Prep and line: preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla: cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes until very light and fluffy on medium-high speed using a hand or stand mixer.
Beat in the egg: add in the egg and beat for 30 seconds more on medium-high until the batter is smooth, opaque, and slightly fluffy.
Mix in dries: add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mixing on low speed just until fully combined (be sure to scrape the bowl really well about halfway through mixing!)
Add sprinkles: add in the sprinkles all at once, and mix in by hand or very briefly on low with a mixer, just until they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough (if you mix too much here the sprinkles can break down and dye your dough a funny color).
Scoop and tray: scoop dough into rounds using a scant ¼ cup of dough per cookie*2 (an ice-cream scoop works well here for easy portioning!). Roll between your hands to round off into 2" round dough balls (only necessary if you didn't use an ice cream scoop).
Tray and bake: place cookies on prepared trays, at least 2” apart. Bake for 13-16 minutes, just until the edges have a hint of golden-brown, the bottoms have browned and the tops are puffed and crackled, but not fully set. (You do want these cookies to be a little under-baked for the tastiest texture.)
Knock em' down: knock each tray firmly on the counter or stovetop several times immediately after removal from the oven to collapse the dome and get that perfect cookie crackle.
Cool, share, and enjoy: allow cookies to cool as long as you can (so those doughy middles can set up to a perfectly chewy center, and the edges can get deliciously crisp). Then pass around these funfetti festive treats to start the party off on a sweet note!
Notes
*1Can I use a different kind of sprinkle? While these cookies will still work with the small round nonpareil sprinkles, I prefer the rainbow stick sprinkles both because their color doesn’t come off and discolor the dough, and they have a softer texture that works well with these cookies.However, if all you have is the little round sprinkles, you are welcome to use them.
*2Make ‘em mini!These cookies are both adorable and delicious as minis.To make minis, scoop dough into 1.5” round balls, using a scant 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie.Then just adjust your bake time to 11-14 minutes.
It’d mean so much to me if you could please give the recipe card a ⭐ rating on the site and leave a comment to help others find this sweet recipe! Xo, Jocelyn @ Mint+Mallow