15 in 2015: Make "Joy the Baker" 's Confetti Cookies

the cookies as dough balls before baking

It's the last day of August as I type this and lately I've been feeling the push to get a few more of the 15 in 2015 things done before the next four (four!!) months slip by with school starting, traveling, and holiday seasons start in. This 'thing', was a simple one: bake the Vanilla Bean Confetti Cookies from Joy the Baker's Homemade Decadance cookbook before the year was out.

These cookies are just as beautiful as they look in the book, though mine were (ahem) slightly less uniform. Thankfully for YOU, Joy has those pretty cookies on her website for free. Her cookbook, well, bakebook, as she is a full-time baker, is fantastic. I've made now 5 items out of it since I bought it around March or April, and I've loved everything. There is a picture on every page which is a must for me when I buy a cookbook. This book includes not only baked goods like cookies, but cakes, cocktails, breakfast items, ice creams, bars, etc. It's a really well-rounded book and I'd gift it to a foodie if and when the opportunity presents itself.

It's not like making cookies is all that extraordinary, but we all get stuck in our rut of familiar and chocolate chip and oatmeal raisins are my two go-tos to bake for our family or others. I was invited to a large baby shower that was also a potluck, and just the fact that I had to make something that could also cross the border (i.e. no fruits or veggies) lit a fire under me to make something and I remembered this item I wanted to bake. Not only that, but the multicolored sprinkles went really well with a baby shower. Win-win. I didn't end up using vanilla beans since I didn't have them on hand (they are so expensive here) but I upped the vanilla extract by 1/2 tsp. and they were definitely sweet enough!

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