Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in eggs and extracts for 30 seconds, then add half of the flour mixture. Beat until fully incorporated, then add remaining half of the flour mixture.
Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookies on the prepared mats. For a more smooth appearance, you can roll the cookies into balls but that is optional.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just lightly golden and cookies start to crack on top.
Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
For the icing, whisk together powdered icing sugar, milk, melted butter and your choice of flavor extract and adjust the consistency with additional powdered sugar or milk.
Portion one tablespoon of the icing onto each cookie and add sprinkles.
Allow icing to dry for 30 minutes before serving or storing.
Makes approximately 30 cookies.
Notes
Add Nuts: Finely ground nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, almond or pecans can be added for texture and flavor.
Short cut tip: Simply dust with powdered sugar instead of icing for a classic cookie.
Color: Food coloring can be added to the icing to make them more festive appeal to your special occasions.
Sprinkle Hack: To keep the color from bleeding off your sprinkles, use a thicker consistency of icing, make sure that the cookies have completely cooled and wait to add sprinkles until icing has almost set.
Zest: Orange or lime zest add another dimension of flavor and freshness to your cookie.
Anise Extract: Replace the almond extract for anise extract in the cookie dough if you like that licorice flavor.
Fresh Lemon Juice: Lemon juice to taste In this icing really adds a zing to the cookies that you add the lemon zest to. (You may need to add a little more confectioners' sugar to the icing to ge the consistency right.