Herb-infused sugar cookies

Make plain sugar cookies special with a simple-to-make DIY herb-infused sugar.

Happy Halloween!

Or, as I prefer to say, Happy Day After The Ninj's Birthday!

I don't do a whole lot for Halloween. Heck, since we moved to the farmette, we don't even get a single trick-or-treater. I guess making the half-mile walk down our driveway in the pitch dark just for  a Reese's peanut butter cup is a little too spooky.

But since I own the cute black cat treat bags that you see in the photos (they have sparkly green eyes, too!!) and I was making these herb-infused sugar cookies anyway, I decided to tip my hat to The Day After The Ninj's Birthday.

These herbed sugar cookies are really a joint effort, though, because they center on herb-infused sugar (in this case, lavender, vanilla and lime zest) made by my new blogger friend Jess of Gather Round Kitchen. We met at a local food swap, where she was swapping this simple infused sugar. Easy yet fancy: totally brilliant!

I used it to make sugar cookies but you could also use it in your tea or some simple breakfast muffins. Another swapper used it to make a lovely sugar scrub as well.

I love this sugar cookie recipe because it's not only simple but also leans a tad to the healthy side and can be customized easily. If you don't have or want to use herb-infused sugar, simply add a little vanilla and cinnamon. Don't like cinnamon? Throw in some citrus zest instead. The recipe is great for holiday-themed cookie cutters but you can also just use a basic circle cutter to make it an everyday cookie.

Sometimes a simple recipe is all you need to get your creative juices flowing.

Do you make or use flavored sugars? Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

Herb-Infused Sugar Cookies

If you choose to make this recipe with regular sugar, simply add a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of cinnamon to the ingredients listed below.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur brand)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup herb-infused sugar (add a bit more if you like your cookies on the sweet side)
2 eggs
Turbinado or other coarse sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil and sugar until smooth and light. Add the eggs and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until a nice dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a LIGHTLY floured surface (or a large sheet of parchment paper). Divide into three portions (just for manageability). Roll one section out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sugar. Repeat for all remaining sections.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes -- they don't really brown so be sure not to overcook them. Cool completely on a wire rack.

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