Vanilla Almond Easter Sprinkle Cookies

Spring is in the air and Easter is just around the corner, so I decided to add some festive pastel confetti sprinkles to my traditional sugar cookie to give them a little crunch and a splash of color.

To really transform my cookies, I also added a splash of almond and vanilla extract in the dough, to give them their own unique flavor perfect for spring. If you do not plan on making all of the cookies at once, you can wrap and freeze dough for later use. Cookie dough balls can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours or frozen to be used in smaller batches.

Top dough balls with confetti sprinkles and on a cookie sheet and pop in the fridge for a few hours or over night. This allows the flavors to develop and time for the dough to absorb the moisture for a flavorful, hydrated and firm dough yielding rich, golden brown cookies that bake up thicker and more evenly with a better consistency.

Vanilla Almond Sprinkle Cookies

Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180g), weighed or spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (100g) granulated white sugar
1/3 cup (64g) packed brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup confetti sprinkles

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract until incorporated. Add flour mixture on low speed just until combine.

Scoop dough into balls (about 2 tablespoons each) and roll in sprinkles. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, to firm the dough for more flavorful cookies, with less spreading.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from the refrigerator and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 9-12 minutes, until edges just start to set. Do not over bake. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Notes:

Refrigerating the dough balls allows the flavors to intensify and time for the dough to absorb the moisture for a flavorful, hydrated and firm dough yielding rich, golden brown cookies that bake up thicker with less spreading.
If you do not plan on making all of the cookies at once, the unbaked cookie dough balls can be can be placed in a ziploc bag and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3-4 months, to be baked in desired quantities. When baking cookie dough balls straight from the freezer, add about 1 minute to the baking time.
Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days or frozen for up to a few months.