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Sprinkle Cookies

Name: Sprinkle Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick softened); ¾ cup granulated sugar; ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed); 1 egg (room temperature); 1 tsp vanilla extract; ½ tsp almond extract; 2 cups all purpose flour (scoop and level measured); 1 tsp baking soda; ½ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp kosher salt; 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

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By:

Madeline

Updated: April 3, 2025

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These bright and cheerful Sprinkle Cookies are the perfect sweet treat. Roll a classic sugar cookie in rainbow sprinkles for added sweetness and fun!

Three quarter view of a sprinkle cookie on a piece of parchment paper

Quick

15 minutes

You’ll Learn: How to keep cookies soft longer

Worth It: It builds a freezer stash for stress-free snacks later

Bonus: Simple swaps to match what’s in your pantry

Large sprinkle cookies on a piece of parchment paper

Why you’ll love this recipe

Sugar cookies with a twist – These simple sugar cookies have the same flavor as classic chewy sugar cookies, but with the added bonus of sprinkles coating the outside. This sugar cookie recipe is similar to funfetti cookies, but instead of mixing the sprinkles in with the dough, we are rolling each cookie dough ball in the sprinkles so they are extra bright and vibrant.
Easy to make – These sugar cookies with sprinkles are an easy recipe to make, so fun to eat and they feel like you’re eating a bakery cookie. They don’t require any chill time, so they are the best cookies to make for any kind of celebration like a birthday or even just a simple gathering of friends.
Customizable – The best part is that this is the perfect sugar cookie for any holiday. I love sugar cookies all year long. I used red, white and blue sprinkles to make a batch for the Fourth of July and I am planning on using red and green ones for a Christmas cookie, and red for Valentine’s Day! You could even get some halloween sprinkles and make a batch in the fall!

Kitchen tools

Measuring cups, measuring spoons and a liquid measuring cup
Whisk
Flat spatula
Cookie scoop for measuring out dough
Shallow bowl for rolling dough balls in sprinkles
Large bowl
Baking sheet
Parchment paper or a silicone mat
Wire rack for cooling

Serving Suggestions

Like I said these chewy sprinkle cookies are the perfect thing for any celebration!! Serve these chewy cookies alongside cake or cupcakes for your guests who aren’t fans of cake. You could also serve them on a cookie platter with this monster cookie recipe and brown butter sugar cookies.

You can make festive ice cream sandwiches by softening some vanilla ice cream and placing a scoop between two of these sprinkle cookies. Roll the ice cream sandwich in more sprinkles and pop in the freezer for a bit to have it firm up!

Ingredients

Unsalted butter – start with room temperature softened butter as the base for this sugar cookie dough. You can use salted butter, but then I would omit the kosher salt in the batter.
Granulated sugar and light brown sugar – the combination of two sugars results in a slightly chewy cookie with crisp edges.
Large egg – one egg gives the cookies just the right amount of rise and helps bind the dough.
Vanilla extract and almond extract – using both extracts add a birthday cake like taste to the cookie dough.
All purpose flour – I like to use plain all purpose flour, but you can also use cake flour for an even softer cookie texture.
Baking soda and baking powder – the combination of both leveners give the cookie just enough lift and rise.
Kosher salt – just a pinch of salt balances out the sweetness in the sugar cookie dough.
Festive rainbow sprinkles – Roll the dough balls in rainbow jimmies and really press them in so that the cookies are evenly coated. Use chocolate sprinkles for chocolate sugar cookies.

Ingredient substitutions

You can easily make these sprinkle sugar cookies gluten free by replacing the all purpose flour with a cup for cup gluten free flour blend.

The almond gives that classic italian cookie flavor, but if you don’t have it, feel free to skip the almond extract. You can just add an extra teaspoon vanilla extract.

I usually make these with rainbow sprinkles, but you can use any color sprinkles that you like and that fit the holiday or activity that you are making them for.

You could even dye the cookie dough with food coloring to add extra color. Use all different types of colorful sprinkles like nonpareils or any kind of sprinkles with fun holiday shapes. If you’re feeling adventurous next time, you could even make a cream cheese icing for on top and put the sprinkles on top of that.

A photo of sugar creamed with butter with a small bowl of sprinkles next to a picture of butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract mixed together

How to make

To begin, preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Mix with an electric hand mixer or paddle attachment of a stand mixer on medium speed to high speed until fully combined and slightly fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the bowl and mix again until thoroughly combined.

A picture of flour mixture with baking soda, baking powder and salt mixed together in a mixing bowl with a whisk in the bowl next to a picture of sprinkle cookie dough in a mixing bowl

In a separate bowl whisk together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients with the electric mixer – you may need to use your hands to help the dough come together and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step 2: Roll into balls and into sprinkles

Pour sprinkles into a shallow dish. Scoop about a three tablespoon ball of dough out and roll it.

Roll the basic sugar cookie dough balls in the sprinkles and press in until all sides of the ball are coated in the sprinkles.

A picture of a cookie dough ball rolled in a medium bowl of rainbow sprinkles next to a picture of a 3 tbsp scoop balls of dough on a prepared cookie sheet

Step 3: bake and cool

Place on the lined baking sheet with space between each cookie. I can fit 6 rainbow sprinkle cookies per prepared baking sheets. Press down slightly with your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup and add more sprinkles on tops of the cookies.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes until you have golden brown soft cookies. Adjust baking time if needed, especially for your second batch because the first batch often takes an extra minute or two. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Above view of a sprinkle cookie on a plate with a bite taken out of it

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you sprinkle cookies before or after baking?

Roll the sprinkles into the wet cookie dough before baking so that the sprinkles really stick into the cookie dough. Then, as the cookie bakes, they bake with the dough and won’t fall off after baking.

What sprinkles don’t melt when baked?

Cylindrical sprinkles sometimes called confetti sprinkles or jimmies are more likely to hold their shape when baked so they are the best sprinkles to use.

Storage and freezing

To store, allow the baked cookies to cool completely. Then, transfer your delicious sugar cookies to an airtight container or wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

If you want to freeze this sprinkle cookie recipe, they will be good frozen for up to 3 months. Store them in a freezer bag and take them out one by one and allow to that at room temperature.

Check out these other Great recipes for Cookies

Images by Ella from Alpine Ella.

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!

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