Preheat the Oven

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and even baking.

Combine Dry Ingredients

• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly blended.

Cream Butter and Sugar

• In a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 2–3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add Wet Ingredients

• Add the egg, vanilla extract, buttermilk, and cotton candy flavoring (if using) to the butter mixture.
• Mix until smooth and creamy.

Combine Wet and Dry

• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
• Mix on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix—stop when no flour streaks remain.

Divide and Color the Dough

• Split the dough evenly into two bowls.
• Add pink gel food coloring to one bowl and blue gel food coloring to the other.
• Stir each until the color is fully incorporated.

Shape the Cookies

• Take a small piece of pink dough and a small piece of blue dough.
• Gently press and roll them together to form a 1½-inch ball, giving it a swirled, cotton candy look.
• Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet to allow room for spreading.

Bake

• Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden.
• The centers will still be soft—they will set as they cool.

Cool

• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
• Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.