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

7 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 2:15 PM

Quarterlette

About a year ago, I decided to start this blog as a means of sharing my quarter life crisis with other readers for the sole purpose of hoping that I was not alone.  I have found some very encouraging words along the way, and writing in this blog has given me a creative outlet and allowed me to pursue some of the things I'm passionate about.  While finding myself, I was able to share my story about learning how to cook and bake (seriously, before this my cooking skills were limited to boiling pasta), crafting special gifts, and honing my skills as an athlete, making myself healthier than I ever have been.  I was also able to share the ups and downs of teaching and the daunting task of finding a job, getting so close, and then being forced to start all over.  But most importantly, I hoped to inspire other young women (and men!) that this is the time in which you must take charge of your life and follow the things you are passionate about.  I honestly do believe this is the path to finding true happiness.

A few months ago, one of the founders of Quaterlette reached out to me and asked if I could share my story.  I immediately fell in love with the idea of the site because it's purpose is to unite young women who are going through their quarter life crisis.  I think the message from the co-founders says it better than I can:

"As three girls in our late-twenties, we have been exposed to endless stories 

from our friends about the difficulties that come along with this life stage. 

We’re old enough now where we have expectations for ourselves.  

We feel like we’re supposed to have an exciting job, 

a decent income, a cozy home and a fulfilling relationship.  

And if we don’t, we tend to feel incredibly lost.

However, while this time can be difficult and confusing, 

it can also be incredibly rewarding and life-changing as well.  

Some may call it the “quarter-life crisis” – we prefer to think of it as a tricky 

and exciting time full of changes, transitions and decisions. 

We’ve had exceptional and memorable days during our twenties, 

but we’ve had some challenging and anxiety-filled days as well, 

as we are constantly trying to weave together who we think 

we should be and who we want to be with the reality of who we are."

See? I could not have said it better myself.  When I read this, I knew I wanted to be a part of this platform, since these are all of the feelings I have had for the past 2 years.  I wrote up an essay and submitted it to these women, and I will be featured on this website sometime in the upcoming weeks.  I am incredibly excited to share my story with other Quarterlettes and hope to continue to inspire others to take that chance to make a change in their lives for the better. 

Many of you have expressed that you went through or currently are going through your quarter life crisis as well.  I ask that you share this site with your friends and family so that we can all realize that we do not go through this stage alone.  Even if you are not going through a quarter life crisis, the stories on this site are truly inspirational.  Please read and share, and I'll be sure to let you know when my story will be published!  

And thank you to everyone who has followed my story for the past year, I cannot express my gratitude for all of your kind words and support. 

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Posted by Ali B at 11:20 AM

Fall Leaf and Pumpkin Cookies

Remember back over the summer when I hosted an auction on my site to raise funds for Jennie and her two girls?  Well one woman, Jill, graciously bid on my cookies, and it's time for me to send them out!  I wanted to take a minute to share the cookies I made for her, but first I wanted to talk about #afundforJennie.

It seems like ages ago that everyone rallied together to raise funds for Jennie and her girls after her husband died from a sudden and unexpected heart attack.  The women at Bloggers Without Borders really rallied everyone together and collected donations for Jennie's family as well as urge other bloggers to host auctions on their sites in order to raise additional funds.  When I was telling a friend the story behind the cookies, I couldn't remember how much was actually raised for Jennie.  I went to the BWOB website and brought up the last post on #afundforJennie and almost fell out of my seat.  Do you know how much we raised?  I don't think you'd believe me if I told you, so visit the post to check it out for yourself.

How amazing is that!! I will forever be floored by what an amazing community the blogging world is.  I am looking forward to seeing what other causes BWOB will take up; I believe this organization has the potential to do some pretty incredible things.

So back to the cookies, Jill asked if I could make her some fall themed cookies and we decided on fall leaves and pumpkins.  I found my cookie cutters, made some of my vanilla bean sugar cookies and royal icing, and got to decorating.

A few weeks ago, I had stumbled across this post by SugarBelle about fall leaf sugar cookies.  They didn't look like normal decorated sugar cookies - they had a texture to them and the icing looked as if it was marbled.  She used food coloring spray paint - who knew something like that even existed!

