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This sugar cookie not only looks beautiful, but it's a flavor I promise you'll love. These sugar cookies are soft and chewy in the center with a light crisp around the edges - and of course lots of rainbow sprinkles!
I love my go-to chewy vanilla sugar cookie recipe but it is definitely a labor of love with a mixer required and a long chill time prior to baking. This recipe has a similar incredible texture and flavor but without the need for special equipment! This makes it a great recipe if you don't feel like using your mixer and they stay fresh for a few days so it's also a great bake ahead recipe.
Desserts with sprinkles are always fun because they're easy to make festive for any holiday or special celebration. I used the classic, long rainbow sprinkles but you could get creative here - picking a single color sprinkle or even a different shape. To get the best, soft texture I do recommend using the same shape sprinkle that I used but if you like a bit of a crunch you could experiment a bit with the sprinkle shape.
This recipe really is no fuss, but it is really important that your butter and egg are both at room temperature. Especially when we bake and combine our ingredients without the use of a stand or hand mixer, ensuring your ingredients are all at the same temperature will help to bring your ingredients together smoothly.
This recipe makes about 10 cookies, but I'll also share the ingredients needed to make twenty (you can find this at the bottom of the post) in case you want to make a larger quantity or freeze some of the dough. For scooping your cookie dough, your cookies should be about 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons in size. I love these scoops from Cook'n Feel (I use the medium scoop usually for cookies) or this large scoop from Oxo.
These are also a great option for any holiday, using a special color of sprinkles. Below you can see my Valentine's Day version of these cookies!
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup (96g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (40g) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon oil (canola or vegetable)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or clear vanilla extract)
1 1/2 cups (180g) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Bake time: 11-13 minutes
Servings: 10 cookies
Chill time: 3 hours (or overnight)
Equipment:
Spatula or large spoon
Scooper (2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons)
Parchment paper
Cooking instructions:
Before starting, ensure your butter and egg are at room temperature. You can put your butter into the microwave for 5-10 seconds to soften if needed, and the egg should come out of the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to starting.
In a large bowl, combine your butter, granulated and powdered sugar using a spatula. Continue to mix until there are no streaks of butter and your mixture lightens in color.
Next, add in your egg, oil, and vanilla extract and mix to fully combine. Use your spatula to mix with speed for about a minute.
Add in your all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Being sure not to over mix, fold in your dry ingredients with your spatula. When your dough is about half formed, add in your sprinkles. Continue to fold your ingredients together until a dough forms and your sprinkles are evenly dispersed.
Place your dough, uncovered, into the fridge to chill for just 30 minutes.
Onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, use a cookie scoop or large spoon to portion out your dough, 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons per cookie (about 50-52g per scoop). Cover your dough scoops with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. I recommend doing this for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight. If you bake your cookies right away at least be sure to chill your scoops while your oven preheats otherwise your cookies will be very thin!
When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake your cookies for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow them to cool and enjoy!
Note: Right when you remove them from the oven, I recommend gently shaping your cookies using a round cookie cutter or bowl slightly larger than the size of your cookie - this will ensure they are perfectly round and thick in the center. Placing your round tool of choice around one cookie, gently nudge the edges in until you get a perfectly round shape and repeat for each cookie.
Your cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature, or freshest in the fridge and you can let your cookies come to room temperature when you're ready to enjoy. You can also freeze some of your dough to bake later. To do this, place your scooped cookie dough onto a baking sheet and into the freezer for 12-24 hours. Then, transfer your frozen dough to a plastic bag or airtight container and store in the freezer. To bake from frozen, set your oven to 325 and bake for about 14-16 minutes.
Carb and serving info:
Servings: 10 cookies
Carbs per serving: 32
Carbs for full recipe: 323
Carbs from sprinkles: 40
Ingredients for twenty cookies:
16 tablespoons (226g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (192) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (80g) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups (360g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.