It was a year ago this month when drive by and Zoom birthday celebrations became the new normal. In spite of the onset of a Pandemic and subsequent lockdown, we still managed to find ways to commemorate the birthdays and birthday milestones of our friends/family. Never before has simple gesture of extending a birthday wish carried so much weight or meant so much. While these virtual or at a distance gatherings may be a far cry from prior years birthday festivities, our creative attempts to keep the celebratory spirit of someones birthday alive have made them a different, yet distinctive kind of memorable.
Until such time we can return to the time honored traditions of sharing our slathered in buttercream or chocolate birthday cake and blowing out candles to make a wish, these Birthday Cake Cookies might be a perfect new birthday custom. And who knows, given the choice between a birthday cake and birthday cake cookies, it's quite possible we might begin choosing cookies! Especially ginormous, buttery, scrumptious beauties made with white chocolate morsels and jimmies sprinkles!
These Birthday Cake Cookies are a close cross between a birthday cake and a sugar cookie. Crunchy on the outside and a little bit soft on inside, they are destined to delight the sweet tooths of young and old alike.
If there was ever recipe where the ingredients as specified matter, it's these Birthday Cake Cookies. In order to ensure they have a kind of birthday cake flavor use should use a high quality European-style unsalted butter; light brown versus dark brown sugar; a generous amount of good quality vanilla; and, the jimmies sprinkles usually found in the ice cream section of the grocery store. While some recipes for Birthday Cake Cookies call for the use of a cake mix, the combination of all-purpose and cake flour gives these cookies their slight, made from scratch cake-like texture.
Using an ice cream scoop (one of my most favorite cookie making tools) to form your cookie dough balls will not only create uniform sized cookies, it will give them their beautiful slightly textured top finish. The recipe yields a dozen, maybe a baker's dozen cookies. Which means you will need to use a large (2 1/4" in diameter) sized ice cream scoop. Note: If you use a smaller scoop, you will need to adjust your baking time.
Once your balls of dough are formed, they get topped with even more white chocolate chips. Press 7-8 chips (preferably flat side up) into each dough ball, then cover and chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Baking time for the cookies ranges from 20-22 minutes or until they are lightly golden on the top and bottom. To help prevent the cookies from burning on the bottom (they bake at 375 degrees F), stack two cookie sheets on top of one another. Let your baked cookies rest on the baking sheet(s) for about 8 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Only four balls of birthday cake cookie dough are baked at a time as they will bake up as eye-popping, bakery-style, ginormous cookies.
While the jimmies sprinkles add a pop of fun color and a bit of whimsy, the white chocolate morsels add that sweet, creamy deliriousness you get from eating cake frosting. For those of you who are chocolate lovers, you might not even miss the frosting.
You don't have to or shouldn't wait for anyone's birthday to make these destined to wow Birthday Cake Cookies. But you should definitely make a batch of them to celebrate the birthday of a family member or friend! It might be one of the most heartfelt (and might I say one of the easiest) ways for you to make their birthday feel even more special and memorable. And who knows, Birthday Cake Cookies might even become a new birthday tradition in our ever evolving new normal!
Recipe
Birthday Cake Cookies
Makes 12 large cookies, possibly 13 (Baker's Dozen)
Ingredients
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (113g) cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup (8 oz/226g) unsalted butter, semi-room temperature, cubed (recommend a European style butter)
2/3 cup (134g) light brown sugar or a light brown/dark brown sugar combination (heavier on the light brown than dark brown sugar side)
2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups (351g) white chocolate chips, divided
3 ounces (85g) jimmies sprinkles (the ones you find in the ice cream toppings area of the grocery store)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
1. Combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt in a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cold butter on low speed until the butter cubes lose their shape (about 30-45 seconds).
3. Beat in the granulated sugar (about 30 seconds)
4. Beat in the brown sugar and vanilla (about 30 seconds). Mixture will be thick and creamy.
5. With the mixer on low speed add in 2 cups (312g) of the white chocolate chips and jimmies sprinkles to distribute evenly in the batter (about 30 seconds).
6. On low speed mix in the dry ingredients in three additions. Do not over beat, but there should be no streaks of flour showing.
7. Add in the lightly beaten eggs in two additions. Beat until mixture forms a cohesive dough.
8. Use a large (2 1/4") cookie scoop to divide the dough into 12 balls. Balls of dough will weigh about 4 ounces each. Notes: You might end up with 13 cookies, making the recipe yielding a baker's dozen.
2. Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cold butter on low speed until the butter cubes lose their shape (about 30-45 seconds).
3. Beat in the granulated sugar (about 30 seconds)
4. Beat in the brown sugar and vanilla (about 30 seconds). Mixture will be thick and creamy.
5. With the mixer on low speed add in 2 cups (312g) of the white chocolate chips and jimmies sprinkles to distribute evenly in the batter (about 30 seconds).
6. On low speed mix in the dry ingredients in three additions. Do not over beat, but there should be no streaks of flour showing.
7. Add in the lightly beaten eggs in two additions. Beat until mixture forms a cohesive dough.
8. Use a large (2 1/4") cookie scoop to divide the dough into 12 balls. Balls of dough will weigh about 4 ounces each. Notes: You might end up with 13 cookies, making the recipe yielding a baker's dozen.
9. Using the remaining 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips, firmly press 6-7 semi-evenly into the top of each ball of dough.
10. Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet, tightly cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line two baking pans with parchment paper.
12. Place 4 balls of the cookie on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Note: You will be baking one cookie sheet at a time.
13. Bake cookies for 20-22 minutes or until the edges and spots on top are lightly golden. Rotate cookie sheet midway through the baking process. Do not over bake the cookies. Let cookies rest on the cookie sheet for about 8 minutes. Note: To ensure you don't burn the bottoms of the cookies, bake the cookies on a stack of two cookie sheets.
14. Remove cookies from baking sheets and place on a cooling rack. Let cool slightly or let come to room temperature before serving.
15. Store any left over cookies in a tightly sealed container or wrap in a cellophane bag.
Notes: (1) To get perfectly rounded cookies, place a clear glass bowl slightly larger than the cookie or an oversized round cookie cutter over the warm out of the oven cookie and gently swirl it around. (2) If you want to send these cookies over the edge, make some buttercream icing and create Birthday Cake Sandwich cookies. (3) For a beautiful presentation, place a single cookie in a cellophane bag and tie with a beautiful ribbon!
10. Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet, tightly cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line two baking pans with parchment paper.
12. Place 4 balls of the cookie on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Note: You will be baking one cookie sheet at a time.
13. Bake cookies for 20-22 minutes or until the edges and spots on top are lightly golden. Rotate cookie sheet midway through the baking process. Do not over bake the cookies. Let cookies rest on the cookie sheet for about 8 minutes. Note: To ensure you don't burn the bottoms of the cookies, bake the cookies on a stack of two cookie sheets.
14. Remove cookies from baking sheets and place on a cooling rack. Let cool slightly or let come to room temperature before serving.
15. Store any left over cookies in a tightly sealed container or wrap in a cellophane bag.
Notes: (1) To get perfectly rounded cookies, place a clear glass bowl slightly larger than the cookie or an oversized round cookie cutter over the warm out of the oven cookie and gently swirl it around. (2) If you want to send these cookies over the edge, make some buttercream icing and create Birthday Cake Sandwich cookies. (3) For a beautiful presentation, place a single cookie in a cellophane bag and tie with a beautiful ribbon!
Pelicans on the DuPage River, Channahon, Il (March 2021)