I decided to make orange leaves, red leaves, and orange pumpkins with brown stems, leaving my color palette to a manageable 3 colors.  I bought red and orange food color spray to give the leaves some depth and figured i'd use the red on the orange cookies and the orange on the red cookies.  Well, the orange didn't come out on the red cookies (seriously, what was I thinking?), but the red on the orange cookies looked amazing!  They actually look like fall leaves, and the spray paint added some texture as well.  I hope to find some more uses for these spray cans...

Before spraying - still pretty, but the leaves are lacking something...

Enter Color Mist Food Color Spray by Wilton!  

How cool is that!  The red on the orange adds such depth to the color, and what real fall leaves are just 1 color?

The finished cookies!  Next week I'll show you how to make sure they arrive to their destinations safely...

7 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 3:04 PM

A Fund for Jennie - Let the Bidding Begin!

I'd first like to thank everyone who voted on what they'd bid on to raise money for a Fund for Jennie.  I want to make sure that we raise the most money for Jennie and her girls and I want to make sure that the winner gets something they'd love!

So, on Quarter Life Crisis I will be auctioning off 2 dozen (24) sugar cookies with a custom design for a Fund for Jennie. 

I will use my personal sugar cookie recipe (which is pretty delicious if I do say so myself - so delicious I've been keeping it a secret) and decorate the cookies with royal icing.  The winner of the auction will request a cookie design (apples for back to school, little hurricanes for Irene, anything your heart desires!).  The winner has 2 weeks to claim their prize and will receive the cookies within the next 2 weeks.

Exciting, right?  Here's how it'll work:

The bidding will begin today, Friday August 26th, and end on Monday, August 29th at 9:00PM EST.

To participate, leave your bid in the comment section below.

We're going to start the bidding at $25.  This is just a little more than $1 per cookie (and shipping will be covered by me as well!).  It's a great prize and 100% of the money raised will go directly to Jennie and her two little girls.

If you have any questions about the auction please email me at AliBQLC@gmail.com.

To read more about what Bloggers Without Borders is doing for the Perillo family, please visit their site here.

If you'd like to donate directly to Jenny instead, please click on the button below:

Thank you for participating and good luck!

2 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 10:26 AM

A Fund for Jennie - What Would You Bid On?

As many of you in the blogging community know, fellow blogger Jennifer Perillo lost her husband, Mikey, to an unexpected heart attack.  On August 7th, at 5:52pm, Jennifer's (Jennie's) world was ripped apart as her husband was taken too early from both her and her two little girls.

A few weeks ago, the blogging community showed their support by making hundreds of peanut butter pies for Mikey, his favorite dessert that Jennie said in a heartbreaking post she'd make it for him tomorrow.  And then tomorrow never came.

I was unable to make a peanut butter pie, but that did not mean I didn't want to show my support.  Bloggers Without Borders, a site designed for bloggers who want to do something decided to start a fund for Jennie.  The tragedy of losing a loved one is excruciatingly painful, but few of us think of what comes afterwards.  Bills need to be paid, children need to be taken care of, and loose ends need to be tied up.  Bloggers Without Borders decided to start a fund for Jennie for this very reason, because she faces a long, hard road ahead.

"As you can imagine, Jennie is overwhelmed not only by her grief, and the sudden responsibility of raising two children by herself, but she is also struggling with this financially. She just learned that she cannot collect widow’s benefits from Social Security because she earns too much money each year. The health insurance for her and her kids runs out in December and she just learned that the total she will have to pay will be more than her mortgage. It’s possible she’ll have to pay off the entire mortgage in one lump sum because the apartment was in his name alone. And more than anything, Mikey wanted Jennie to continue living her dream of being a food writer. And he wanted to make sure his kids were taken care of well. That’s why he worked as hard as he did. So we want to help. And we hope you want to help too."
- Bloggers Without Borders


I was deeply moved by these words and wanted to help, but wasn't sure where to start.  After getting in touch with Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl, I was given tips on how to conduct an auction on my blog.  If you've been reading my blog, you are well aware that I have many interests, yet I'm not sure which one would be most desirable if I were to auction something off on Quarter Life Crisis.  So I want to ask my readers, the ones who will be doing the bidding, what they would like to win.  More details on the auction will come at a later post, but for now, which item would you be most likely to bid on to raise funds for a fund for Jennie?

Please take the survey here.

The option that receives the most favorable response will be the item that I auction off to benefit a fund for Jennie.  You will be bidding on these items, I want to make sure you get something you'd actually want!

Thank you for taking the time to vote, get excited for the auction!!

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Posted by Ali B at 10:41 AM