Cookie Monster

[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]

These vanilla cookies are covered in sprinkles, just like your local Italian-American bakery used to make.

About the author: Carrie Vasios is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

adapted from Lottie and Doof

About This Recipe

Yield: makes about 2 dozen cookies
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Special equipment: stand mixer, baking sheets, parchment paper, shallow bowl

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (10 ounces) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • About 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

Procedures

  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and confectioners sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix just until dough comes together. Dough will be very soft but wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

  2. Adjust oven rack to upper and lower middle positions and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

  3. Fill a shallow bowl with sprinkles. Use a 2-ounce cookie scoop (or a rounded tablespoon) to form cookies into balls. Roll each ball in sprinkles to cover then transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until cookies are golden at the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.