King Cake Festive Cookies (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

→ Dough

01 - 2 large cold eggs
02 - 1/4 teaspoon finely ground nutmeg
03 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
04 - 3/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
05 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
06 - 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
07 - 1 teaspoon baking soda powder
08 - 1/2 cup chunks of cold cream cheese
09 - 3/4 cup crunchy white chocolate chips
10 - 3/4 cup regular granulated sugar
11 - 1/2 teaspoon salt crystals
12 - 1 cup of cubed, chilled salted butter
13 - 2 tablespoons cornstarch
14 - 2 3/4 cups regular flour

→ Topping

15 - 1/2 cup of festive sprinkles in gold, purple, and green
16 - 1/2 cup of sanding sugar in purple, gold, and green

# Instructions:

01 - Get the oven ready by setting it to 410°F. Put parchment paper on two pans.
02 - Take cold butter and beat it with brown and white sugars for 1-2 minutes until the texture looks smooth but not whipped too much. Beat in the eggs separately, then pour in vanilla and almond flavorings.
03 - Grab another bowl and stir together cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and flour until combined.
04 - Slowly add the dry mix to the butter mixture and mix until just fully mixed. Fold in cream cheese chunks, colorful sprinkles, and white chocolate chips gently.
05 - Roll the dough into big 5-6 ounce balls. Keep them loose, tall, and NOT flat to help them bake thicker.
06 - Space out 3 or 4 dough balls across a baking sheet. Sprinkle stripes of sanding sugar over the tops of each dough ball.
07 - Pop the sheet into the oven for 9-12 minutes. Take them out when the edges look golden, but the centers are still a bit undercooked. Keep the extra dough cold in the fridge.
08 - Let cookies sit on the baking sheet for around 30 minutes before moving them to cooling racks. Only bake the next batch after the first cools. Cooling makes the texture just right.

# Notes:

01 - Refrigerating the dough before baking keeps the cookies thick.