Start by lining two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. This prevents sticking and ensures even baking. Set them aside for now.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to whisk the dry ingredients together well. This step is crucial as it evenly distributes the leavening agents throughout your flour.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the cubed butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Attach the paddle attachment and set the mixer to medium speed. Cream these ingredients until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. The texture should be light and airy at this stage.

Next, crack in the eggs and egg yolks, and pour in the vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix again until everything is well incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides to include any mixture clinging on the edges, then mix once more.

Slowly add the previously mixed dry ingredients into the wet mixture with the mixer on low speed. You want to combine them just until blended. Finally, fold in the milk chocolate chips (and pecans if you’re using them) with the spatula until evenly distributed.

Before shaping the dough, preheat your oven to 400°F.

Once your dough is mixed, divide it into three equal sections. I genuinely suggest using a kitchen scale for this part; it helps achieve uniformity.

Take one section of dough and mix in red food coloring until you get a rich color. Do the same for the second section with blue food coloring, leaving the third section plain. Aim for vibrant colors, but be careful; adding too little will produce a pastel look that won’t stand out.

If you find that the dough is getting too sticky and hard to handle, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes. It makes shaping the logs much easier.

Roll each colored dough section into a long log, about 15 inches long. Place these logs side by side on plastic wrap or parchment paper. Wrap and roll them together to form one large uniform log. Depending on how big you want your cookies, slice sections of dough, roll them into balls, and place them on the prepared baking sheets. I usually do six per sheet.

Slide the baking sheets into your preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges start turning golden brown. If you like, gently press more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies as they come out of the oven for that extra touch.

Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. When they’re completely cool, feel free to decorate with edible glitter stars for extra pizzazz!