I brought home one of my husband’s favorite treats the other day – nonpareil candy. You know, the little flat chocolate wafers with the crunchy white sprinkles on top? I love ’em too, but after sampling a few just to make sure they were fresh (ahem) I satisfied myself with staring at them and wondering if I could make a cookie that would have the same eye appeal.
Yes, yes…this is JUST what I envisioned!
They’re pretty and festive, and pack a lot of crunch! You can NOT go all frugal and just sprinkle the little nonpareil sprinkles on them. The crispy, rich (and I mean rich!) cookie has to be dunked in chocolate and then pressed into the sprinkles to look right. I’ll tell you right now that you’ll need at least 2 bottles, maybe 3 of the nonpareil sprinkles. I can’t tell you for sure because I ran out of them part way through! I had no idea it would take that many. Plan B was to dip the remaining cookies in chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy cane. Ta Da!
| Nonpareil Cookies | Print |
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cups unsweetened cocoa
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
- LOTS of nonpareil sprinkles. 2-3 large bottles.
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the vanilla, milk, and egg, and beat well.
- Add the dry ingredients (slow down there, Tiger...the cocoa will fly everywhere! Beat it on low until it's incorporated) and mix together well.
- For best results, roll out between two pieces of parchment until it's about ¼" thick.
- Cut with a small round cookie cutter, or improvise with a shot glass or a plastic cap. With a spatula, lift the rounds carefully and place ½"-1" apart on ungreased bafking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies should be fairly firm. If they're still soft, give them another minute or two. They'll harden a bit as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, melt the chocolate chips and shortening together in the microwave at 15 second increments, stirring each time. Dip the tops of the cookies in the chocolate, gently shake off excess, and then press into a separate bowl of sprinkles. Place on waxed paper and move to the refrigerator to set. (Approximately 15 minutes.)
This is a wonderful basic cookie recipe to have on hand. The cookies keep their shape very well, so they’re perfect for a sandwich cookie. Fill them with peanut butter frosting, marshmallow fluff, mint ganache…wherever your imagination takes you!
Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment
Cut out small circles (I used a shot glass)
Dip them in the chocolate…
And then dip them into the nonpareil sprinkles.
Next week will be the big push to make and bake for Christmas platters. Stay tuned…lots of goodies are in the works.