18 Pounds of Sprinkles

I do love a good sugar cookie - especially one I don't have to roll out and cut, that's a pain in the butt. I'll say it - cut out cookies are not my favorite - by any means. Give me a cookie I can scoop with my new terrible cookie scoop (new one on order and this one is heading back), add some sprinkles and away we go. This recipes does need some fridge time, but you scoop it first so those dough balls can hang out for a few days if you need them too - which is great when you have a lot of baking to do but want to do some early prep. My kids aren't fans of chocolate and let’s be honest - a lot of cookies are chocolate. This one? A great sugar cookie with sprinkles! I had actually made these for Christmas - but would you know that? Of course not!! I didn't have Christmas sprinkles and couldn't find any holiday jimmies in the stores... trust me I tried. But in the process of looking for sprinkles I did discover that I could buy 6 and 18 pound packages of sprinkles on Amazon. Can you imagine 18 pounds of sprinkles? I could can them, and put them in my basement with all my other canned goods! Imagine going to that canning exchange? "Oh I made salsa", "I made jam", nope, not me, I pour sprinkles in a jar!! Amazing. Maybe if I'm really good this year Santa will bring me 18 pounds of sprinkles!! I can only hope!

Drop Style Christmas Sugar Cookies
1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles, plus more for topping*

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in 1/2 cup of sprinkles. Dough will be thick and sticky. Scoop large sections of dough (about 2 Tablespoons of dough each) and roll into balls. For extra sprinkle goodness, lightly dip the tops of the cookie dough balls in more sprinkles. Place dough balls onto a large plate or lined baking sheet.
Cover and chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 4 days).
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Arrange chilled cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.