Chewy Sprinkle Cookies

Summer is here and I suppose it is time to start thinking about different cookie recipes that are a little bit lighter. It’s hard with cookies, as in the summer I have more time, but then it isn’t the best atmosphere in my house to bake. Unless it is the hottest day, I try to find a recipe that is a little simpler and doesn’t require too long in the oven.

I found this recipe a couple of weeks ago, and while it isn’t exotic in terms of ingredients, the sprinkles made this cookie fun. The recipe notes that you can use whatever sprinkles you want, which makes this the perfect cookie for any occasion. I had some time, and I went out to find more interesting sprinkles. This was harder than expected, and I ended up with fairly traditional sprinkles, although the ones I used were a slightly different color palette.

These cookies use a combination of butter and shortening; the butter provides crispness, and the shortening provides chewiness, so these cookies are just lovely. The sprinkles, at least the ones I used, were round and liked to bounce, which was tricky! The dough is soft, and it helped to reshape the cookie into a round after rolling in the sprinkles. These baked up fine, although I worried about the 400-degree oven temperature, but it was no issue. These chewy cookies with a bit of crispness are lovely, and some of the sprinkles fall off while you are eating them, but that’s ok.

Chewy Sprinkle Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5+ ounces sprinkles

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, shortening, and sugar on medium until light. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then stir in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and mix until the dough comes together.

Place the sprinkles into a small bowl. Shape the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and slightly flatten the balls. Roll the dough in the sprinkles and press so that the sprinkles adhere to the cookie dough. As needed, reshape the cookies so that they are rounded. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and look set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: sprinkles may stain or transfer their color to other items.

Recipe from Pear Tree Kitchen