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My Version of the Famous Arthur's Sprinkle Cookie

A glorious buttery sugar cookie topped with fluffy buttercream icing dipped in nonpareil sprinkles
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 24 cookies

Equipment

  • 1 Stand or hand mixer with paddle attachment
  • 1 spatula
  • 1 set measuring spoons
  • 1 mixing bowl
  • 1 Food scale
  • 1 Flat bottom glass or cup

Ingredients
  

Sugar Cookie Batter

  • 3 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp Baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 cup Unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
  • 1/4 cup Cream cheese room temperature (about 60g) Always use full fat, and the one that is packaged in a brick, not the spreadable kind in a plastic container
  • 1 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp Almond extract *Can omit this if you have nut allergies, will still taste great
  • 1 Large egg
  • 2 cups Nonpareil sprinkles

Fluffy Buttercream Recipe

  • 1 cup Unsalted butter (room temperature) never use something like margarine for this recipe, you need the fat from the butter, and margarine is made of oil, it will not fluff up like it should
  • 4 cups Powdered (icing) sugar sifted the sifted step is a must to avoid clumps
  • 1 tbsp Pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Piping bag If you don't have a piping bag (I often don't have one lying around) just use a larger ziploc bag, concentrating the icing in one of the bottom corners and then sealing the bag shut and cutting the tip

Instructions
 

Sugar Cookie Batter

  • Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
  • In a medium sized bowl whisk together the dry ingredients flour, baking powder, baking soda and the salt and set it aside
  • With your paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and butter until it's nice and smooth, then slowly add the sugar until it becomes light and fluffy about 3 minutes
  • Next, add the vanilla and almond extract and mix, then stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula
  • Next, add the egg and mix again on medium speed for about 2 minutes until well combined
  • Then, on low speed, add the flour mixture until the dough comes together and is well combined. Keep in mind the dough will be a little sticky, this is due to the cream cheese
  • With your food scale, weigh out 50g of dough and roll them into a ball. Repeat this until all of your dough is rolled out
  • Lay out your cookies on your baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart, then take your glass and push on the dough ball flattening it just enough so that the top of the cookie becomes flat. Since these cookies keep their shape while baking, if you keep them in a ball, the top will remain rounded if you don't flatten them a little
  • Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, cool them on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

Make the Fluffy Buttercream

  • Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, throw in the butter and mix at low speed until smooth and fluffy just about 1 minute
  • Add the sifted powdered sugar a spoonful at a time at medium-low speed. Keep scooping in the powdered sugar until it is all combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed
  • Add the pinch of salt and keep mixing
  • Then add the vanilla and mix again to combine well
  • Finally add the milk and whip the frosting on medium speed for a good 3-4 minutes. You will see the frosting become light and airy and a little glossy. This step really gives you the consistency you look for in a light and airy buttercream frosting
  • Scoop the frosting into a piping bag. For this recipe you do not need a special frosting tip, you simply need to cut the corner of the bag.
  • Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before piping the frosting on top. Squeeze the frosting onto the cooled cooking. I usually place my piping bag at the centre of the cookie, and then squeeze out the icing slowly lifting it up as it comes out creating a little mound of frosting (see photos in gallery)
  • Continue this step until all your cookies have a little mountain of buttercream frosting on them
  • Pour the 2 cups of nonpareil sprinkles into a small bowl(big enough to fit the cookie in it), and dip the cookie with the frosting side down into the bowl and into the sprinkles until you flatten the icing in the sprinkles
  • Plate, and serve! These cookies can be kept on the counter for about 2 days. You can also refrigerate them in an air tight container for about 5 days. They are also very well kept frozen for up to 3 months. Just defrost as needed and serve once they return to room temperature

Notes

You may omit the almond extract. I do prefer the flavour with it, but we have nut allergies in our family so whenever I make them for a family occasion I just don't add it.
To make them look like the Arthur's sprinkle cookie, you do need the nonpareil rainbow sprinkles, but any sprinkles will do.
In the photo gallery you'll notice that one photo of the cookies look larger than the ones in the other photos. This is because in the photo of the cookies that look a little smaller, it was my first time making them and I completely forgot the step to flatten the dough ball before baking it. The size of the cookie in terms of grams in both photos is actually the same, but because I forgot to flatten the cookie, it does actually look smaller. Plus once they get the sprinkles on them, the cookie does look a lot better if you flatten the ball before baking it. This step is purely aesthetic though, so if you forget to do it like I did - don't worry, they will still be delicious!