Fun And Festive Butter Cookies Recipe

Is there a more fun and festive ingredient than rainbow sprinkles? We think not! Regardless of the occasion, everyone needs some sprinkles in their lives. And what a simple way to add joy to your day than by baking up a batch of butter cookies with rainbow sprinkles? While these cookies are ideal for a birthday celebration, we give you permission to eat them all day, all year.

Recipe developer and dietitian-nutritionist Kristen Carli brings us these delightful butter cookies. Similar to icebox cookies, the dough for these is rolled into logs and chilled before slicing and baking. But in this case, the taste is reminiscent of shortbread cookies: extra buttery with just a hint of sweetness.

These cookies are the perfect celebratory dessert for a crowd. No need to slice up a big cake for your next birthday party. Instead, bake up a batch of butter cookies for a simpler way to celebrate, plate- and utensil-free!

To make these extra special butter cookies, you must start by gathering your ingredients. You will need unsalted butter, sugar, eggs (we're just using the yolks), vanilla extract, flour, salt, and, of course, rainbow sprinkles.

Once you have your ingredients, you need to make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add both sticks of softened butter and the sugar. Using the paddle attachment, beat the two until they are combined. Then add in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract. Again, use the paddle attachment to beat this mixture until it is well-combined. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and salt. Lastly, add the dry ingredients to the wet, using the stand mixer once more to form the dough.

Remove the dough from the bowl and separate into two halves. Form each halve into a log. Now, for the fun part! Pour the rainbow sprinkles onto a large, flat plate. Roll both logs of dough in the sprinkles, pressing them into the edges. Make sure to get the sides of the dough completely covered with sprinkles. When you think you've used enough sprinkles, use more!

Because these cookies have a high fat content (they are called butter cookies, after all), the dough must chill before baking. Place the sprinkle-covered logs in the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill. Yes, we know: Chilling the dough takes some patience. It's hard to wait, but it is worth it. By chilling the dough, you will avoid the cookies melting in the oven into one big glob. A delicious glob, admittedly, but we don't want a glob. We want cookies.

Once the hour is up, you can remove the dough from the fridge. The hard part is over; you'll have cookies in no time! Cut the logs into ¼ inch slices. Then, place them on several large baking sheets. Bake in a preheated oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Be sure to let them cool for at least 10 minutes before diving in.