SPRINKLES FOR COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• For cookies, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add anise extract.
• Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding about 1/3 of these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in your mixer, then add 1 T. milk. Add another third of the flour and another 1 T. milk. Finally, mix in enough of the remaining flour until your dough is like a brownie batter (it should be softer than a drop cookie dough).
• Use a 1 T. cookie scooper to make simple round drop cookies - use wet fingers to pat any rough edges OR for an Easter-Egg look, roll 1 T. dough into an elongated ball.
• Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (they won't be brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like).
• For icing: mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze. HINT: When I make the icing, I make it thick but then I microwave it for 10 seconds so it is thin enough for dipping. Also, I like to divide the mixture in thirds, and then add ONE DROP of food coloring to each batch (pink, green, yellow).
• Hold cookie in your hand and turn upside down so you can dip the top half in the glaze; turn over and immediately top with sprinkles so they will stick.
• Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure yo have your Cookie Press ready with all the disks that you want to use for your cookies.
• In a large bowl combine butter & sugar and cream together using an electric mixer until the butter & sugar becomes light & fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla & almond extract and continue to mix. Add in flour, baking powder and baking soda & mix until thoroughly combined and cookie dough is formed. Cookie dough will be thick and sticky.
• **Chilling the dough for this recipe is not required BUT you may want stick the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 to 20 minutes to firm it up.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the desired pattern disk in your cookie press and fill the center container with cookie dough (be sure to refer to your cookie press instructions for how to change the patterns and fill the cookie press) and using the cookie press to pump out different cookie shapes onto your cookie sheet. Be sure to keep cookies about 2 inches apart.
• If dough starts to not hold the shape of the pattern you want or isn't coming out of the Press easily, stick it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
• Bake cookies for 7 to 8 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 or 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with your favorite icing, glaze, sprinkles or leave them bare.
• If using vanilla glaze to decorate (it helps sprinkles stick) pour confectioner's sugar into a bowl and slowly add in 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, stir sugar and milk together to see if desired consistency is reached, add a little more milk if necessary and add in vanilla extract. Drizzle or pipe over cookies as desired.