Lifelong Sprinkle Addict

I am an unabashed sucker for rainbow sprinkles (also known as “jimmies” to those of us from the northeast).  I really can’t explain why – I mean let’s be honest, they basically have ZERO taste.  But they add that little bit of lovely crunch, and perhaps their #1 selling point is: they’re just plain fun to look at.  I feel like a kid again when I eat rainbow sprinkles, they make me happy.  That’s reason enough to keep them on-hand in the pantry and I frequently use them in or on top of cakes and frozen desserts, and (obviously) in this cookie recipe!  My favorite sprinkles are made by Betty Crocker because they are large, soft and (unlike the Wilton brand) they include blue sprinkles too for the full rainbow effect.  You can supposedly find them at Walmart (I have not verified this in person), or if you live in California I get mine at Pavilions.

What Kids Want

I actually started making these a few months ago to drop off for a dear friend who has three adorable young children.  I wanted to bring something I was confident they would love, so I thought back to what I would have chosen at the bakery as a kid… I realized almost every treat that I was drawn to had some colorful element – M&M cookies, funfetti cakes, donuts with pink frosting and sprinkles, and of course cookies like these.  I made several variations of this recipe, with alterations each time, until I got the stamp of approval from the biggest kid I know (that would be Brad, haha – and I mean that as a compliment!).  The resulting recipe has a great mix of rainbow fun and that classic “funfetti” cake-batter flavor.  I hope you enjoy these (what Brad calls “birthday cookies”) as much as he, and the little ones they were originally intended for, do.

Timing is Everything

I’ve made MANY batches of these cookies and yet for some reason I don’t always remember to set a timer.  When that happens, inevitably around the 15-minute mark, I GASP and run to the oven to find they have turned a lovely golden brown, a color I might be totally thrilled with on other baked items.  However, with these cookies, if they’ve reached golden brown they are very likely to be crunchy and hard.  Some people prefer crunchy cookies – if that’s your thang, then bake as long as you like.  But if you like a soft, chewy cookie, slightly UNDER-baking is key here.  Your cookies should still be closer to white than golden.  You want the middle to not have cooked through yet so as they cool that center retains its moisture (and please keep in mind they will actually continue to “cook” a little after you take them out of the oven).

My timer is always set for a 10-minute baking time with these cookies, but you must account for the fact that your oven could be calibrated differently than mine, or perhaps you will make cookies of a different size.  I like to make this recipe using a three-tablespoon scoop (having a set of scoops is essential if you’re a cookie-maker/lover), resulting in a final cookie that is approximately 2.5-3 inches in diameter.  I love and use this particular set and find they work great for scooping ice cream as well.  If you make smaller cookies please adjust your bake time accordingly!  They should be set around the edges, with some cracks just starting to appear throughout.  Obviously you don’t want raw dough, but you do want softness!

When you take them out of the oven, let them cool on the cookie sheet placed on top of a cooling rack for a few moments.  If you attempt to move them too soon they will fall apart as they’ll be very soft coming out of the oven.  When they’re firm enough to handle, use a spatula to slide them directly onto the cooking rack for maybe ten minutes.  Then, while they’re still a little warm (not all the way cool), I suggest moving them into an airtight container to help seal in that moisture (the container may fog up a little).  Personally, I don’t want them air drying too much if I can help it!

Keep ‘Em Airtight

Can you store these in a plastic bag?  Yes, you can...  But PLEASE consider, if you will, replacing your disposable plastic baggies with any other reusable option (and there are a lot out there!).  I recently bought a TON of reusable airtight food containers to try and bring my plastic bag use down – within the year I’d love to have stopped buying plastic baggies altogether.  This initial investment will undoubtedly pay for itself over time, as these containers will likely outlive me!  Really anything you would normally put in a baggie you can also put in a reusable container, just get a variety of sizes so you have options to suit your every need.  I won’t launch into a whole tirade on single-use plastics, but if you’re not sure why they’re an issue please read this quick summary and consider other ways in which you, too, can cut back on plastic use: http://www.marinesafe.org/the-problem/single-use-plastic/.  Here is a great set of reusable containers very similar to the ones I own (the ones I have are actually from Costco, but I kinda wish I had gotten the Amazon ones instead!).  I like this specific set because it has a great range of sizes, including tiny ones for leftover salad dressing or garnishes.  Bonus: they also make your fridge/freezer/pantry/cupboards/counters look really organized.

One other tip to keeping your cookies soft: put a piece of bread in the airtight container with the cookies and it should help your precious treats retain their moistness while the bread dries out instead.

PLEASE READ: CLEAR VANILLA

This is very important!  I have been baking for most of my life but I had never heard of clear vanilla before 2020.  Even if I had, I’m sure I would have assumed it was kind of like white pepper.  I’ve never used white pepper but I’ll see it in a recipe for mashed potatoes, for example, and figure it’s used instead of black pepper JUST so as not to add black flecks into the white potatoes (as if this is worth investing in a whole new type of pepper for?! Personally I like those little black flecks!).  Anyway, if you’re making a pure white food (like frosting), maybe you would want clear vanilla instead of regular vanilla so you don’t add that almost imperceptible brown “tint”.  BUT if you assume (as I would have) that that’s the only difference between regular and clear vanilla and the only reason you would buy such a thing, you would be so very wrong!

Adding clear vanilla is basically like adding “cake batter flavor.”  It’s a synthetic vanilla, unlike its pure vanilla counterpart which is derived from the actual vanilla bean (hence, the dark color).  I can’t tell you how many times over the years I tried to make vanilla cupcakes from scratch, only to have them turn out tasting like corn muffins.  I could NOT figure out why boxed cake mix was SO much better than my homemade version!  Well, now I know.  Clear vanilla is the key.  Unfortunately I haven’t found clear vanilla in any of my local grocery stores, but it’s easy to order on Amazon and you get a big 11-oz bottle for $8.  Now that I have it in my arsenal, I actually use it in all sorts of things.  I’ve even added it to pancakes with rave reviews.  So IF you are a fan of that beloved “boxed” flavor but really want to avoid the variety of chemicals and preservatives in the actual boxed version, order some clear vanilla here (or click the image below) and you can thank me later!

A note about embedded LINKS!  If you know me at all, or have read enough of this website to appreciate that honesty is always my policy, you know that I am here to spread the word about things that I love: food, products, charity organizations, etc.  Occasionally, through something called “affiliate links” (links to products on sites like Amazon, for example) there is a chance I may earn a small commission, at NO additional cost to you.  But I am legally required to tell you that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  Whether an item earns me a commission has NO IMPACT on my decision to list it, and if the item is on a site for which I earn zero commission I will still link to it!  It would go against everything I stand for to profit off of misusing your trust.  I only recommend products I actually use myself (or occasionally link to other products as examples or points of comparison), and all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.