It’s gotten a little quiet around here over the last week, but for a good reason.

My little sister, Eliot (E3), moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to begin her masters degree at Harvard. Yes, that Harvard. I literally cannot stop bragging about her–so proud. 

In true Davenport style, we couldn’t let her do a cross-country move alone. Nope. My parents flew in and I took the bus up from New York, and we all set to work cleaning, painting, and organizing until we could barely move. <–Thank goodness Eliot is a yoga teacher.

After all the unpacking was done, we took a couple of days to enjoy Boston. On Saturday, our parents went to the airport, and Eliot and I packed up and hopped a bus to New York so she could have a mini-vacation before orientation starts.

When Eliot comes to New York, we don’t go sightseeing or do anything special beyond eat and make bad jokes. We ate tacos and watched Humphrey Bogart movies with my friend, VJ. We ate fancy pastries at Bien Cuit. We walked through Central Park and dropped a small fortune on hair products at Lush. She had never made pizza before, so we tested my pizza dough recipe (coming soon!). We watched all of New Girl season 2, even though we’ve seen it enough times to quote it beginning-to-end. Eliot and I don’t need to be entertained to have a great time together. We think we’re hilarious.

In all the chaos of Eliot’s move and visit, my responsibility to this little blog isn’t the only thing that went by the wayside. I woke up Monday morning remembering that I owed my roommate, Ed, some cookies. He did me a favor two weeks ago–he went to the post office to retrieve my new blender–and all he’d asked in return was that I make him some Super Sprinkle Sugar Cookies. Once Eliot and I were good and caffeinated, we hopped over to Sahadi’s for rainbow sprinkles and came home to make dough. A few hours later, we were all biting into soft, buttery sugar cookies coated in crunchy rainbow sprinkles 😊

Super Sprinkle Sugar Cookies are simple to put together. There are no unusual ingredients, save for a little light brown sugar to keep the finished cookies extra-soft. The dough is chilled before being scooped, rolled in a bowl of sprinkles, and baked until puffy. The middles are chewy, and the sprinkle coating gives every bite a bit of crunch. And of course, they are just about the most cheerful, colorful cookies in the world. Aren’t they adorable?!

These cookies are perfect for popping into school lunches, taking to parties, or saying “thanks” after sending your roommate into the doom-zone that is the post office. I ate two after putting Eliot on the bus back to Boston this morning–I needed a little pick-me-up after sending my sidekick home. Thank goodness she only lives four hours away now, so I can show up at her door with Super Sprinkle Sugar Cookies whenever the mood strikes.

Super Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
makes about 2.5 dozen cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sprinkles,* for coating

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter until fluffy and lighter in color. Beat in granulated and light brown sugar, followed by egg and yolk. Mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients in two installments, beating until combined. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

Place sprinkles in a small bowl. Scoop chilled dough in 1 1/2 tablespoon* (1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons) increments, and roll into balls. Roll dough balls in sprinkles until fully coated. Place coated dough balls at least two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies 10-11 minutes, until puffy. Let cool on baking sheets for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

1.  I used nonpareils for the sprinkles in this recipe. Jimmies may be substituted. For information on the differences between the two, see this post.

2.  I used a medium cookie scoop.