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There is nothing better in Autumn than spice cookies with buttercream frosting to brighten up your day! Read this easy-to-follow recipe to make delicious Autumn spice cookies, so you can sit back and enjoy the crisp Autumn air—with a cookie in your hand!

Yields: 2 dozen (24) medium cookies.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter (1 stick, softened at room temperature)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks, softened at room temperature)
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • About 4 tablespoons milk
  • A few drops of gel food coloring (optional)
Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Making the Cookies

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  1. 1
    Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/gas 4). It is always best to preheat the oven before you begin baking so that the cookies can go directly into it.
    • Make sure that the oven rack is in the middle.
    • While the oven is preheating, grease a few cookie sheets with the coconut oil, about half a teaspoon per cookie sheet.
      • Ensure that the oil is completely spread across the cookie sheets.
  2. 2
    Cream the softened butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, place the butter and the sugar.
    • Start mixing on medium speed with a standard electric mixer. Continue mixing until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy. Alternatively you can use a pair of butter knives held in one hand to do the mixing.
    • Make sure that your butter is softened at room temperature. Do not use warm or melted butter. This will cause your cookies to not rise properly.
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  3. 3
    Add the eggs, extract, and spices to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix on low speed with the mixer until smooth and well-blended.
    • Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. This way, all the ingredients will get well-distributed throughout the cookie dough.
  4. 4
    Combine the dry ingredients. Sift the flour into a separate mixing bowl. Add the salt and cream of tartar to it. Mix with a wire whisk until the salt and cream of tartar are well-combined with the flour.
    • When measuring the ingredients, remember to level off the top with a butter knife. This ensures exact measurements.
    • Avoid stirring very fast or the dry ingredients may fly out of the bowl and make a mess. This would unbalance the ingredient measurements, ruining the recipe so you'd have to start over.
  5. 5
    Combine the dry ingredients with the creamed ones. Mix on low speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms in the bowl.
    • Add the flour mixture—half a cup at a time—so that everything gets evenly combined.
    • Pause the mixer once or twice at this point to scrape down the sides of the bowl again before resuming your mixing.
    • Wrap the dough in a large piece of plastic wrap. Then place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
      • Chilling the dough makes it easier to shape.
  6. 6
    Form a 1-inch dough ball. To do this, roll about a tablespoon of the cookie dough between your clean hands.
    • Repeat until you have no dough left in the bowl.
    • Place the dough balls on the pre-greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. This gives the cookies a good amount of space to expand while they bake.
  7. 7
    Place the cookie sheets in the preheated oven. Let the cookies bake for 8 minutes.
    • When checking to see if the cookies are done, make sure the edges of the cookies are a little bit darker than the rest of the cookie.
  8. 8
    Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the trays for 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks. Using a metal spatula, carefully lift each cookie and transfer them one at a time to the wire cooling racks.
    • Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Making the Buttercream Frosting

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  1. 1
    Cut the butter into the powdered sugar. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the softened butter and powdered sugar. Mix on medium speed with the mixer until well mixed.
    • Make sure that your butter is at room temperature.
  2. 2
    Add the wet extract and milk. Mix until all the ingredients are well and fully mixed.
    • Use a spoon or butter knife for this to prevent the sugar from flying out of the bowl and making a mess.
      • Powdered sugar sticks easily and is very difficult to clean up.
    • If the frosting appears clumpy, add 1-2 teaspoons more of vanilla extract and/or milk.
    • If it appears too runny, add 2-3 teaspoons more of powdered sugar.
    • Keep going until your buttercream frosting reaches the right consistency.
    • Add a few drops of gel food coloring if desired.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Frosting the Cookies

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  1. 1
    Fill a piping bag with your buttercream frosting. Pipe a little frosting onto the cookies. Enjoy some chilled cookies with a glass of milk!
    • You can make all kinds of patterns on top—like a circle, a heart, a star, and many other fun things.
    • Alternatively, you can pipe a generous amount of buttercream onto one cookie, then set another cookie on top to create a cookie sandwich!
    • You can also store the cookies in an airtight plastic container and keep them refrigerated until you go to eat them.

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      Warnings

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      Things You'll Need

      • 2 large mixing bowls
      • 1 medium mixing bowl
      • Measuring cups and spoons
      • Butter knife
      • Spoon
      • Plastic wrap
      • Wire whisk
      • Cooling racks
      • Cookie sheets
      • Piping bag
      • Rubber spatula
      • Metal spatula
      • Oven mitts


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