Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies
Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you have parchment paper, line baking sheet, but if you don’t, spray cookie sheet or aluminum foil with cooking spray.
To soften butter in microwave: place butter, still wrapped in sticks, on microwave safe plate and microwave for approximately 10-15 seconds. Check your butter - is it still cool but pliable? Can you easily bend it or push one finger into it? If not, return to microwave, rotating sticks, and microwave in 5 seconds increments. Stop before it melts!
To soften cream cheese in microwave: cut cream cheese “brick” on correct measuring line before unwrapping and placing on a microwave safe plate (cream cheese has to be unwrapped before softening in the microwave because it comes in a foil wrapper!). Microwave for 10 seconds. Cream cheese softens a lot faster than butter!
If you planned ahead and took your butter and cream cheese out of the fridge this morning to soften, I’m very impressed!
Option #1: Food Processor
Place flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the food processor, and process for 10 seconds. Cut butter and cream cheese into large pieces (no need to be exact or accurate!) and add to the food processor. Process until mixture looks powdery, and there are no big chunks left. Turn machine off; add egg and vanilla (and almond extra, if using), and process until the dough forms a ball. If making the doubled recipe, add additional egg and process again. Scrape mixture down and off sides of bowl, and process for another 10 seconds.
Option #2: Stand or hand mixer (or by hand for a bonus arm workout)
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; set aside. In bowl of mixer, beat butter and cream cheese together for one minute. Scrape down bowl, and add sugar. Beat 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract, if using, and beat well. If doubling recipe, add additional egg and beat again. Add flour mixture, and mix until flour disappears, stopping to scrape down bowl at least once or twice.
Place rainbow sprinkles in bowl, and scoop 1/4 cup (ice cream scoop sized) balls of dough. Roll in sprinkles to coat thoroughly. Place cookie balls on baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes - cookies will puff up and bottoms will turn golden brown. If you prefer these cookies soft, bake just until bottoms start to brown. If you like them crispier, you can bake until the tops are more golden. I pull mine out just when the bottoms are barely beginning to brown and leave them soft in them middle.
The cookie dough balls, rolled in sprinkles, can be refrigerated for up to a week before baking or frozen for up to two months. Just make sure you roll dough in sprinkles while it’s fresh out of the mixer, or the sprinkles won’t stick as well!
*I don’t add almond extract to these cookies when I make them because I am almost always serving them to children, and I never want to chance any allergies! But I personally LOVE the flavor of almond extract, and if you don’t have any allergy concerns, try adding it sometime - it gives the cookies a vaguely wedding cake flavor!
**This is a LOT of rainbow sprinkles, I know! I buy very large containers of them on Amazon so I always have more than I need for this recipe. Quite a few will be lost to the counter and floor (sorry in advance) during the rolling and transferring process, so having more than called for in the recipe is often helpful - check out options here!