Sugar and Spice Cookies

In this world of texts and emails sent on an hourly basis, it is rare that one produces such an emotional response as to leave me breathless (cue The Corrs).  However, on November 1st a little after 3 am I got the following text from my brother "Adrienne Joy.  Born November 1 at 1:58 am. 7 pounds 3 ounces."  That was all he said.  My brother is a man of few words (which is probably why he was the less troublesome child) but those eight words and six numbers were enough to keep me up the rest of the night.  I had a niece!  I cannot wait to be a part of her life and to teach her all the wonderful things that aunts teach their nieces like the love of cats (Aunt Linda), the female family members' tradition of Duke (Aunt Peg), the benefits that come with a great sense of humor (Aunt Sherri), and the sophistication of red nail polish (Aunt Molly).  

I got to meet her for the first time over Thanksgiving and I think we really made a connection.  She has a ton of hair and is quite the little squirmy bug.  She sleeps a lot and looks absolutely beautiful in pink.  She also sleeps just like her big brother did with her arms straight up over her head.  We are still waiting to see if she inherited the family dimples.  And her aunt's sharp wit.

In honor of her birth, I made these Sugar and Spice Cookies.  They were incredibly easy to make and since I was unable to meet her until nearly three weeks after she was born, I wanted the record to show that I did something in honor of her on the day she was born.  I then shared them with friends while Robbie shared them with his coworkers with the payoff that they had to share in our enchantment with her pictures.  Happy 1 month little Adrienne!  

Sugar and Spice Cookies

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 

3/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 large egg

2 cups whole wheat flour

In a bowl, beat butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and ginger together until smooth.  Add the maple syrup and beat until incorporated.  Add the egg, mixing until incorporated.  Mix in the flour.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.  Drop the dough by the teaspoonfuls onto your prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the edges are golden.  Transfer to a rack to cool.  When baking in batches, keep extra dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.