Amped up cinnamon stars

Amped up cinnamon stars

Hello! I’ve been busy making test batches of cookies for valentine’s day. I just play around with ideas and bake test batches to see what works and what doesn’t. This cookie worked. Spectacularly, in fact.

I got a recipe a while back from Betty Crocker for “easy cinnamon stars”. What was great about the recipe was the shortcut. It calls for a package of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix.

Normally when I make cutout sugar cookies I use my vanilla sugar cookie dough. I was tired the other day and honestly didn’t want to deal with making the dough from scratch. I wanted to bake cookies, so I looked at that recipe again. I liked the simplicity of it, but if you know me, you know I rarely follow a recipe to the letter. So, I did what I do. I doctored it up.

I wanted to layer that cinnamon flavor. I added cinnamon to the dough. I added Hershey’s cinnamon chips to the dough. I added Brach’s cinnamon imperials to the dough. I crushed some cinnamon imperials to sprinkle on top. Amped up cinnamon stars were born.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

3 TBSP all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup Betty Crocker rich and creamy vanilla frosting

1/2 bag Hershey’s cinnamon chips

1 bag Brach’s cinnamon imperials

Ok, let’s do this!

Preheat your oven to 375°

In a large bowl, combine cookie mix, flour, melted butter, egg, cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Form a soft dough ball. Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Cold dough is easier to work with.

Vanilla cinnamon sugar cookie dough

Place 3 TBSP Brach’s cinnamon imperials in a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Crushed cinnamon candy

Spread flour onto your work surface. Pinch off a small ball of dough. Flatten the dough slightly and add about a dozen cinnamon chips and a dozen red hots. Roll them into the dough and knead it quickly in your hand to disperse the chips and candy.

Adding cinnamon chips and candy to dough

Flatten the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutter to cut out approximately 6 cookies.

Cutting cookies

Repeat process with remaining dough. I like working with the small amounts of dough to ensure plenty of chips and candy in each cookie.

Place cutout cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Bake for 7-9 minutes, until edges are a nice golden brown.

Cookies on baking sheet

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 1 minute then place on cooling rack. Allow cookies to completely cool before icing.

Place frosting in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.

Using a fork, drizzle frosting across cookies.

Sprinkle cookies with crushed candies.

Completed cookie

Let decorated cookies sit out until frosting is set.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

That’s it!

The shortcut of using Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix makes these quick and easy to make anytime. These are customizable for any holiday or event by simply using a different cookie cutter shape! (I’ll be making heart shaped ones for The Girl Child for valentine’s day)

Thanks for stopping by!

Amped Up Cinnamon Stars

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time7 minutes
Dough Chill Time30 minutes
Total Time42 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baking, Betty Crocker, cinnamon, cookies, easy recipe, sugar cookies
Servings: 48 Cookies
Author: Country Girl
Cost: $5

Ingredients

  • 1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
  • 3 TBSP all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup Betty Crocker rich and creamy vanilla frosting
  • 1/2 bag Hershey’s cinnamon chips
  • 1 bag Brach’s cinnamon imperials

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 375°
  • In a large bowl, combine cookie mix, flour, melted butter, egg, cinnamon and vanilla extract.
  • Form a soft dough ball. Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Cold dough is easier to work with.
  • Place 3 TBSP Brach’s cinnamon imperials in a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
  • Spread flour onto your work surface. Pinch off a small ball of dough. Flatten the dough slightly and add about a dozen cinnamon chips and a dozen red hots. Roll them into the dough and knead it quickly in your hand to disperse the chips and candy.
  • Flatten the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutter to cut out approximately 6 cookies.
  • Repeat process with remaining dough. I like working with the small amounts of dough to ensure plenty of chips and candy in each cookie.
  • Place cutout cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  • Bake for 7-9 minutes, until edges are a nice golden brown.
  • Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 1 minute then place on cooling rack. Allow cookies to completely cool before icing.
  • Place frosting in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
  • Using a fork, drizzle frosting across cookies.
  • Sprinkle cookies with crushed candies.
  • Let decorated cookies sit out until frosting is set.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature.