Description
These cookies are all you need to end this crazy year, start next year full of happiness, or simply to make your day. These-are-awesome. Borrowed from Smitten Kitchen, any kind of sprinkle would work, but rainbow is absolutely the most striking…and for maximum flavor, I highly recommend using a vanilla bean. Deb also reworked the recipe so that you can make these cookies in the traditional way (electric mixer with room temperature ingredients) – or – if you’re in a rush, check the link and use your food processor and straight-out-of-the-fridge cold ingredients – enjoy!
Ingredients
3 c. flour AND 1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda AND 3/4. t fine sea salt
1 c. butter AND (55 g/2 oz./1/4 of a brick) cream cheese – both at room temperature
1 1/4 c. sugar AND 1/2 of a vanilla bean scraped and rubbed into the sugar
1 egg AND 1 t. vanilla AND 1/4 t. almond extract
1 c. sprinkles (rainbow!)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Measure and whisk together the 4 dry ingredients and set this bowl aside.
Using your electric mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla sugar for a couple of minutes until the mix is fluffy, then add in the egg and both extracts and mix again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in all of the flour mix and mix on low until combined and the flour just disappears. If the dough feels too soft to roll then refrigerate it for a half hour or so. I found it a perfect consistency to roll at this point, and then it was also ‘warm’ enough for the sprinkles to stick.
Use a large cookie scoop (approximately golf ball size) to measure out balls and then roll them with your hands so they’re beautifully round. Drop each into your bowl of sprinkles and coat each cookie dough ball evenly before placing on one of your prepared baking sheets with a couple of inches between. When the baking sheet is full (they spread very little), use the bottom of a cup to press each cookie so that it’s a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch thick. Pressing the cookies may cause bare sprinkle spots to appear so add more on with a light press as you wish.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until the cookies look not quite done, but they’re lightly golden underneath. Leave the cookies to set and cool on the baking sheets, they should end up crisp on the outside and wonderfully chewy/fluffy on the inside. Happy New Year! So glad we’ve almost made it to 2021!