Soft, Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Sometimes, I think up recipes because I'm hungry and can't stop thinking about what I would love at that moment. This was one of those recipes. I was just sitting at work on a slow day thinking about sweets and this idea came over me and I went home and made them. These are a cookie game-changer.

Now, I should say that I'm not usually a huge sugar cookie kind of gal. I'll take a snickerdoodle or maybe even chocolate chip over a standard sugar cookie any day. But these aren't your standard, run-of-the-mill, cookie cutter sugar cookies. They are soft and creamy and even border on doughy, in the best way possible. After searching around online and in some baking books, this recipe is a pretty standard one for soft sugar cookies. And since sprinkles make everything better, I decided to spice of the standard to make funfetti cookies!

Here we go...

Soft, Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Yields about 40+ cookies, depending on size

10 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3c vegetable shortening

1 1/2c sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

3 1/3 flour

3 tbsp rainbow sprinkles or nonpareils

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and shortening with an electric mixer. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. With your mixer on low, add dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixer. Using a spatula, fold in sprinkles.

Drop rounded tbsps of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottoms just begin to brown. 

The trick is to not over bake them, or you won't get that super soft texture. I baked mine 9 minutes and they were just slightly brown on the bottom.

Thinkg about the possibilities! You could use a basic buttercream to make these little guys into cookie sammies, or maybe even dip half of them in chocolate for the chocolate lover in your life. It's a challenge to not eat all of them. After eating half the batch, I then took mine to a party only to get them out of our house. 

Need more funfetti options? Try these homemade Funfetti Cupcakes too!

Yum!

Funfetti Cupcakes

Let's just get a known fact out of the way...funfetti is probably the best boxed cake out there. Even though I hate using boxed cakes when making from scratch takes pretty much the same amount of effort, sometimes you just need funfetti. And that's why this recipe is amazing. Funfetti from scratch!

Funfetti Cupcakes

Yields 12 cupcakes

Based off of this recipe.

1 2/3c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1c sugar

1 stick softened butter

1 large egg

1/4c sour cream

3/4c buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla

1/4c rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 and place liners in a cupcake pan.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Combine after each one.

In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add dry mixture to the butter mixture, alternating between dry and buttermilk. Only mix until combined so you don't overmix. Overmixing=dry cupcakes.

With a spatula, fold in sprinkles. Be careful not to overmix, as the colors begin to melt and run together.

Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 way full. Bake for 20 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.

Vanilla Buttercream

Yields enough for 24 cupcakes

2 sticked softened butter

3c confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-4 tbsp milk

Cream butter until fluffy with an electric mixer. Add sugar slowly. Add vanilla and combine. Add enough milk to soften the texture of the buttercream. Add in small increments so not to make it too runny. 

To get fancy, fill a pastry bag with a 1A Wilton tip. Pipe enough frosting as desired. Eat.

Looking for more cupcake ideas? Check out Applesauce Cupcakes, Chocolate Potato Chip Cupcakes, and Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes!

Recipe Card: Pumpkin Seeds

On Saturday night, I looked at my little pumpkin on the kitchen counter and decided that I didn't want to look at it anymore. I've never made pumpkin seeds before, but have this vivid memory of being in elementary school and someone having homemade pumpkin seeds. I think that most have been the first time I ever had them. I digress.

I always felt a little unsure about baking my own pumpkin seeds. Could never find an actual recipe for them (probably because it's so easy to make them delicious) and everything I read just said sprinkle with salt and pepper. I wanted something a bit more than that. So after seeing this blog post by Elsie from A Beautiful Mess, I knew this was super easy, and sounded yummy.

All I did was cut open my pumpkin and remove the seeds. rinse in a strainer and pull out any pumpkin guts. Melt a pat of butter, less than a tablespoon (maybe half a tablespoon?) and after drying the seeds off a bit, add to the butter. Toss and spread out on silpat on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of Lawry Seasoning Salt and a teaspoon of pepper (I love black pepper). Bake at 350 for 15 mins, checking every five to make sure not to burn. 

I didn't have a very large pumpkin, actually it was pretty small. Depending on the amount of seeds you have, you may need to add more seasoning. But as I've learned by just winging it, pumpkin seeds are pretty hard to mess up.

Pretty delicious stuff right there. Great for when you're not really hungry but want something to munch on...which is all the time for me.

Oh and this happened while I was photographing those seeds...silly ladies.

PS: If you don't follow A Beautiful Mess, I strongly recommend their blog for a great, inspiration read. Her blog is pretty fantastic in the creative department.

Recipe Card: Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles have to be my favorite cookie. As much as I like a freshly baked oatmeal or chocolate chip cookie, I always get tired of them and move on. This is not the case with snickerdoodles. I could eat tons and tons of these, and when I made this recipe, I basically did. Don't tell. Here's the recipe.

This recipe is from adapted from here.

Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.
3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5. Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
6. Meanwhile, mix some sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Or use already mixed cinnamon sugar.
7. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture.
8. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.
9. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.

Now this recipe has it yields 24 cookies. I had tons! Much more than 24 so if you are worried about eating the whole batch, be prepared!

So good... I dare you not to make these.

Recipe Card: Applesauce Cupcakes

When I was little, we used to go to a bunch of backyard BBQs and family parties at my aunt and uncle's house. One of my favorite parts, eating applesauce cake made by my uncle's mother (we actually aren't related to my aunt and uncle, they're just family friends). It's similar to carrot cake or a spice cake, but it always comes out very moist and I love a good spice cake anyway. Here's the recipe that I scored from her years ago, and then turned into cupcakes!

Applesauce Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/2c flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

1tsp salt &cinnamon

1/2tsp nutmeg &ground clove

1/2c vegetable shortening

1/2c sugar

1/2c brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/4c applesauce

1. Sift together flour, baking powder&soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground clove. Set aside.

2. Cream together softening and sugars. Add eggs.

3. Alternate between adding dry ingredients and applesauce.

4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.

5. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown.

6. Frost and enjoy! (See cream cheese buttercream below.) 

Cream Cheese Buttercream

Makes enough for 24 cupcakes

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1 stick of softened unsalted butter

4c of powdered sugar

2-3tbsp of milk

1tsp vanilla

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add vanilla.

2. Gradually add powdered sugar. Use milk to get to perfect consistence.

3. Use pastry bag and piping tip to pipe frosting onto cupcake. Dust with cinnamon!

4. Eat!

Enjoy!