Brown Sugar & Spice Cut-Out DHARMA cookies!

Ah! Lost premiere tonight! I have a confession to make… I’m not THAT much of a crazy Lost fan like a lot of people out there. I simply pay attention to the show and remember not to miss any episodes, for fear of completely falling behind. Now, that doesn’t mean that I have the need to go buy a khaki jumpsuit, find a dharma patch to put on it, and jump into my blue Volkswagon van. I’m sorry to all you readers that don’t watch Lost, for I probably lost you in this last paragraph alone. You see, my boyfriend is a die hard lost fan– I’m talking about Lost forums, Lost discussions, Lost theories…. all of the above. He was having a little get together to watch the premiere tonight and I decided to bake for the boys. This is what I came up with.

I’m still kicking myself in the butt for forgetting to dye the cookies red before rolling them out, but I wasn’t about to go put the dough back into the mixer just to do that. So, I trucked along and ended up with this. Of course, I didn’t have a fish stencil, so I free handed one on cardboard and used that as a template. As for the letters, I used my Christmas present from my boyfriend’s sister in law to press “dharma” into the cookies. Umm… best present ever! It’s so useful and I can already imagine the numerous possibilities from the little gadget.

Anyways, these come from Bake at 350, who decorated them way better than I ever could. I’ve had them bookmarked for a while, but I just haven’t gotten around to making them. Plus, roll & cut out cookies seem to scare me a bit because of how much effort they take. These, however, rolled and cut with ease. They held their shape and were sturdy after baking. Absolutely perfect! They’re a great alternative to sugar cookies– give them a shot! I would definitely recommend making some royal frosting to go with it, though.

• 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c light brown sugar (packed)
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and spices, set aside.
3. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix until well-blended.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.
5. Roll on a floured surface 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.