CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES WITH RED AND GREEN SPRINKLES RECIPES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt . Set aside.
• Place sugar and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Pour warm melted butter over them and whisk to combine (don't worry if there are a few small lumps of cream cheese after whisking).
• Whisk in oil until just incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until mixture is smooth.
• Add flour mixture. By hand with a rubber spatula, mix until well combined to form a soft dough.
• Place the sprinkles for rolling in a small shallow bowl.
• Scoop 2 tablespoons dough at a time and roll into balls. -- Don't worry about making them perfect balls; rough and dimply is just fine.
• Roll each dough ball in sprinkles to coat and set on cookie sheet, placing no more than 8 cookies per sheet (to allow space for cookies to spread).
• With the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup, very slightly flatten dough balls (making sure they are NO MORE than 2-inches in diameter).
• Bake at 350℉, one sheet at a time, for 11-13 minutes, until cookie edges are set.
• Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• If you're having difficulty getting the sprinkles to stick well to the cookie dough balls, moisten your fingertips with a little water. Then use your fingertips to just barely moisten the entire surface of the cookie dough ball, immediately rolling the dampened cookie dough ball in the sprinkles.
• Jimmies-type sprinkles work best for making Sprinkle Sugar Cookies. Sanding sugar and sugar crystals also work. Other types can be difficult to get to stick to the dough, or create an unpleasant crunch on the baked cookies. -- For these reasons, we do not recommend using non-pareils, sugar pearls/dragees, or confetti sprinkles/quins for the unpleasant texture they create as a coating.
• When pressing the dough balls down to flatten them, just flatten them a very little bit. Make sure they end up NO MORE than 2-inches in diameter. Flattening them too much causes them to bake up too thin, which also makes them crisp instead of soft and chewy.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then add vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating on low speed, just until incorporated.
• Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Shape one portion into a 4 x 4-inch square, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator; this will be the “white” portion of the cookie.
• Return one portion to the bowl and beat in peppermint extract and red food coloring, adding more to reach the desired color. Shape into a 4 x 4-inch square, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Repeat steps with the last portion of dough, adding green food coloring, to reach the desired color. Refrigerate all pieces of dough for 1 hour.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cut each square in half to make two rectangles. Wrap half of each color in plastic and place back in the refrigerator. Roll out “white” dough between two pieces of wax paper until the rectangle is about 1/8-inch thick. Repeat with red and green rectangles.
• Peel the wax paper off one side of the red dough. Peel the wax paper off one side of the white dough. Lay the red dough on top of the white dough and peel back the wax paper off the red dough. Peel the wax paper off one side of the green dough and lay on top of the red dough. Remove the wax paper from the other side of the green dough.
• Starting at the short end, roll all three layers tightly together to form a log. Repeat the stacking and rolling process with the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
• Pour sprinkles onto a baking sheet with sides. Roll the logs in sprinkles, pressing them into the log as you roll. Wrap the logs in wax paper and then in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Remove the logs from the refrigerator and roll them on the counter several times to remove the flat side. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove the logs one at a time, and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. Place the rounds about 2-inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden (not brown).
• Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store the pinwheels in an airtight container.