Brown Sugar and Spice (and everything nice) Cut-out Cookies

It's seems only fitting that the day I was making sugar & spice (and everything nice) cookies, my sister would call to tell me that she's expecting a GIRL!!!

I have one boy; she has three, so look out, little niece....I see lots of tutus, polka dots, and hair bows in your future.  FINALLY, we can shop in the girls' section at Target!!!

{Please don't misunderstand...I. LOVE. MY. BOY.  I am so thankful that God graced me with a boy. I GIVE THANKS that he is a sweet 13-year-old, not an eye-rolling, surly 13-year-old like his mother was. *ahem*  But the shopping!  I've missed coordinating outfits.  It seems that all clothing manufacturers have decided that once a boy wears a size 7, he becomes a skater, or obsessed with skulls.  Aaaaand, boys clothes don't typically have dots and matching tights.}

Shall we talk about cookies?  I love, love, love these cookies.  They're a little softer than a typical sugar cookie because of the brown sugar...and the spice just makes them perfect for fall.  If you find gingerbread overpowering, try these.

Brown Sugar and Spice Cookies

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I use sugar that I've stored vanilla beans in)
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)
2 sticks salted butter, cut into chunks
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and spices, set aside.

Cream the sugars and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix until well-blended.

Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom. (The dough will be quite thick...you may need to knead in stray bits of flour from the bottom of the bowl by hand.)

Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cutter. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Decorate as desired.

These cookies were decorated using images printed on frosting sheets.  The "give thanks" came from a sheet of stickers, so I scanned the entire sheet and printed them with my icing printer.

Here's everything I used:

• images printed on frosting sheets : frosting sheets from Icing Images (nice, thick sheets...I like them)
• royal icing, part thinned slightly and applied to the cookie as a base for the image; the other part tinted with AmeriColor Gold
• coupler, #15 star tip, and disposable icing bag for piping the border
• hologram gold disco dust

Sugar & spice and everything nice...

that's what little (and big) girls are made of!