I wouldn’t consider myself PoPuLaR by any means, but I am known for a few things: my awkwardness, my love of Braum’s chocolate milk (iykyk), and…these cookies.
Smitten Kitchen has long been a go-to blog of mine, finding it in college and consulting it weekly (maybe even daily?) ever since. I admire so much about Deb. Enough, apparently, that I refer to her by first name. 🙃 Here are a few of our SK faves:
- salted brown butter crispy treats are ALWAYS a crowd favorite.
- these black bean tacos with slaw have saved dinner more times than I can count.
- this strawberry summer cake is a go-to as soon as strawberries are in season.
- if you’re into mushrooms, this mushroom lasagna is HEAVEN.
And a million more.
I first made these cookies for a work Christmas party, only adjusting the almond extract a bit–they were a hit! But I knew my love of almond extract and continued to experiment. The rest of my edits were borne of laziness; I didn’t want to take the time to roll the dough in sprinkles (lolz y’all, my true colors), and I wanted BIG COOKIES whenever my heart desired.
The result? The cookies of your dreams. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and the size of a scoop of ice cream. I mean, really. You can’t argue with that.
the best confetti cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, room temp
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup rainbow sprinkles (see notes for sprinkle recs!)
Instructions
for the dough
- Fun fact–I almost never remember to pull out my butter or cream cheese in time. I just don't. Instead, I usually unwrap the butter and microwave at half power, flipping the stick over ever 4-5 seconds, until softened. Same with cream cheese! Just REALLY watch them because you don't want them to melt!But use different plates, y'all. Learn from my mistakes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer!), beat together cream cheese, butter, and sugar until fluffy–around 3 minutes.
- While that's mixing, whisk together your dry ingredients. (Minus sprinkles!)
- Add egg, the extracts, and mix again. Don't forget to scrape the sides of your bowl.
- Add in your dry ingredients, mixing a bit but not entirely. You still want to see some streaks of flour.
- Pour in your sprinkles! Slowly mix until incorporated. Note: you really don't want to overmix here. I usually do this step by hand!
- Scoop your dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using a ¼ measuring cup. My ice cream scoop is perfect for this! Note: Make sure the cookie sheets fit in your freezer before you get started. Again, learn from my mistakes.
- Freeze until solid, at least an hour.
- After your dough is completely frozen, transfer to a freezer bag to store. Just make sure you really squeeze the air out!
for baking
- Preheat your oven to 375.
- Place your desired amount of cookies onto a parchment-lined sheet. Leave at least 1 inch space between–these don't spread much!
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until very light golden brown.
- Let cool as long as you can stand it, then enjoy!
