Do you remember visiting the bakery and watching as someone in your family (possibly you) was rewarded with a delicious sprinkle cookie from the friendly lady working behind the counter? It was the highlight of the shopping trip for my children and I always appreciated the quiet time that it gifted me, while a very happy little boy or girl munched away with focused dedication. The cookie was always a footnote to the colorful sprinkles that decorated it. When I decided to bake sprinkle cookies for my family, I knew that I wanted a crisp, vanilla-flavored cookie covered in colorful and crunchy non-pareils (round sprinkles). I rolled up my sleeves and got to work, testing one sugar cookie after another until I found the texture and flavor that I was seeking in this vanilla sugar cookie by Alice Medrich in her wonderful book, Cookies and Brownies.
Sprinkle Cookies
Have you ever made a cookie dough, followed the instructions meticulously and refrigerated the disk of dough, only to find that when it came time to roll it out, the dough was as hard as a rock and almost impossible to shape into a thin even sheet. I stubbornly refrained from making rolled-out cookies until I learned this important trick from Dorie Greenspan in her book Dorie’s Cookies . Once you’ve made the dough, while it is still very soft, divide the dough into quarters and shape each piece into a disk. Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it to the desired thickness. Slide the dough, still between the papers, onto a baking sheet (you can stack the slabs) and freeze for at least one hour but 24 hours is even better. When you are ready to bake the dough, remove a rolled out sheet of cookie dough from the freezer one at a time. Peel away the paper on both sides of the dough and return the dough to one piece of paper. Working quickly while the dough is still cold, use a cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Keep the scraps of dough in a bowl. When you have completed cutting out all your cookies, gather the dough scraps together, re-roll and chill again before cutting and baking. This hack is a game-changer when it comes to making rolled out cookies. A word of caution here: you can roll out the dough two or three times because you are rolling it between sheets of parchment paper and not adding flour to the dough. I would not roll out the same dough more than that. The texture of the cookies will suffer.
The rolled out sheets of dough do not have to all be baked at one time. You can bake as many cookies as you like and save the other rolled out sheets of dough, stored in a resealable plastic bag, in the freezer for another time. Baking cookies is a perfect way to entertain little visitors; you can prepare the sheets of dough in advance and bake only as many cookies as time or patience will allow.
Using a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar and butter or margarine, until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients on low speed and beat the flour mixture until it’s just incorporated. Divide the dough into four pieces. Shape each piece into a disk. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it is approximately 1/8 of an inch thick. Stack up the sheets of dough, between the sheets of parchment paper, on a baking sheet and freeze for at least one hour but 24 hours will make it that much easier to work with.
Remove a sheet of cookie dough from the freezer one at a time. Cut out as many cookies as possible and lift the cookies using a spatula, to a parchment-lined baking sheet. If the sheet of cookie dough becomes too soft to work with, refreeze it. It’s worth the extra time and effort. Brush each cookie with an egg white and water mixture and decorate with sprinkles. Be generous. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are a pale golden color. These cookies will last as long as you can keep their location a secret, in a resealable airtight container.
Sprinkle Cookies
A crisp, vanilla-flavored sugar cookie covered in colorful and crunchy non-pareils
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons butter or margarine (2 sticks), slightly softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- For decorating the cookies:
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup colored sprinkles (I like round sprinkles but any sprinkle will work)
Instructions
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix with a fork and set it aside.
In a stand mixer using the flat beater, beat the butter or margarine and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
On low speed beat in the flour mixture until it is just incorporated. Don't over-mix.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it is 1/8 of an inch thick. Stack up the sheets of dough, still between the sheets of parchment paper, on a baking sheet and freeze for at least one hour, but 24 hours is even better.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven.
Take out one sheet of dough at a time from the freezer. Remove the sheet of parchment paper from one side of the dough. Flip over the dough and remove the other piece of parchment paper. Set the sheet of dough back down on one of the pieces of parchment paper. Working quickly while the dough is still semi-frozen, use a cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can. Lift each cookie with a small spatula and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Mix together an egg white and one tablespoon of water.
Brush each cookie with the egg white mixture and using a teaspoon, top generously with sprinkles.
Bake each sheet of cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should appear to be lightly golden around the edges.
Notes
I suggest that you measure the flour in the following way: lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup and use a knife or other straight-edged utensil to level the flour across the measuring cup. At any time while cutting out the cookies, if the dough becomes uncooperative because it is too soft, refreeze the sheet of dough.
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