Almond Spiral Cookies

Inspired by Sprinkle Bakes, I originally tried to make these cookies for my Scottish flatmates while exposing them to an "American Superbowl Party." I discovered, however, that these are a bit trickier to make than I had expected. With a small kitchen that heats up quickly, I found my dough getting soggy and breaking. On my second attempt, though, I tried a few different things and ended up with a whimsical and delicious cookie that can be catered to any occasion!

• 4 cups flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon blue food dye
• Sugar ball sprinkles (I used 2 small packages)
• 
  
• 
  
• 1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• 
  
• 2. In  a separate bowl, beat the butter with both sugars until completely smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, followed by the almond extract. Gradually add in the dry mixture until a soft dough forms. 
• 
  
• 3. Divide the dough in half and add food dye to one half. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or a fork. Add more dye until the dough is to your desired color. 
• 
  
• 4. Roll out the undyed dough on top of wax or parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thickness (I tried to roll the dough into a square shape in order to make a better roll). Make sure to use plenty of flour as the dough softens very easily. Once the undyed dough is rolled out, place the dyed dough on top and roll until it covers the other dough completely.
• 
  
• 5. Begin rolling the dough into a log while making sure not to push too hard in order to avoid stretching the roll out too much. Once the dough is completely rolled up, cover a baking sheet in whichever sprinkles you chose (note: larger sugar balls are very difficult to use for this).  Roll the dough in the sprinkles until evenly coated. 

• 
  
• 6. Wrap the dough in foil or saran wrap and let refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Once it is completely chilled, slice in 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes. Make sure to take them out right as they are cooked to avoid brown edges and sprinkles!

7. Place on a cooling rack and try to keep your friends from eating all of them!