Happy Holidays! Welcome to the Cookie Hop & Giveaway which runs from Thursday, Dec 13 to Saturday, Dec 15.
To Enter: You can find the full instructions on our Facebook Event page or at our ring leader, Heather McCollum’s website. Visit all the authors on the Cookie Exchange and note the name of the cookie recipe provided at each author’s site.
In addition to the Cookie Exchange prize, you can also sign-up for my newsletter to enter my special holiday season giveaway.
Three newsletter entrants will be randomly selected receive a Chai Spiced Sugar Cookie* decorated by yours truly along with a free download of my steampunk short story: The Warlord and the Nightingale. (*US only. International winners will only receive ebook download.)
One randomly selected winner will receive an autographed print copy of Gunpowder Alchemy* and a decorated Chai Spiced Sugar Cookie. (Open to both international and US.)
Sign-up for the newsletter here:
And without further adieu, here’s the recipe for my Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies which is actually a combination of two recipes I’ve found online: 1) The roll-out sugar cookie recipe from Semi-Sweet Designs and the spice blend from 2) Chai Sugar Cookies by Stephie Cooks
Ingredients:
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1¼ teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon + ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
1 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions:
- Measure out spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice & white pepper) into separate cup/bowl.
- Beat butter and sugar together until creamy and fluffy.
- Add egg and beat until mixed in.
- Stir in vanilla extra and spice blend.
- In separate bowl, sift together flour and salt. Gradually mix in flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture in batches. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom to incorporate all flour. The final dough shouldn’t be sticky, but should come together easily into a ball.
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of saran wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour on a flat surface such as a cookie sheet. This will make the dough easier to cut out when chilled.
- To bake: pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut out cookies and place onto cookie sheet. Bake for 6-7 minutes. Be careful! This dough is specifically created to bake without spreading. Also the spice mixture will trick you into thinking the cookies are browning when they aren’t. Observe the 6 to 7 minute time carefully.
- Take out of oven and let cool on sheet for about 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Ice cookies once completely cooled.
Try this egg nog icing from Land O’Lakes for a nice seasonal touch.
Continue the Cookie Hop with the next author: Diana Lloyd.
