Sweetened mostly with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom, these stamped cookies are just as flavorful as they are beautiful. If you’ve never stamped cookies before, see all of my cookie stamping success tips below. You’ll need a set of cookie stamps for this, and I use these cookie stamps for the pictured cookies.
Here’s a gorgeous cookie that requires zero decorating skills. I’m always up for that!
This recipe is part of my annual holiday cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. Every year since 2013, I work on a handful of new cookie recipes and publish the 10 best ones for readers to enjoy. It’s the biggest, tastiest event of the year on my website!
Tell Me About These Cinnamon Brown Sugar Stamped Cookies:
- Texture: The centers are a little soft, but the edges have a crunchy crumbly texture that you don’t always get with soft-baked cookies. They remind me of these crisp molasses cookies, but aren’t quite as crunchy. If you’re looking for a chewy cookie instead, these brown sugar cookies are for you.
- Flavor: There’s a glaring absence of chocolate, sprinkles, and candies, but I wouldn’t necessarily call these stamped cookies plain. They’re sweetened mostly with brown sugar and are generously spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. A bit of molasses, honey, or maple syrup (your choice) adds a touch of flavor too. They remind me of Biscoff (Belgian Speculoos) cookies. Sometimes a simple cookie without all the excess fluff is what really hits the spot. They’re fantastic dipped in hot cocoa or coffee!
- Ease: This is a pretty standard cookie recipe—no crazy ingredients or mixing methods. The only thing we’re doing differently is stamping the dough balls before baking. You’ll appreciate that there’s no extra decoration required. The stamp does it all.
- Time: Set aside enough time to chill the cookie dough. I know it’s a drag, but 2 hours in the refrigerator firms up the dough. If you skip it, the cookies will over-spread and the beautiful stamped design will be ruined—wasting all your efforts and ingredients. If you’re doing a bunch of holiday baking at once, you can use the chilling time to make a quick cookie recipe like my shortbread wedges that bake in a cake pan! No chilling required for those.
One reader, Laura, commented: “New favorite cinnamon cookie!! They turned out crisp and crunchy, just as I was hoping, like snap cookies. A wonderful spice flavor. ★★★★★”
Can You Make These Without a Cookie Stamp?
Yes. Follow the recipe exactly as written but skip the stamping step. Simply bake as round cookie dough balls, like you would any other drop cookie. You can even roll in cinnamon sugar or chai sugar before baking, just like we do with snickerdoodles and white chocolate chai snickerdoodles. (In fact! I actually did that with a few of these pictured stamped cookies, but the stamp just pressed the cinnamon sugar down into the cookie and you can’t really see it after baking.
I don’t recommend these as cut-out cookies. If you want to use your rolling pin, stick with sugar cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, maple cinnamon cut-out cookies, gingerbread cookies, or pecan sugar cookies.
Overview: How to Make Stamped Cookies
The full printable recipe is below, but this overview should help you understand the process before you get started.
- Make the cookie dough. This is a pretty straightforward recipe. Whisk your dry ingredients together including the spices. Cream the butter and sugars together, then add 1 Tablespoon of molasses/honey/maple syrup, an egg, and vanilla extract. Liquid sweetener slightly thins out the dough. I used molasses in the pictured cookies, but honey or pure maple syrup work too. Bring the dough together by combining the wet and dry ingredients.
- Chill the cookie dough. I’m a broken record here. Don’t skip the chilling step!
- Roll dough into balls. Measure 1 Tablespoon of chilled cookie dough per cookie and roll into balls. Feel free to roll the cookies in cinnamon sugar, just like we do with snickerdoodles, but know that the sugar coating gets stamped right down into the cookie. I did that for some of the pictured cookies and you can’t even see it!
