I did not have (or want) a lot of sprinkles in my life growing up, but every once in a while a colorful sprinkle coated sugar cookie will tempt me in a bakery. Most of the time I get sucked into buying one, I find them disappointingly crunchy, bland, and dissapointing. Then recently Smitten Kitchen shared a new recipe for these, describing the home made version as tender and buttery, (and so colorful!), and I was sucked into trying them once again. Fortunately these homemade cookies taste just as fun and delicious as they look. Especially if you are like me, and go one step further by stuffing half of them with Nutella. (Oops!)
The smitten kitchen version is delicious, but I ended up finding another version that I loved even more and was a little easier to make. These cookies are super soft and buttery in the center, and the sprinkles give a delightful crunch. And the color makes them seem so festive! If you are feeling indulgent (and patient) you can stuff the cookie with balls of nutella, then roll each one in the spinkles. If you are in more of a rush to get cookies into your mouth, just mix the sprinkles into the batter, and bake away.
Note: I recommend buying and using vanilla bean paste in these cookies if you have it. It is not too hard or expensive to find these days, and makes it taste like you used fresh vanilla beans!
