So 4th of July isn’t really my thing. After all, I’m English. I do like having the day off work though and I’ve lived here for almost 17 years so I guess it isn’t all bad. I don’t really celebrate it though. I don’t make much of an effort to do things or go to parties. I’ve been to the Blues festival here in Portland a couple of times and I’ll watch the fireworks, but that’s about it. I mostly just enjoy a day of doing absolutely nothing!
When we first moved here we got invited to 4th of July festivities and my family would roll up and “The British are coming” chants started. I think people also walked around calling us redcoats. Those were the days.
Anyway, I figured it was probably about time I had a dedicated 4th of July recipe on the blog so I’ve got these cookies for ya. I’ve been spending some time at my friend’s apartment and basically went across the street, grabbed a couple ingredients (hello, red, white & blue sprinkles) and got to work. I was originally making something else, but they turned out…subpar. So that idea was scratched in place of these little patriotic pillows.
These are adapted from Joy the Baker’s vanilla bean confetti cookies. Roll the balls of dough in any leftover sprinkles you have, or just leave them with a confetti explosion inside. I ran out of sprinkles (I only bought a very small amount) and was quite honestly too lazy to go across the street and get more so I think 6 or 7 got rolled in sprinkles and the rest were au natural. Both are delicious though. I mean, you can’t go wrong with sprinkles!
So my friends, grab some patriotic sprinkles and get baking! Happy 4th!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until thoroughly combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The dough will be thick (you may have to finish incorporating the mixture with a spatula). Fold in 1/4 cup of the sprinkles (if you aren't rolling the dough in sprinkles, go ahead and add the whole 1/2 cup).
- Put the remaining 1/4 cup sprinkles in a bowl. Scoop up 2 tbsp. of dough and roll it into a ball. Dip the ball into the bowl of sprinkles to cover lightly (optional). Put the ball on a plate. Repeat with the remaining sprinkles and dough, and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Put racks in the centre and upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Transfer the chilled dough balls to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space in between each ball.
- Baked until the cookies have spread and are just beginning to brown around the edges, but are mostly pale and soft, 8-10 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
I am chuckling reading this post!!! I cannot believe it has been 17 years since I first met you, Charley, and Matt. ? Our British friends in England always told us
they DID celebrate the 4th of July….that’s when they no longer had America to worry about. Happy 4th anyway, Bryony. I’ll make your cookies later today after our parade. ???????