- Stamp the dough balls. Grab your cookie stamps. I used Nordic Ware’s “starry night” cookie stamps for the pictured cookies. Place the cookie stamp directly on top of each cookie dough ball, centering the ball as best as you can, then firmly press down until the dough extends nearly to the edges of the cookie stamp. Lift straight up. Most cookie doughs, including this one, are a little sticky. That’s expected. If your cookie dough is sticking to the cookie stamp (mine does!), lightly dip the cookie stamp in a bowl of flour before stamping the cookie dough ball. If dipped lightly, the flour bakes right off the cookie.
- Bake. Remember one of my cookie baking success tips? Use your eyes as the timer, not the clock. Cookies are done when the edges are set.
Glaze always adds a lovely finishing touch, but I skipped it for these. If desired, feel free to lightly dip each cooled cookie in vanilla icing or even this eggnog icing.
One Thing to Note: Cookies naturally puff up and spread out in the oven, so the design will never be quite as defined on a baked cookie. You can see how defined they are above (before baking) compared to below (after baking).
Success Tips for Stamped Cookies
I include most of these above, but let me summarize each. It’s important to remember that the amount of definition your stamped design holds depends on the recipe, how firm the cookie dough is, and the stamp you use. Like I mention above, cookies naturally puff up and spread out in the oven, so the design will never be quite as defined on a baked cookie.
- Recipe: Not all cookie doughs are ideal for cookie stamps. Avoid using cookie stamps on thick and fluffy cookies, which will likely puff up in the oven instead of holding onto the stamped design. Follow the recipe as written below because it yields a relatively flat cookie. Additionally, darker cookies show the stamped design better than lighter cookies.
- Place the Stamp Centered Over the Dough: Center the stamp as best you can on top of the cookie dough ball before pressing down.
- Flour Your Cookie Stamp: Cookie dough can stick to the stamp. Dip your cookie stamp in flour before stamping. If dipped lightly, the flour bakes right off the stamped cookies.
- Firm Cookie Dough: Don’t skip chilling this cookie dough. You could even chill the stamped cookies before baking. It wouldn’t hurt to stamp the dough balls, preheat the oven, then chill the stamped cookies in the refrigerator as your oven preheats.
- Stamp: There’s really no way of knowing how well your cookie stamp works until you test it out. This isn’t sponsored, but I’m a genuine fan of Nordic Ware cookie stamps. They’re good quality, heavy duty, and work wonderfully. I used the Starry Night ones in these photos. (You can find them online and some stores including Williams-Sonoma and Target.) And once you have the cookie stamps, try these stamped chocolate espresso cookies next!
Stamped Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sweetened mostly with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom, these stamped cookies are just as flavorful as they are beautiful. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Feel free to skip the cookie stamp and bake them as round cookie dough balls.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus extra as needed for stamping
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand), maple syrup, or honey
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and mix on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again as needed.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, then mix on low speed until combined. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll and stamp: Measure 1 Tablespoon (20g) of chilled cookie dough per cookie and roll into balls. The dough may seem crumbly, but will come together as you roll. Arrange dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Place the cookie stamp directly on top of each cookie dough ball, centering the ball as best as you can, then firmly press down until the dough extends nearly to the edges of the cookie stamp. Lift straight up. If your cookie dough is sticking to the cookie stamp (mine does!), lightly dip the cookie stamp in a bowl of flour before stamping the cookie dough ball. If dipped lightly, the flour bakes right off the cookie.
- Bake cookies until the edges are set, about 13 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (step 3). Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw completely at room temperature, then stamp and bake as directed in the recipe. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cookie Stamps (here are some options: Starry Nights (pictured), Snowflakes, Geo Shapes, and Greetings) | Cooling Rack
- Spices: Feel free to make spice substitutions as needed, keeping in mind some spices have a stronger flavor than others. For best results, I recommend following the spices and measurements listed.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi! I am planning on using spekulaas spice from King Arthur. What should the measurement be and is it an acceptable replacement for the collection of spices in the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Suji, You can certainly try it but we’ve never used that exact spice blend to know for sure what quantity to use. You’ll likely still want to add the cinnamon. Let us know if you give it a try.
