How has it been more than six months since I posted a rainbow sprinkle recipe?! I hardly know who I am anymore!

Just kidding. I know exactly who I am: a woman with a drawer in her kitchen that is only for sprinkles. I’ve got my priorities in order.

Today’s sprinkly recipe? Crispy, Crunchy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies! They’re a take on my go-to crunchy cookie formula, this time scented with vanilla and bursting with colorful sprinkles inside and out. Though I was once a soft-cookie-only person, I can’t help but love these crispy, colorful cookies!

Crispy, Crunchy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies are super easy to make, but the method is a little different from most drop cookie recipes. Instead of being creamed with the sugar, the butter is added to all the dry ingredients—a method called reverse creaming—and the dough is bound with a spoonful of light corn syrup rather than an egg. Together, these things keep the gluten from developing and the moisture level low, resulting in crunchy cookies. The lack of chill and longer bake time help too, and they also mean that these cookies can be made in under an hour start-to-finish. Score!

Crispy, Crunchy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies are just what they sound like: crispy, crunchy, and chock full of sprinkles! In addition to providing tons of color, the sprinkle coating adds even more crunch—so good. That said, if you’re not ready to come over to the crispy side just yet, I’ve got your back. You can never have too many sprinkle cookie recipes, you know?

Crispy, Crunchy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
makes 22 cookies

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or golden syrup or mild honey)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles (jimmies, not nonpareils)

For coating:
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles (jimmies or nonpareils)

Arrange oven racks in central positions. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

Cut softened butter into 8 pieces and add them to the mixing bowl. Starting at low speed and increasing as ingredients become incorporated, use an electric mixer to mix the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until powdery and wet-sandy. You may need to stop a time or two to break up larger pieces of butter.

Add corn syrup and vanilla and mix to combine. Dough will look crumbly, but should hold together well when pinched.

Add the sprinkles to the dough and mix them in with a silicone spatula (or wooden spoon) until evenly distributed and the dough is a cohesive unit.

Pour sprinkles for coating into a shallow bowl.

Scoop the dough by the tablespoon and roll into balls. Roll each ball around in the bowl of sprinkles until completely coated. Place dough balls 2-3 inches apart on prepared pans (I fit 12 on each half-sheet pan). Bake for 9 minutes, then rotate the pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake another 7-8 minutes, until a bit puffy and turning golden at the edges.

Let cookies cool for 7 minutes on the pans. Remove to a rack to cool completely. Serve.

Leftover cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Depending on your area’s weather, they may soften a bit over time.