A Cookie to Celebrate!

I guess that is kind of an overgeneralized and completely underwhelming statement. After all, aren't all cookies worthy of celebration for the most part? I certainly think so! Regardless, these little cookies make me happy happy. I like all things sweet, but I have a strange and strong affinity for those mall bought cookie / frosting sandwiches. They have always been my personal "kryptonite", even if they do leave me feeling giddily sick in the end.



Yesterday was a rainy cool day here, and I was sitting around trying to think of what I could bake up given the limited fixings that I had in my baking cabinet. No chocolate chips. No marshmallow fluff. No brownie mixes to play with. And, then my mind conjured up sweet memories of those mall sandwich cookies...and I got to recipe creating!

So, here you are. My rainy day sugar cookie-wich recipe which is sure to please!



Rainbow Sprinkle Sugar Cookie-wiches 
(with vanilla buttercream filling)


cookie ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 stick (1/2 cup) Crisco
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 teaspoon vanilla (I admittedly substituted sugar free vanilla syrup for coffee / lattes)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 1/2 cups white unbleached flour
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles


frosting ingredients:
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon half and half
1 - 3 tablespoons skim milk
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring (I admittedly again substituted with sugar free vanilla syrup)
1/2 bag (approximately 3 to 4 cups) of powdered sugar


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  By hand, or with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and Crisco.  (Tip:  If you don't have the butter softened yet, microwave it for 30 to 40 seconds on a 50% power level.  Works great!)  Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar.  Add the eggs and almond and vanilla flavorings and beat until fluffy and creamy.  Add in part of the flour, then the baking soda and salt, and follow with the rest of the flour.  Mix until blended.  Add the rainbow sprinkles.

Drop by rounded tablespoon size onto un-greased cookie sheets.  (You can sort of shape each drop into a sort of ball if you prefer.  I did!)  Bake for approximately nine minutes, when just the edges are turning a nice solid golden brown.  (If you bake the cookies too long, they will be more crisp than soft.)  Cool on cookie sheets for 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely. 

Makes approximately 30 to 36 cookies (or 15 to 18 cookie-wiches), depending on how much batter you "test" during the mixing / baking process.  

While cookies cool, prepare the frosting.  First beat together the butter and about 1/4 of the powdered sugar.  Add in the vanilla and half and half.  Mix in 1/2 the remaining powdered sugar.  Add one to two tablespoons of milk.  Beat until creamy.  Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar.   If your frosting is too thick, add a bit more skim milk.  If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.  There is no real science to making frosting like this...just mix until the wet and dry ingredients until you have the desired consistency. 

Once cookies are completely cooled, take spoonfuls of frosting and spread on the bottom of one cookie.  Top with another cookie, and you have your completed cookie-wich!