They turned out perfectly. Thank you! I‘ve had two small cookie stamps for about two years, but never used before. I was impressed with all the info and background guidance. I ate a few and gave the rest away to friends (too dangerously delicious). Everything was just great and soooo tasty
These cookies were a huge hit at Thanksgiving. I was looking for a stamped cookie recipe with fall spices. These are amazing. A little crunchy on the outside and they stay chewy on the inside. I got requests to keep these on the fall menu.
Hi Sally! Thanks for the recipe. Can I skip molasses/honey adition? Thanks!
Hi Nicole, You can use maple syrup instead. Or you could skip it but the flavor will obviously be different than intended.
Hello! I have a cookie stamp with these dimensions: 1″L x 3″W x 0.2″H. Would this work for his recipe and amount of dough per cookie? Thank you!
Hi Suji! We’re unsure, but let us know how it goes. It should work just fine, but you may need to adjust the amount of dough you use for your stamp.
Delicious flavor. I had trouble with design disappearing with 18 gm balls of dough. Even when I froze the stamped cookies for 15 minutes in my deep freeze I still lost the design. I would try smaller cookies next time, flatten the dough as much as possible, freeze for longer and maybe use only a pinch of baking soda. Also I’d skip the cardamom, but that is personal preference.
Holds the shape very well!! I was skeptical bc a lot of the reviews complained about not holding the shape. I used “fun food tools wood cookie stamp pumpkin shape” from Amazon. They turned out beautifully and taste AMAZING. The only thing I will say is that I noticed slightly smaller dough balls can be pressed flatter and hold a more defined shape than the slightly larger dough balls which will puff up a bit. I’m wondering if this is the issue people are having though I’d suspect it’s more related to their stamp. Only issue I had was that the edges crack when pressing down on the stamp instead of staying smooth and round. Maybe my dough was too cold though I did let it sit at room temp for >15 min after taking out of the fridge (was in the fridge for 3 hrs)
Perfect stamped cookies from heaven! Mine held the stamp (I purchased the ones recommended) beautifully. I did freeze the stamped cookie dough about an hour before baking at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. So delicious and very impressive.
These cookies are delicious (I made them gluten-free so my husband can have them with his morning coffee). This was my first time learning about cookie stamps and using them, so there was a lot of trial and error. The amount of flour I needed to get the cookies to release from the stamp didn’t bake off, but wiggling the stamps to help release the cookies helped a lot. The only critique is my cookies spread a little, which I’m not sure if it’s because of the gluten-free flour or something else. I look forward to making more recipes that use cookie stamps to help me practice :). Thank you for the recipe!
These cookies taste great. My stamps wouldn’t work. But that was my error or the stamps. Will definitely make again
Will these hold the imprint from a shallow plastic cutter well? I’m looking for a cut out recipe that will really hold the design from the cutter well, as I’m not sure the one I usually use for cut outs will hold the design.
Hi Laura, it’s hard to say without trying the exact cutter ourselves—some simply hold shape better than others—but that should work here. Let us know if you try it!
I made the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Stamped Cookies for the first time and have mixed feelings. While the recipe was straightforward and the smell and flavor are wonderful, my stamp designs largely disappeared. I’m disappointed that the designs didn’t really last, but at least the cookies have chewy edges, soft insides, and a sweet spicy flavor.
These look delightful! Do you think they could be made dairy free with vegan butter? If so, is there a brand you recommend? Baking for folks with dietary restrictions is not in my wheelhouse, thank you!
Hi Jenna, we wish we could help more but don’t have much experience either. Other bakers have reported success with Earth Balance brand.
I appreciate the response and recommendation. I will keep my fingers crossed the effort alone will be worth the ability for my friend to eat it!
Hi Sally! I only have black strap molasses…just curious why this won’t work? I do have honey on hand so I can use that.
Thank you!
