Description
These Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies are soft, buttery sugar cookies coated with colorful nonpareil sprinkles, perfect for any festive occasion or a fun treat. Made with cream cheese and a hint of almond extract, they have a tender texture and a delightful flavor that kids and adults will love.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 tsp almond extract (use 1 1/3 tsp vanilla if nut allergy or prefer no almond)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Coating
- Non-Pareils or rainbow sprinkles (or both) as needed
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add the cream cheese, egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until evenly combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Combine Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients at slow to medium mixer speed, mixing until just combined and the dough is evenly moistened.
- Prepare Sprinkles: Pour the nonpareils or rainbow sprinkles into a small bowl for coating the cookie dough balls.
- Form and Coat Cookies: Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, form dough balls about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons each, roll them in the sprinkles covering all but the bottom, to achieve a thick coating.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart to allow spreading.
- Flatten Cookies: Gently press the dough balls down with the bottom of a glass to flatten them to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thickness.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, watching closely to avoid browning as ovens vary.
- Cool: Remove from oven, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days to maintain freshness.
- Cookies freeze well for up to 3 months; store in a freezer bag and thaw before eating.
- For gluten-free version, substitute the all-purpose flour with a reliable gluten-free flour blend like Jules Gluten Free Flour and chill dough for 10 minutes before rolling in sprinkles to help with handling.
- Adjust sprinkle quantity to preference; more sprinkles make for a more colorful and festive cookie.
- Do not let cookies brown to keep their tender texture and light color.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
