Birthday Party Cookies
Long before I ever made a loaf of bread I started in the kitchen as a prolific cookie baker. While Good Luck Bread is now selling bake-from-frozen cookies this isn’t, in fact, my first cookie business.
When I was a kid, my mom was a deacon at our church and “hired” me to bake cookies she could bring to folks in the community in need of comfort. My cookie hustle caught on with the other deacons at church who started hiring me as well and soon I had a Presbyterian cookie empire. (Pretty sure this counts as money changing in the temple, but don’t worry about it.)
The approval of the church ladies gave me a real sense of pride. Church ladies *understand* cookies. I first spotted some of my favorite recipes in old church cookbooks I’ve picked up in used bookstores.
I loved so much about making cookies, but the joy it brought to share them with others is what first grabbed me. They quickly became a love token. I remember crushing on a boy who admitted that he didn’t have a taste for sweets; he was more of an “eat for fuel” kind of person. (Excuse me?!) I knew right then that it wasn’t going to work. How would I ever express my love?!
Cookies can also be a way to express love to yourself. I almost always have cookies in the house and enjoy them throughout the day. My favorite time is actually first thing in the morning-- my friends and I regularly check in re: our favorite “breakfast cookies.” (The St Michel French biscuits are hot right now.)
I’m a meal planner, which I know isn’t for everyone, but it works for me and helps me save time, reduce waste, and navigate a busy week. For me, an important part of this plan is dessert. In a busy week that might just look like adding “Oreos” to the grocery list, but it often means making a batch of cookies. Cookie dough famously freezes well, so when I’m *really* organized I make a big batch and freeze dough balls. (Now I do this professionally- buy some!) This make-ahead scenario is when I really feel the love from my past self.
Photo by Jenny Jimenez
It’s so fun that I’m now stocking freezers all around Seattle with frozen cookie dough! I hope people experience these cookies as a warm hug. The chocolate chip cookie is a classic comfort, but the “Birthday Party” cookies are such a fun way to bring a celebratory flavor into your day to day. I’ve been tickled by how many of my friends are drawn to this flavor. Something I’ve learned in testing is that grown adults like sprinkles just as much as children.
Birthday Party Cookies
makes 18 large cookies
340g (about 2 2/3 cup) AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8oz (2 sticks) salted butter, room temp (around 65 degrees is good for creaming)
300g (1.5 cups) granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 egg, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
100g (1 heaping 1/2 cup) jimmies, plus more for the top
Preheat the oven to 325 and line several cookie sheets with parchment or silpat*
Mix the flour, baking soda and salt
Cream butter in the stand mixer to break it up a bit. Next, add the sugar and mix until combined. Turn up the mixer to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, around 3 minutes.
Incorporate egg and extracts. Scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is evenly incorporated.
Mix in the flour until just combined, then the jimmies.
Set out a little bowl of sprinkles and another little bowl of sugar. Roll the dough into big balls (mine are 60g). First, dip one side of the dough into the sprinkles (so they stay put), then roll the whole ball in sugar.
Evenly space cookies on a baking sheet- no more than 6 to a sheet, as they’ll spread.
Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway. I like to start hovering around them at around 8 minutes. They’re done when they are barely turning golden on the sides and are puffed up throughout.
*If you’re doing a full batch of cookies but don’t have a lot of sheets, just reuse them. Let the baking sheets cool until you can handle them, then run them under cold water so they aren’t warm. Dry them off and reuse your parchment sheet.
