Dried mustard in a cookie?  Really?

Yes, really.

These spicy, complex little cookies are nearly perfect – a lovely crumbly texture, balance of flavors, and not too sweet.  They could easily be dressed up with a coat of icing or drizzle of chocolate, but I love them just as-is.

I’ve also fallen in love with my tiny star cookie cutter – it makes 1-inch or so cookies, that are perfect for single bite snacking.  Yum.

Spicy Spice Cookies
Makes about 60 small or 20 large cookies

based on a recipe by Dorie Greenspan, from Bon Appetit

ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

how to:

In a large bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice, nutmeg, and mustard.

In a separate medium bowl, whip the butter with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and egg and beat again until well blended.  Add the molasses, egg, grated ginger and vanilla.  Beat on low until well mixed.

Add the dry ingredients and beat until well blended and the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball, and divide into four thin-ish discs (you’ll have to roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness).  Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Take the dough out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to roll it out.  Place the unwrapped dough between two sheets of waxed paper and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness.  Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut out cookies and arrange about 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until golden.  Cool on racks.

Cookies can be decorated with icing after cooling, or coarse sugar sprinkled on before baking.

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The 12 Days of Cookies Participants:

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dogs
Renee of Flamingo Musings
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project