Confetti Cookies!!!

Science was never my thing.  I cringed in chemistry.  I was perplexed in physics.  I have taken my last science quiz and never looked back.  Then one day, while contemplating some recipe alchemy, I realized that my uber-favorite thing to do - bake - was indeed considered a type of science.  Bazinga!  So, back to the burner I went - although the Kitchenaid one this time, not the Bunsen!  Since the kitchen is now my own personal laboratory, and the apron my lab coat, I find that many new recipes that I try can indeed be classified as experiments.  Some come out brilliantly.  Others fail miserably.  The trick with baking is following the recipe to the letter (or the measurement, as it may be).  There is no dash of this, or splash of that.  Baking does not have the flamboyance of cooking.  It is measured.  There is a sequence that must be followed. 


And when it all works - Yowsa!!!  Such was the case with confetti cookies!  Milk crumbs!  Rainbow sprinkles!  Glucose!  (Well, I used regular corn syrup but glucose sounds so much more scientific-y!!!)  And all the !!!!!!!!!!!! Perfect, happy cookie!!!!


Confetti Cookies!!!

The recipe suggests that you chill the dough balls for at least an hour, up to overnight.  Don't mess with this step otherwise the cookies will just puddle together.  It's a good exercise in patience!

Check the baking times.  I now set me timer to the half-point mark, and check ever few minutes after that.  Ovens can be temperamental - so check often!

They stack up so well (well, until a certain little baby knocks it over and giggles at the cookie destruction!)

Confetti CookiesRecipe adapted from: Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
2 1/2 cups flour   
2/3 cup milk powder
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 recipe Birthday Cake Crumb 

Birthday Cake Crumb
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions
Birthday Cake Crumb: 
1. Heat the oven to 300°F.


2. Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, and sprinkles in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until well combined.


3. Add the oil and vanilla and mix until small clusters form.


4. Spread the clusters on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should still be slightly moist to the touch; they will dry and harden as they cool.



5. Let the crumbs cool completely.



Confetti Cookies:
6. Combine the butter, sugar, and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
7. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, milk powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and rainbow sprinkles. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. 
8. Still on low speed, add the birthday cake crumbs and mix in for 30 seconds—just until they are incorporated. 


9. Using a 2 3/4-ounce ice cream scoop, portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature—they will not bake properly. 


10. Heat the oven to 350°F.
11. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies