Colorful Easter Sugar Cookies...

I know, I am totally going against my Friday Color List ritual...but I just couldn't wait any longer to share these little rainbow beauties with you! Since this weekend is very special to me because of this conference, I thought I'd pair it with a special treat!  These cookies have a few steps, and take a bit longer than a regular sugar cookie recipe, but it's totally worth it once they are done!!!

So, bring on the rolling pin and butter--and let the baking begin!

First mix your sugars,butter and eggs, than add in the dry ingredients. Don't over mix.

Next, separate dough into four even sections and add a few drops of food coloring. Than seal each color nice and tight with saran wrap, and refrigerate. 

Take out of fridge after about an hour, and roll out each color onto a floured surface (this keeps the darn stuff from sticking to everything!)...

Next, take each layer and stack them, one on top of the other, in the color order you want (that is the most important part of course ha)--then put in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes (you want your dough to be hard so that when you cut it, it doesn't bleed into one another). 

Than, take out of fridge and cut it into a perfect rectangle (mine ended up being about 9x6")...then I cut that into three even strips.

Okay, you're almost done! Stack your three strips one on top of the other. Seal with saran wrap, and freeze for about 45 minutes.

Now your cookies are ready for the real action! Simply unwrap it and cut your cookies into even sections (about 1/4" thick)

Lay your little art pieces nicely onto your cookie sheet and cook at 350 for about 6-10 minutes.

Lastly, you can eat them like I like them (on the left), or the less messy way (and so cute to gift up for a friend)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 whole eggs
2 whole eggs yolks
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat well, for about 2 minutes. Add the whole eggs and 2 yolks, continuing to mix until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk until sifted. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture about 1 cup at a time, stirring with the paddle attachment (not the whisk) to incorporate each cup. Do not over mix.

Divide the dough into four equal portions. Using food coloring, color each layer. Mix with a wooden spoon or hand mixer.

Place dough in individual ziplock bags or saran wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour or two. One at a time, roll colors into approximately 6x9 inch rectangles. Stack on top of one another, and refrigerate until firm. 

Take out stack, and trim off the jagged edges. Than cut into three equal strips, and stack those on top of one another. Wrap in saran wrap and put into freezer until very firm. When it's ready to be cut, simply unwrap, slice into 1/4" thick cookies!

When you are ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 6-10 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Let the baking sheet cool, before you do another batch.