Soft-Baked Funfetti Sugar Cookies

 One of the things that was starting to overwhelm me, and led to my blogging break last month, was the pressure to write something clever and interesting in every post. Sure, this is mainly a food blog, it's mostly about the food, but lets be honest. My recipes are great, my pictures are average. In the world of super-food-blogs, I'm just not on that level. But I have a blogging voice, that is at least interesting enough for those of you who have happened upon this little spot click the "follow" button. So how do I keep up?? How can I possibly be clever and interesting every time I write? Well, I can't. I envy those blogs I read that are just zippy and hilarious and fascinating every single day. I am a Mom and a Wife. That is my job, my life, and most of my identity. I hang out with little boys for the majority of my days, and while I wouldn't have it ANY other way, some days I barely hang on till bedtime, let alone have a deep thought or sparkly little story to share. So this is me, giving myself permission to be boring from time to time. To just let the recipe speak for itself once in a while. And in between, well, the joys and trials of my normal little life will just have to suffice! After all, I'm clearly not in this for the money. :)

Now, I have by far the biggest sweet tooth in my family. In fact, my boys have been known to turn down a dessert or treat more often than the average child! They're pretty particular about sweet things, as is the Geologist, so most of the time I don't bother trying to please them, and just bake what I want. (I still don't eat everything myself though!) Every once in a while, they'll ask for something, or I'll stumble on a recipe just for them. These cookies are one of those recipes! Sprinkles are one thing my boys can't resist. Who can?? They're so much fun!

Soft-Baked Funfetti Sugar Cookies (adapted slightly from Sally's Baking Addiction)
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sprinkles

Beat the softened butter until smooth, about a minute. Add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy. This may take a few minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture. Add the sprinkles and mix until just combined.

Divide the dough into 16 small balls. Place on lined (or greased) baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour. (This will help the cookies stay thick, instead of spreading in the oven, but you can skip it if you want)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chilled cookie dough for 8-10 minutes, until they no longer look like mounds, but have no begun to brown. They will still look undone, leave them on the cookie sheet for three minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. (They'll stay soft if stored in an airtight container)

Such happy little cookies! Look at all those pretty sprinkles. Sometimes my treat choices for the boys backfire on me, but this one was a winner. The boys could barely wait for them to cool! But trust me, you want to wait for them to turn into fluffy, soft cookies; if you take a bite to early they'll just be gooey.

They're almost too sweet for me, but you know I like my desserts on the little-less-sweet side. If you're like me, I recommend decreasing the sugar to 2/3 cup. But either way, they're scrumptious!

The boys adored them, and they were easy as... well, cookies! Let's be honest, cookies are MUCH easier than pie. We should change the saying. "Easy as cookies!" Brightly sprinkled, pillowy soft, slightly chewy sugar cookies. Yum!