Chewy Sugar Cookies

Whenever I think of holiday baking, I think of cut-out sugar cookies.  Although I love the process of rolling out and icing cut-out cookies, sometimes there just isn't enough time!  In this case, Molly and I were making a huge batch of sugar cookies for an organization in the Columbus area.  Rather than icing hundreds of cookies, we decided to roll them in various sprinkles.  The inspiration?  Well I discovered that, over time, I've collected about 20 varieties of red and green sprinkles.  What can I say? I just love sprinkles -- they make everything better!  Anyways, I think these turned out so cute and obviously very festive!

In case you're wondering about the cookie, these have a nice crunch on the outside (with added crunch from the sprinkles!) but still nice and chewy on the inside.  I used mostly vanilla extract with just a hint of almond extract -- don't skip the almond!  I'm actually not a fan of sugar cookies made with only almond extract but I love the flavor that it adds to these cookies.

Chewy Sugar Cookies
Yields:  approximately 80 small cookies OR 40 large cookies
Source:  Fine Cooking

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, preferably trans fat free, sroom temperature
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
4 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
LOTS of Sprinkles and Sanding Sugar, for rolling

Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.  Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, butter and shortening on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the egg, corn syrup, vanilla and almond extract and mix on low speed (just to combine); then beat at medium speed for a total of 1 minute.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine; then add to the mixer. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, just to combine. Scrape down the bowl and then mix on medium-low speed for another 30 seconds to mix the dough uniformly.  Do not overmix.

Gently roll the dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Roll the balls in sprinkles and sanding sugar. Arrange at least 2 1/4 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are golden and the tops are cracked but not completely set, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.