These Sprinkle Cookies are just about as cheerful as it gets – delicious tender chewy sugar cookies dotted with rainbow sprinkles. They come together in one bowl either by hand or with a stand mixer and require no chill time, so they’re easy as can be.
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Ingredients
Grab the quantities for this sprinkle cookie recipe in the card at the end of this post.
- Sugar: standard baking sugar – granulated sugar. Brown sugar does not work for this recipe.
- Butter: unsalted butter, room temperature.
- Eggs: large eggs, room temperature. Pasture raised are always best because it means the chickens have access to a full pasture and are as healthy as possible resulting in the most nutrient rich eggs.
- Vanilla: vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste flavors the cookies. You could also add ⅛tsp of almond extract if you are particularly keen on that flavor.
- Flour: all purpose flour, bleached or unbleached.
- Baking soda: the leavening agent.
- Salt: kosher salt, always.
- Cream of tartar: found in the spices aisle, this helps with the texture of the cookies.
- Colorful sprinkles: this is what makes the cookies sprinkle cookies! The best sprinkles to use are classic rainbow jimmies, the ones that are shaped like little bars.
How to make sprinkle cookies
Sprinkle cookies are a relatively easy recipe to make, they take perfect sugar cookie that's slightly crispy on the edges and soft on the inside with rainbow confetti sprinkles to make them even more fun.
1. Cream or whisk butter and sugar. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together the room temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy – high speed on the stand mixer, your best effort if by hand.
2. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is getting incorporated.
3. Add dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and mix in the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and cream of tartar. When the dry ingredients are 90% of the way combined with the wet, add the sprinkles and continue mixing until everything comes together.
4. Scoop into cookie dough balls. Place each ball of dough 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheets (cookie sheet or baking sheet lined with parchment paper).
5. Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes until the edges are just getting golden. Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 or so minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips and tricks
- You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, electric hand mixer, or just a bowl and whisk for these cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop to get even sized dough balls.
- Use room temperature ingredients when baking, it helps them all combine seamlessly for an even bake.
- If your cookies don’t come out as perfect circles, use a miscellaneous circular object in your kitchen and swirl it around the warm cookie to gently push it back into shape.
- To keep the inside of the cookies chewy, you really want to make sure there’s just a glimmer of golden brown around the edges when you take them out of the oven. Fully golden and the inside will be cooked all the way through.
When to make sprinkle cookies
Look, there is no wrong answer here – the time to make cookies is always. However, if you have an occasion coming up like any of the below, that's a great opportunity to make some festive cookies.
- These are great for a birthday party, even more so if you sandwich them with some vanilla ice cream or slather a cream cheese frosting over top.
- They're fun to customize for certain holidays or occasions, for example – use red and green sprinkles to make these a festive Christmas cookie, orange and black for Halloween, or even pink and red for Valentine's day. Even use blue sprinkles or pink sprinkles for a gender reveal celebration.
Storage
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- You can freeze the cookie dough – form it into dough balls, place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, put the sheet in the freezer. After about an hour, take them out and transfer to a freezer bag or container then return them to the freezer. Can be kept frozen for up to 4 months.
FAQs
Sure! They just might bake up a little differently.
It is chemically known as potassium bitartrate, and is used to enhance flavor and help activate baking soda.
Yes, they are! Just different names for the same thing; similar to "soda" and "pop."
I haven't tried making this recipe with gluten free flour, but your best bet would be 1:1 Bob's Red Mill Baking Flour.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!
📖 Recipe
Sprinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together the room temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy – high speed on the stand mixer, your best effort if by hand.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is getting incorporated.
- Switch to a spatula and mix in the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and cream of tartar.
- When the dry ingredients are 90% of the way combined with the wet, add the sprinkles and continue mixing until everything comes together.
- Scoop into cookie dough balls, 3 tablespoon size. Place each ball of dough 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheets (cookie sheet or baking sheet lined with parchment paper).
- Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes until the edges are just getting golden. Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 or so minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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