Whether you’re 4 or 44, these rainbow sprinkle swirls are simply an eye-catching, irresistible delight.
Sugar cookies are my favorite sweet treat above any other baked good or candy. I like them soft, I like them crunchy, I like them chewy, I like them buttery, I like them sugary, I like them floury, I like them with sprinkles, I like them frosted, I like sugar cookies in all their wonderful and varied forms. These Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies might sound like a lot sugar with all the sprinkles, but they are just the right amount of sweet for a special, happy treat – the cookies themselves are buttery and floury with a tender crumb and only lightly sweet, and the rainbow jimmies really don’t add much sweetness either. It’s actually the sanding sugar sprinkled on top that does the heavy lifting here, adding the perfect crunch, sparkle, and sweetness to each bite, so don’t leave it off! I challenge you to bake up a batch of these Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies and just try not to smile – it’s nearly impossible. Share a few with your favorite people and watch the smiles spread. And yes, they do look a little like unicorn poop, in the best way possible of course ;)
Tip: Most rainbow jimmies are actually rather flavorless and are perfect for these Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies given the sanding sugar topper, but for extra sweetness consider the Unpretentious Baker’s Unicorn Rainbow Sprinkles – I like them for their soft texture, sweet flavor, and beautiful, bright colors.
Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated cane sugar
2 sticks of butter (1 cup), softened/room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
10 oz rainbow sprinkles/jimmies
2 oz white sanding/sparkling sugar
How to make Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies
In a large bowl whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs for 5 minutes on high speed. Add sugar and beat together 2 minutes on high speed, mixture with start to thicken. Add butter and beat together another 2 minutes on high speed, mixture will first start to thicken then become lighter and fluffy.
Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and slowly add in flour mixture until fully combined, a soft dough will form.
Cover your workspace with two large sheets of parchment paper, with the bottom piece overlapping onto the top piece of paper (you’ll be using the parchment paper to help you roll the dough into a log, so don’t skip this step). Lightly flour the parchment paper and scoop all of the dough out onto the paper. Lightly sprinkle dough with extra flour and flour your rolling pin. Gently roll dough out into a rectangular shape, adding more flour as necessary, until you have a rectangle about 18 x 14 inches in size, with the long side on the bottom nearest you, and ¼ inch thick. Be sure to avoid touching the dough too much with your hands or making these cookies on the hottest day of the summer, the dough is soft and there’s a lot of butter so it will only get softer as you touch it.
Once the dough is rolled out, spread rainbow sprinkles out across the dough leaving about a 1-inch border on the long side closest to you, but otherwise taking the sprinkles all the way to the edges of the other three sides – you’re looking for an even layer of sprinkles to completely cover, you don’t want to see any dough peeking through. Very gently go over the sprinkles with your rolling pin with very light pressure to help press the sprinkles into the dough, but you do not want to roll the dough out any further.
Lift up the bottom edge of the bottom piece of parchment paper to help you fold the sprinkle-less edge of dough up onto the sprinkled dough. Holding the parchment paper firmly, continue lifting the parchment paper up and pulling it forward to help the dough roll away from you – continue rolling like this, trying to keep the roll as tight as you can until the dough is completely rolled up into a log, seam side down. Discard the piece of parchment paper that came free after rolling the dough into the log. Keeping the roll of dough on the second piece of parchment paper, gently slide the parchment paper and roll onto the back of a large baking sheet and refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes. Don’t worry if your roll is a little wonky, you’ll be able to help shape it a little after it chills.
While the roll of dough chills, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the roll of dough from the refrigerator. Now that it is firmer, you can gently round out any flat sides and help shape it into a more even roll. With a very sharp knife, slice the log into approximately ¾ inch thick rounds – you’ll end up with 24 cookies – you can fit 8 onto a baking sheet at a time. When sliced rounds are arranged on baking sheet, generously sprinkle the tops with the white sanding sugar. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until evenly puffed throughout and just set but not taking on any color – the cookies will be very soft to the touch and you’ll think they are underdone, but they will firm up as they cool. If you see the edges starting to brown take them out immediately; if they start to brown, they will be crunchy instead of tender, but still yummy.
Repeat, baking 8 dough rounds at a time. Allow cookies to cool completely before enjoying.
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