cookies

Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

| Steph June Bug Baker

If you need a splash of sprinkles in your life, these little cookies will do the trick.

This is my grandma’s classic sugar cookie recipe. We usually use this recipe for cut out cookies. This time we experimented to find the just right size for these sprinkle sugar cookies. In our first batch we used our 1.5 tablespoon cookie dough scoop and left them in balls. This resulted in thick round cookies. For the second batch we made the balls half that size and flattened them slightly before baking. While both are delicious, the smaller cookies make for a perfect little bite. They are also delicious dipped in tea or coffee.

Baking with your little baker

If your little bakers loves sprinkles this is a perfect afternoon baking activity. It’s a Beginner Baker recipe with just a few steps and about 30 minutes to make.

The sprinkles drew my 2 year old into the kitchen. To keep him occupied while prepping and making the dough, I let him do some sensory play with an extra bowl of sprinkles, scooping them from one bowl to another. If you don’t have extra sprinkles, they can play with a little flour. There are a lot of jobs for little bakers with this recipe. Here are some of our favorite:

  • Using the mixer to cream the butter and sugar.
  • Forming cookie dough into balls.
  • Rolling the cookie dough in sprinkles.

how we baked it

  • 1.5 Tablespoon size balls
  • 1 dozen large cookies
  • Small flattened cookies

Sprinkle sugar cookies

Beginner Baker
2 dozen 3 inch cookies
30 minutes | Hands on: 15-20 minutes Bake time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sprinkles, plus more for rolling cookie dough

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or non stick spray.
  3. Combine flour, baking power and salt in small bowl and set aside.
  4. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer on high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  5. Add egg and beat on medium speed until combined.
  6. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.
  7. On low speed, mix in flour mixture – careful not to over-beat.
  8. Fold in sprinkles.
  9. Scoop dough into tablespoon size balls and roll in sprinkles.
  10. Place dough on cookie sheet and press cookie to flatten slightly.
  11. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

If you bake this recipe, let us know!
#junebugbakerslove

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Making Madeleines

| Steph June Bug Baker

There are a lot of recipes and tips on how to make these delightful sponge cake cookies. It can be a bit overwhelming. But our first attempt at making Madeleines wasn’t so bad. It takes some prep and some patience but the results are delicious. We did it and so can you.

After pouring over a few recipes I finally settled on one from Serious Eats by Lauren Weisenthal. I found the directions to be straightforward and we loved the detailed slideshow that made following along easy for P.

We’re calling this a Daring Dragonfly bake because while it takes only few pantry staples it really is particular and requires patience and technique. We definitely made yummy madeleines but they lacked the definitive hump and they were not as spongy as we would like. Even while they weren’t perfect they were definitely worth the effort and something we will bake again.

Making MADs with your Little Baker

Prep is key in this bake. I planned ahead to have room temperature eggs and the butter melted and cooled. Then I measured all the ingredients while P and J played together. We also read a story about our favorite the little french girl to get in the spirit.

I think the most important step to be aware of is folding in the flour and melted butter. As I’ve read, and experienced, its very easy to over-mix. At 5 years old P was able to help with a lot. Little bakers might be able to:

  • Rub the vanilla bean into the sugar (we did not have vanilla bean so we used a 1/2 teaspoon of extract);
  • Crack the eggs into a separate bowl, check for shells and then add them to the sugar. (I cracked the eggs this time because P is going through an anti-egg cracking phase.)
  • Take turns mixing the butter and sugar for several minutes.
  • Add the flour and melted butter while a grown up folds gently with a spatula.
  • Prepare the baking pan by spreading butter in the shells and sprinkling on the sugar.
  • Help fill the tins with dough. As I read many places, the filling does not need to be perfectly spread out. It will work itself out in the oven!

How We Baked It

You can find the Serious Eats recipe we used here: Vanilla Bean Madeleine Recipe

Here’s the gallery of the techniques used in making Madeleines. P really loved following along with these pictures: Sweet Technique: How to Make Madeleines.

Brother woke up just as they were coming out of the oven in time for our tea party.

Happy Baking!

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