Growing up we would always drive back to New York to visit family. We’d take the big mini-van and drive the 6 hours from Montreal to the suburbs of New York City. But one thing we always did no matter what was visit the Italian bakeries. I have fond memories of picking out my favorites to put into a little white box tied perfectly with a red and white ribbon. And if you haven’t experienced a little white blox with a red bow on top, you’re missing out. This was everything to us as kids.
I’d pick out my usual favorites that I still love to this day. A black and white cookie (duh), rainbow cookies (these are them if you’ve never had them), leaf cookies and of course, sprinkle butter cookies. There’s just something so simple and easy about a butter cookie rolled in sprinkles. I’d inhale a good portion of my cookies in no time, but that’s really the only way to do it.
Italian Sprinkle Butter Cookies Recipe
I can’t take credit for dreaming up this recipe. And I really don’t know how bakers do it. I can come up with a savory dish in two seconds, but baking is a whole different beast. I used the Serious Eats recipe for her vanilla sprinkle cookies. They’re perfect just the way they are.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup salted butter – at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup rainbow sprinkles for rolling
Method
- In a medium bowl add all your dry ingredients. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream your butter, oil and sugars together until fluffy, roughly 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.
- Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop (or you can go bigger just make sure to cook them a tad longer) form cookies into balls and roll in colored sprinkles. Bake until golden brown about 12-14 minutes. Let cool and transfer to a wire rack.
Recipe courtesy of Serious Eats, check out her recipe here!
Italian Sprinkle Butter Cookie Tips
These cookies are perfect for making all year round. For Valentine’s Day, opt for pink and red sprinkles instead of rainbow. For Christmas, try red and green, or even dye the cookies red with some food coloring. They also store really well. You can pre-roll them in sprinkles and then freeze them for easy baking one or two. And trust me, they’re also very delicious frozen and raw! I think I ate equal amounts baked and raw frozen cookies when I made these. And lastly, they’re great for a cookie exchange since you can get so many from one batch.
