Sparkler Sugar Cookies

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Sugar cookies are my all-time favorite cookie. I like them with frosting, plain, with sprinkles or even with a little dusting of sugar on top. They are the BEST.

And they come in all sorts of different varieties—chewy, crispy, lemon, vanilla—you name it and you can find a sugar cookie that fits the bill.

This recipe I adapted from fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com is very similar to a sugar cookie you would find in a grocery store bakery. It has a crispy outside and chewy inside with a slight cherry flavor.

There are two main things you MUST do to maintain the bakery flavor these cookies impart: use cake flour and almond extract. Don’t try to use regular flour or only vanilla extract, or these cookies just won’t be the same.

To give them a little festive flair for July 4, I added red, white and blue sprinkles to the dough, hence the name “Sparkler Sugar Cookies.”

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 ½ cups cake flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Cream butter, shortening and sugar together in mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla and almond extracts.
4. Slowly add flour mixture into butter and sugar mixture. Mix until combined.
5. Stir in sprinkles by hand.
6. Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto cookie sheet about two inches apart.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are light golden brown. Do NOT overbake or they will not be chewy in the center. Cookies should still be fairly pale with just a little browning on edges.

Yields: About 32 cookies