, these are about 3 inch round cookies. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this batch multiple time. The first time was just so dry even when I reduced the flour. Every time I’ve made it, it comes out more like a shortbread. I know all of my ingredients are fresh and fine, just a little let down that they just didn’t live up to the hype. I also had to put the dough in the fridge before I could even cut the shapes. It just would tear apart, no matter how I tried it. A few minutes to firm up was enough to roll with the help of the flour. Then after I rolled and cut them, I popped them back in the fridge for about 15 minutes each to firm up so they wouldn’t spread.
They smell absolutely heavenly! Seriously. My house smells like a fall Yankee candle, which I’m totally down for! Just not down for the texture of the cookie.
Hi Chelsea! Are there any questions I could help you with? I would love to make this recipe work for you! xTieghan
Would it be an easy switch to make these gluten free using gluten free flour or is it totally different? Thanks!
Hi Ashley!! I have never made this with GF flour so I can’t really say how it will turn out. If you do try it, I recommend Cup4Cup flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions and how it turns out. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Does the icing set up enough to stack cookies?
Hi Elizabeth! This is not firm icing. I wouldn’t recommend stacking them. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi there, this weekend is nice in favor of me, because this occasion i am reading this enormous
educational piece of writing here at my house.
Thank you so much!
I made these cookies for my Friendsgiving and everyone LOVED them! The cookie was nice a soft and the icing was so buttery and good. My husband, who isn’t a fan of sweets, ate a third of them before our meal started! This recipe was so easy to make and produced more than enough cookies. Thank you for the easy but so very cute decorative inspo. I can’t wait to search this site for another amazing cookie to take to my holiday party next month. Love this site!!
Thank you so much Courtney! I am so glad you loved these cookies! I hope you had an amazing Friendsgiving!
Can you freeze these before frosting them to make them ahead?
Hey Ali! Yes, you can freeze the cookies, then taw and frost. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan