Funfetti Sugar Cookies for Desserts for the Deserving

A few weeks ago, I was able to have the opportunity to be part of a fantastic project.  Amanda over at I Am Baker, along with some other fabulous ladies, asked for volunteers to help with the second Desserts for the Deserving.  This project asked people to nominate someone in their lives who could benefit from a random act of kindness.  Once nominated, Amanda searched for volunteers who would be paired up with a nominee.  I immediately jumped at the opportunity to be part of such a lovely cause, and was assigned to a woman from Virginia.  This woman was nominated by her granddaughter, and I immediately fell in love with her story (not to mention, she has the same name as my grandmother).  Without going into too much detail, the granddaughter mentioned that she wants to do something to, "brighten her day," and I immediately thought of the perfect cookies.  Funfetti sugar cookies - what could brighten someone's day more than a soft, sugar cookie filled with rainbow sprinkles?  Since I don't know this woman's tastes, I also felt that a cookie with simple, basic flavors would be more appropriate.  Plus cookies are incredibly easy to ship!

One thing that I love about this recipe is it uses cake flour without having to send you out to buy cake flour!  Cake flour is what gives cookies their "chewiness," and all you need to do is replace 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of corn starch for every cup of flour you use!  It's incredibly easy and already included in the recipe below.

While the cookies are baking, you'll want to start checking the cookies at 8 or 10 minutes to make sure they're not browning on the edges.  I baked cookies that were about 2 inches in diameter and they were finished by the 10 minute mark.  I probably could have even taken them out a little earlier.

These cookies are just divine.  They're crispy on the edges and moist and chewy in the center (make sure you make the cookies big enough so that you get this difference in texture - 4 inches across should do).  One of my favorite things about sugar cookies is being able to bite into it and taste the crunchy granulated sugar crystals.  So amazing.  I absolutely love this cookie and will be using this as my base for my drop sugar cookies from now on.  

I made these cookies on a cool, rainy day (I try to take advantage of these days during the summer so I don't heat up the house even further with my baking) and they certainly brightened up the room.  I do hope they brighten up my Desserts for the Deserving recipient's day as well :)

Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Yield: about 24 cookies

Prep Time: 15 min

Bake Time: 10 – 12 min

Ingredients

-     2 ½ c flour

-     ¼ c cornstarch

-     ¾ tsp baking soda

-     ½ tsp salt

-     1 c (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

-     1 ¼ c sugar

-     2 tsp vanilla extract

-     1 egg, room temperature

-     ½ c nonpareil or rainbow jimmie sprinkles

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar.  Add in the vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined.  Add in the flour mixture about 1 cup at a time, and combine completely after each addition.  Fold in the sprinkles and stir once or twice to incorporate, no more than that or else the color will bleed into the dough.

Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, setting the cookies about 1 inch apart.  Bake for about 12 minutes, checking often and remove once the outside edges are just starting to turn a golden brown.  Remove immediately from oven at this point and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes.  Allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.  Store in an airtight container. 

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

Posted by Ali B at 2:15 PM