Homemade Sugar Cookies

There’s no nice or easy way to tell a die hard cookie lover that they are not a die hard cookie lover if they’ve never tasted rainbow sugar cookies. Especially if their my homemade mystery rainbow sugar cookies. It’d be like a kid not getting a gift on Christmas or like telling a five year old that Santa doesn’t actually exist. That used to be unheard of. No one would actually leave a kid empty handed on Christmas or even blatantly tell a five year old that old St. Nick is really just ol’ St. Mom and Dad. Every cookie lover should get to experience this delightful treat. It’s definitely hard not to overdose on cookies without wearing the guilt of consuming tons of calories. However, if you do have risk factors, be sure to see the nutrition info beforehand. In the mean time, there’s one thing I can certainly assure all cookie loving monsters of. That is, if you haven’t had these goodies, try this recipe. It’ll have you as a top favorite for serving mouthwatering mystery sugar cookies that you won’t forget. Not to mention, any feelings of guilt you may have once had about never tasting these delicious colorful sweet treats, will be short felt if you hurry now and get to baking.

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Total: 25 mins

Serving: 12-24

Nutrition Info Serving Weight: 0.5oz (14g); 66 calories; carbohydrates 8.5g; sugar 3.6g; protein 0.8g; fat 3.5g; cholesterol 3.6mg; fiber 0.1g

*Estimated values based on serving size, 1 cookie (3” dia)

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon extract(secret ingredient)

1/2 tsp almond extract(secret ingredient)

1 pk. multicolor food coloring

Directions

Step 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Step 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Slowly blend in the dry ingredients. (Be sure not to overmix, which will make your cookie dough cake mix consistency.)

Step 3. Evenly separate cookie dough into small or disposable(for an easier clean up) bowls. Once even separated, add food coloring, lemon or almond extracts(mystery ingredients or whichever two extracts, with the exception of vanilla, you wish to use) into the bowls of your choosing and mix well with a spatula. When done, collect your color dough(in the order of your choosing) to form colorful rounded balls equivalent to one tablespoon. Then place them 3 inches apart onto tin foil or an ungreased baking sheet.

Step 4. Bake 8-10 mins(some ovens may vary) or until golden brown. Let stand on baking sheet or foil to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Tips

*1. Before baking in step four, in order to get a perfectly rounded set cookie, refrigerate pre rolled rainbow dough balls for up to two hours. After refrigeration, continue to step four

*2. To intensify the mystery, in step three, shuffle the rainbow dough balls on the baking sheet, still placing them 3 inches apart. Or if your placing them in the refrigerator for an evenly rounded set cookie, as mentioned in tip 1, shuffle them before refrigerating. After refrigeration, continue to step four

*3. Substitute 15 tablespoons of oil for 1 1/4 cup of butter

*4. Candy toppings are completely optional. For best results and to avoid melting, add candy during cooling

*5. For lovers of chocolate chips/chunks and different nuts(walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.) you can add them during step two, which at that time, you would fold the nuts and/or chocolate chip/chucks into the dough mixing well

*6. To achieve a crispier outside and chewier inside, during step one, add about a tablespoon of cornstarch to your dry ingredients

Well, there you have it. My complete step by step guide to making one of the absolute best sugar cookies there is, especially now, during the holiday season. This recipe is a classic all year round recipe in our home for any occasion. As a 10 year old kid, we’d bake cookies on weekends and holidays but back then our go to cookies were always the traditional chocolate chip cookies. Fast forward 30 years later, 2020, is full of color and fluorescents. Hence the idea, why not have colorful cookies. To me, that’s a mystery in itself. It’s an awesome way to put a spin on the traditional sugar cookie recipe. If your old fashioned and set on the traditional way, your truly missing out but to each his own. Just try to imagine biting into such a decadent multi-colored treat that crumbles and melts with every single chew. A sweet pleasant mouthful of buttery flavored cookie dough. Let’s not forget about the secret ingredient. It’s the bold flavors of lemon and almond extracts that’ll surprise your taste buds the minute you sink your teeth into them. Whether they’re for a vibrant Fourth of July barbecue, a movies night treat, during Labor Day festivities, the soccer mom’s go to snack, in celebration of Pride, or just a cookie lover’s heaven, these can be a hit served on a dish with love. So spice up your Christmas spirit by setting aside of your traditional cookie baking habit and replacing it with this mystery rainbow cookie recipe. Show a little rainbow love during this holiday season. I’m sure even old St. Nick would appreciate this delicious cookie. I’m a die hard cookie lover and I highly recommend this fun and easy recipe.

Don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself!