Soft, chewy, and buttery sprinkle sugar cookies. Making these colorful funfetti sugar cookies is just as fun as eating them! No rolling pin or cookie cutters needed.
Why you'll love them
I spent a while looking for a soft, chewy sprinkle sugar cookie recipe that did not puff too much and required little to no chill time. I spent a lot of time testing a lot of different methods until I found the perfect sugar cookie recipe that is amazing on its own, but creates a cookie that is versatile enough to be used in an ice cream sandwich.
In fact, this search for the perfect sugar cookie (along with my search for the best chocolate chip cookies) are why I decided to write a cookbook
These cookies have lightly crisp edges and are incredibly chewy. They're buttery and surprisingly not too sweet. Not to mention they are so fun to eat thanks to the sprinkles.
You can use any sprinkle mix you have around. I like to buy a big jar of sprinkles so I always have some on-hand for any occasion. If you want to get really creative, you can also make homemade sprinkles.
Ingredients
- Flour - We use all-purpose flour here to give it a really nice texture. The recipe also works with cake flour, and we actually add cornstarch to the recipe to mimic the tenderness of cake flour.
- Cornstarch - The cornstarch helps keep the cookies nice and tender with a light crumb that is hard to resist!
- Baking powder - I experimented with different ratios of leavener and I prefer using just a bit of baking powder. It gives the sprinkle sugar cookies a nice rise, while also allowing them to flatten at the tops, making these cookies perfect for ice cream sandwiches.
- Salt - We use salt in baking to bring out the flavors of the ingredients. Without the salt, these cookies would taste fairly bland, so don't forget it!
- Butter - Use unsalted butter because we are adding in the salt separately.
- Granulated sugar - These wouldn't be sugar cookies without the sugar! At least they wouldn't be sugar cookies I would want to eat. Unlike many other sugar cookies, we don't use a whole ton of sugar, so these aren't as sweet as you'd expect.
- Egg + yolk - The egg not only serves to add moisture and bind the ingredients together, but the extra yolk also adds a nice richness to the cookies to make them even more delicious!
- Vanilla - You can use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Whatever you choose, do not use imitation vanilla extract.
- Sprinkles - We need all.the.sprinkles! We really push the limits on how many sprinkles we can reasonably fit here. You can try to go for a full cup and try different types of sprinkles you have around to customize them. It's really fun to use themed colors for special events and holidays!
Storage tips
If your cookies manage to last longer than a day, you can store them in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
These cookies also freeze very well!
- Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to a month. They only need a few minutes to thaw at room temperature.
- Freeze unbaked cookies in an airtight container for up to a month. Freeze them in balls on a baking sheet before transferring to a container. No need to thaw when baking, just add an extra 3 - 4 minutes to the baking time.
F.A.Q.s
In this recipe, you add the sprinkles into the batter right after adding the flour. This way your cookies are bursting with sprinkles with every bite!
I wanted to make this recipe so no chilling time was necessary. You can bake these cookies as soon as your dough is ready - as long as your butter was softened to the right temperature (check how to soften butter quickly here). To minimize spread, I do recommend chilling the dough for 5 - 10 minutes in the freezer, but it is not necessary.
You may also like
There are a ton of recipes here you may love if you enjoyed these sprinkle sugar cookies. If you just want to eat the dough, my edible sugar cookie dough is a must-try. (Give the edible brownie batter, edible peanut butter cookie dough, edible cake batter, and edible chocolate chip cookie dough while you are at it). These lemon sugar cookies are a personal favorite, and these brown butter snickerdoodles are amazing. Nutella-fans will love these Nutella-stuffed sugar cookies.
Recipe Card
Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking pan with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sea salt into a medium bowl and stir well. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy - about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add in the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat well for about 4 minutes.
- Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture and gently mix just until there are no more streaks of flour. Do not over mix.
- Fold in the sprinkles and gently stir until fully mixed in.
- Create balls of cookie dough that about roughly 1 ½ tablespoons big.
- Chill the balls in the freezer for about 5 - 10 minutes. This step is optional, but I do recommend it.
- Spread the balls 2-inches apart on your baking sheets. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until the edges just start to gently color. The tops will look underbaked.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before you transfer to a wire rack.
Britni says
Why do mine keep turning out so thick? They won’t spread out much when making for some reason.
Amanda Powell says
Hi Britni! Usually, the biggest culprit to thick cookies is accidentally adding too much flour. It's an easy thing to do. Try using a fork or whisk to fluff the flour, then use a spoon to fill your measuring cups and swipe off the top to level it. You can also skip chilling the dough. I hope these tips help, but if you need any additional help, please let me know!