Stacked Christmas Confetti Cookies

Truth be told I wasn’t sure if I was going to share five cookie recipes this year! Last year I only shared one and this year was looking a little bleak. I had written up recipes for two cookies that I tested and ended up being disappointed with both. So, I was thinking of scraping this year as well. But then, the ideas started flowing again and some random scrolling on Instagram helped to give way to two of the cookies. Today’s cooking being one of them, a Stacked Christmas Confetti Cookie. It’s a mouthful but not as difficult as it may sound.

Apparently, the idea of this cookie came from a viral sensation from last year where people were using the Pillsbury Halloween Shape Sugar Cookie Dough and topping it on top of another cookie, usually a chocolate chip cookie. If you are not familiar with the Pillsbury seasonal cookies I am talking about, click on this link and then scroll to the bottom. The cookie I saw on Instagram didn’t use the Pillsbury dough though; it used sugar cookie dough for both the base of the cookie and the decorated stack. I decided to use my go-to sugar cookie recipe and switch up the steps to create them myself. And I was very happy with the results. One thing I did do as a short-cut for my version though was use store-bought frosting to decorate the cookies. Thankfully this time of the year it’s easy to find red & green frosting. Also, I opted to roll my cookies in sprinkles, but you could also use nonpareils, it just comes down to preference.

Stacked Christmas Confetti Cookies

  • Servings: 18 Cookies
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Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup red & green sprinkles

Red, Green & White Frosting for decorating

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together the butter, cream cheese and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue beating until incorporated. Add in the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. If the dough feels too soft, refrigerate 15-20 minutes to firm up.

Add the sprinkles to a small bowl. Scoop the dough using a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons), roll into a ball and then roll in the sprinkles. Place on the prepared cookie sheet and then use the bottom of a glass cup to press the cookies down about 1/4 inch high.

Using a smaller cookie scoop (2 teaspoons), scoop the dough, roll into a ball and then use your palms to flatten and then place on top of the sprinkled cookie.

To make sure you don’t run out of dough for the stack, work with one batch at a time. In other words, don’t scoop all the dough for the base cookie at once. Scoop enough for one of the baking sheets and then scoop the stack part and then repeat for the other baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cooled transfer the frosting to piping bags and pipe festive designs on the cookies. You can do Christmas Trees, Santa Hats, Snowmen, Snowflakes, etc.

Recipe slightly modified from Smitten Kitchen

Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

Happy Valentine’s Day! Rose are red, violets are blue, I have sprinkle cookies for you! Sorry for the cheesiness, I just couldn’t resist. That popped into my head the other day when I was thinking of what to write for these cookies. For a second I thought about switching up my plan for these cookies and using sprinkle colors to represent the teams playing in the Super Bowl this past weekend – since I was taking them to a Super Bowl party- but that would have been red & green, so I decided to spread a little love with them instead. That brings up a good point about these cookies, you can switch up the sprinkle colors for any occasion. They will taste good regardless. Similar to the Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies I shared a few weeks ago.

A couple of things to note about these cookies. The dough can be made in a food processor or using a hand/stand mixer. Since I like easy clean-ups, I opted to use my food processor. While the recipe I was following stated that you could use the butter and cream cheese right out of the refrigerator if using a food processor, I let both come to room temperature. Be sure to refrigerate the dough prior to baking, if not, the cookies will spread considerably. Also, the cookies will appear under baked when they come out of the oven but will firm up after cooling on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Resist the temptation to put them back in the oven for an extra minute or two.

Confetti Cookies

  • Servings: 28 Cookies
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Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks

2 ounces cream cheese (1/4 of an 8-ounce brick), cut into chunks

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse a few times to mix together. Add the butter cream cheese and sugar and process until the mixture comes together. Add the egg and vanilla extract and process until a ball of dough forms. You may need to scrape the bowl down a few times to ensure everything combines and mixes together. Transfer the dough to a bowl and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes so the dough can firm up.

Place sprinkles in a small bowl. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Roll the dough in your hands and then roll in the sprinkles before placing on the prepared cookies sheets 2 inches apart. Use the bottom of a glass to press the cookies down about 1/4 to 1/2 – inch. If the cookies have any bare spots press more sprinkles into the dough.

Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes. Cookies will appear under baked and very soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you opt to use a hand mixer or stand mixer to make the dough… In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract beat again until well combined. With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture and beat until combined. Refrigerate 20-30 minutes until firm and then continue with directions.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.