Pumpkin Pie Spice Sugar Cookies

These gluten-free pumpkin pie spice cookies are soft cut-out sugar cookies perfect for decorating. Made with warm spices and topped with royal icing.

Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat 1 cup unsalted butter and 1 cup powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add wet ingredients. Add 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until well combined and smooth.
Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 ¼ cup gluten free flour blend, ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt until evenly distributed.
Combine wet and dry. Add flour mixture to butter mixture gradually, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition. Use the electric mixer for the first 2 cups of flour, then switch to hand mixing for the last 1/2 cup to avoid overworking the dough.
Chill the dough. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour until firm but still pliable. Don't chill longer than 2 hours or the dough will be too hard to roll.
Roll and cut. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Dust your work surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters and place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are just slightly golden but tops are not browned. The cookies should look set but not dark. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the royal icing. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons meringue powder, 5 tablespoons water1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix on medium-high speed for 7-10 minutes until ingredients are well blended and icing has a matte finish.
Adjust icing consistency. For outline icing, add about 1 teaspoon more water (10-second consistency). For flood icing, thin with additional water until it reaches 4-second consistency. Add any gel food coloring.To test: drizzle icing over the bowl—if it sinks back in within 4 seconds, it's ready for flooding.

Outline cookies with thicker icing using a #2 or #3 piping tip. Let dry for 1 hour. Flood cookies with thinner icing, using a toothpick to spread into corners. Let dry completely (overnight is best) before stacking or packaging.