Rainbow Sprinkle Shortbread Cookies

These rainbow sprinkle shortbread cookies are colorful slice and bake cookies that are buttery, crumbly, and most importantly, easy to make.

I blame my son for my newfound obsession with sprinkles.

What parent doesn’t get all warm and fuzzy when they see their child’s absolute joy and delight?

My 4-year-old would put sprinkles on everything if he could.

So when we watched one of the superstar finalists on Kid’s Baking Championship roll the edges of a layer cake through a pool of sprinkles, I had to rewind it at least 5 times for us to ooh and aah over it.

As an ode to that moment, I baked rainbow sprinkle shortbread cookies.

As much as I wanted to roll that cookie dough log right through the sprinkles, I found they stuck better when I sliced them first, brushed the edges with egg wash and then gave them the sprinkle treatment.

It was hard to keep my little guy from eating the sprinkles as we worked, but he was very excited.

One day we will do a cake, but this was a good practice run!

Rainbow Sprinkle Shortbread Cookies

• Author: Paige Adams
• Prep Time: 20 minutes + chilling 1-2 hours
• Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
• Total Time: 35-40 minutes + chilling 12 hours
• Yield: 36 cookies 1x

Print Recipe

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Description

These rainbow sprinkle shortbread cookies are colorful slice and bake cookies that are buttery, crumbly, and most importantly, easy to make.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, use an electric mixture to beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract until pale and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in the flour on low speed. Divide the dough in half and form each into a 1-1/2-inch-diamter log. Wrap them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and water. Slice the dough 3/8-inch-thick. Brush the edges of each slice with egg wash and roll in the sprinkles. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans.
4. Bake until the cookies are just starting to turn golden, about 15-20 minutes. Cool on the sheet pans for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

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Notes

Adapted from Martha Stewart