Stamped Cookies #16 - Cinnamon Brown Sugar Stamped Cookies

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Stamped Cookies - made dough December 1, 2021 from Sally's Baking Addiction 

2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (150 grams) brown sugar

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon molasses, maple syrup or honey

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until well combined and creamy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add molasses, egg and vanilla extract, beating on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to keep mixture even-textured.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing on low speed after each addition, until just combined.
5. Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours. If chilling longer, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Roll dough into dough balls (size depending on the size of your cookie stamp), then roll in a small bowl of granulated sugar, coating completely. Press with cookie stamp(s). Evenly space on baking sheets. Bake until the edges are set, about 10-13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Yes, me again with new cookie stamps from Nordic Ware. This is called the geo cast set and it's so pretty. I'm going to stop pretending I have any control over cookie stamp purchases, especially those made in the USA from Nordic Ware. I liked the patterns and figured they would hold impressions well on most cookie doughs.

My only disappointment with this trial is, as you can see, the impressions in the baked cookies aren't as distinct as the pre-baked ones in the first picture. I wonder if I did something wrong as recipes from Sally's Baking Addiction almost always turn out and the baked cookies in her post kept the fidelity of her cookie stamp impressions pretty well. I did weigh the ingredients since she provided weight measurements and those tend to provide more accuracy for the dough making.

I also chilled the dough before stamping, then froze the stamped cookies for several days before baking them. Then I baked them at a higher temp (375 degrees) so the cookies would set quickly and not lose the impressions.

But they still didn't come out as distinctly as I would like. I can also tell (user error) that I had a couple of butter lumps in the finished dough. Your sharp eye can see the telltale sign in the cookie below with the misshapen left side of this cookie. That happens when that part of the dough is softer than the rest and not even-textured. Butter lump. Next time my butter needs to be more room temperature and beaten more thoroughly with the sugar to get rid of all the lumps.

But despite all the above, the flavor is great. I love the cinnamon and brown sugar combination. The texture was crisp but not hard. Don't overbake (of course) or the whole cookie will be too hard. Baked properly, the edges were crisp and the middle was also crisp though not with the snap of shortbread or hard. But still delicious.