Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper (or lightly grease with butter or shortening).

If using a hand mixer: add flour, butter, baking powder, egg, and heavy cream to a large bowl and mix until a dough forms.

If using food processor: add flour, butter, baking powder, egg, and heavy cream to food processor bowl and process until a dough forms.

Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Portion out chilled dough into walnut-sized pieces. You should have roughly 4 dozen balls of raw dough.

Using your fingers, roll out dough into thin trips about 10 inches in length. Form strips of dough into pretzels.

Press pretzels into pearl sugar or turbinado sugar and place face-up on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-inch of space between each cookie.

Bake cookies for 15-17 minutes or until golden.

Allow baked cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Enjoy cookies within 3 days or wrap in parchment and freeze in a resealable, freezer-safe container for up to 6 months.