I never thought the day would come when I’d say 36 F was warm. Here I am, today, thinking “wow it’s warm outside!” Yikes. I need to get to a warm coastal area stat! Instead, I’m packing for the next two weeks of St. Louis and Colorado – both of which will be fantastic!

“Warm” weather aside, it’s almost Christmas! If toffee cookies are the food I most associate with Christmas, these Sugar and Spice Stars are a close second. They have that buttery, nutty, pecan flavor I love so much (seriously, I didn’t realize I cook with pecans so much! Neiman Marcus Cookies, Brown Sugar-Pecan Cupcakes, Banana Pecan Pancakes, and later this week a chocolate pecan pie!), topped with a zesty orange icing! They are soft yet dense, not overbearing, and honestly are really hard to stop eating. These are delicious, everyone will love them, and they’re very simple to make.

Sugar and Spice Star Cookies

Recipe from Mama’s Christmas Cookbook

1 cup pecans
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp grated orange peel
3 Tbsp orange juice

Grind pecans in food processor until fine, then combine with all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs and combine. Mix dry ingredients in, cover and chill for 2 hours.

When fully chilled, roll dough out in batches until 3/8″ thick and cut into stars with a floured cookie cutter. Bake at 350 F for 8 minutes. Cool on a rack until entire cooled.

Mix powdered sugar, orange peel, and orange juice together. Ice the cookies and let dry for an hour.

Notes and Tips:

• When baking, these cookies won’t look done at all. Take them out of the oven anyways.
• I usually just glop on the icing and let it run off the edges, but this time I had some leftover royal icing so I made edges before flooding it. Either way works.

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