Hi Stephanie! We find the flavor of blackstrap molasses to be too dark and bitter for baking usually. We would use honey here instead!
Delicious! The whole family loved the flavor. It was my first time using an actual press. I did use extra flour as suggested. Probably need more practice to make the cookies look pretty!
I’m so sad that the dough didn’t hold the stamp shape. I deliberately tried this receipe for my stamps and was disappointed when they came out flattened
Delicious cookie recipe, but definitely did not hold their shape after stamping. I even went as far as double chilling them (2 hours after making the dough, then stamping them, then chilled again for an hour before baking) and they still didn’t hold their shape.
Is there a difference in the taste when using molasses vs. honey?
The taste will be slightly, subtly different whether you use molasses or honey, but the cookies are delicious either way.
I really enjoyed the spices but found the cookie way too sweet for my liking. I left the granulated sugar out completely, and so next time I’ll halve the brown sugar as well. I didn’t have ground cardamom so I added a bit of pepper and all spice. I rolled them into 25g balls and then pressed them down with some baking paper and a glass. They did keep their shape and smelled great while baking.
Could one use butter flavored Crisco instead of butter to get a better impression since it has a higher melting point?
Hi Carrie, it would take a bit of recipe testing to determine how best to incorporate Crisco in this recipe. We recommend sticking with butter here.
Hello Sally! How are you? Hope everythjng is well with you.
Rughtnow I am doing the recipe and the dough is sticky what can I do?
I put tit in the refrigetator but I am afraid because it is sticky
I am a beginner
The taste is wonderful without baking
Waiting for your feedback
Thank you
Hi Sally! This cookie dough is a bit sticky. That’s expected. If your cookie dough is sticking to the cookie stamp (ours does!), lightly dip the cookie stamp in a bowl of flour before stamping the cookie dough ball. If dipped lightly, the flour bakes right off the cookie. Hope this helps and that you enjoy the cookies!
I followed the recipe, modified the spices a bit and chilled the dough a few times during the process. My cookies all kept the snowflake design. They were perfect. I added 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper too to bring out the spice.
I’ve made these cookies 3 times this year and they taste wonderful and my stamp stayed intact and looked bezutiful
Great flavor but they didn’t hold their shape.
Cookie is delicious but my snowman puffed up no design oh well they taste good !
So good and easy! I made them gluten-free with Bob’s Red Mill GF flour. They turned out great and are so pretty!
Can I use a rolling pin with a carved in design instead of stamp? Is there anything I should do differently with the rolling pin to avoid the cookie puffing up?
Hi Christa, there’s really no way to know if that rolling pin would work without testing it out first. We found the dough a little difficult to roll out with a regular rolling pin. Let us know if you try it!
My wife loved these cookies, but get this, I totally goofed up and had swapped the amounts of ginger and cinnamon, so essentially they were stamped ginger cookies. She wants the same batch exactly like the first. OK, a new favorite.
My cookies came out perfect! My son made a cookie stamp in his STEAM class using a 3-D printer. we used this recipe and they were a big hit for STEAM night! Thank you! 🙂
So fun! Happy to hear that the cookies turned out, Alyse 🙂
I chose this recipe because I was looking for something Christmasy and this website’s recipes never fail.
Well, the taste is spot on, and I subbed flour for GF flour, but as other reviewers have mentioned, sadly, the stamp did not hold its shape.
It’s a good cookie dough to roll and weigh and I managed to make 24 x 20g round cookies and 8 c 25g stamped cookies.
These cookies did not turn out with beautiful designs like pictured. I made the dough and rolled balls, letting them sit in the refrigerator overnight. I expected cookies like yours, but got plain old brown cookies that tasted delicious! I have made stamped cookies before with success. I don’t think this recipe should be promoted for using cookie stamps.
I agree! My designs puffed out almost completely after baking. I wonder if using baking powder instead of soda would make a more cakey texture with less puffing?
You can omit the baking soda for this recipe, then it will not puff up.