Funfetti Cookies — These funfetti cookies are essentially sugar cookies from scratch that have been loaded with sprinkles. They have that nostalgic boxed cake flavor but are 100% homemade!
Funfetti Cookies From Scratch
Who can say no to super soft cookies with sprinkles baked in? I sure can’t.
It’s been on my bucket list to come up with a softbatch-style sugar cookie recipe that’s soft, and not at all cakey, with just hints of chewiness around the edges. And I wanted to make these from scratch, not from Funfetti cake mix. I have nothing against it, and once upon a time used cake mix a whole lot more, but these sugar cookies with sprinkles are 100% from scratch.
I wanted cookies with less cakiness than Lofthouse Cookies, and I wanted drop rather than roll out cookies recipes. I didn’t want to have to frost them, so baking in sprinkles was my solution. I definitely didn’t want hard or crispy cookies, which are words that should never describe cookies.
I know people love sugar cookies and decorated Christmas cookies, but I think they’re tasteless and way too hard. I would never waste my calorie budget on cardboard cookies with frosting that’s crunchy. No way.
I made these Chewy Sugar Sprinkles Cookies previously and while I like them I felt like I could improve on them, so I did just that. For these funfetti cookies, I worked cornstarch into the dough. It’s my secret weapon for creating softbatch-style cookies. I’ve written about it before so many times and swear by it.
I also included both almond and vanilla extracts in the cookies to really play up the Funfetti cake batter taste.
And you can’t have Funfetti without sprinkles, and the abundance of them adds texture and flavor. Everything is better with sprinkles. The more the merrier.
These birthday cake cookies make a smaller batch, just 15 cookies, perfect when you don’t want or need dozens of cookies laying around tempting you. Feel free to double it if you’d like.
The cookies are pillowy soft and tender with just a tiny bit of chewiness around the edges. They’re lightweight without being airy or dry. They’re moist with a rich buttery flavor. If you’re a ‘dough’ person, rather than an add-ins person, and can appreciate the simple pleasures of a really good, flavorful dough, this dough will be your new best friend.
I have no willpower around super soft and tender sugar cookies from scratch like these. Especially when sprinkles are involved.
What’s in Funfetti Cookies?
For these homemade funfetti cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sprinkles
Note that I used clear imitation vanilla extract rather than real vanilla extract. This is a recipe where using the cheap stuff is preferred to the real thing because imitation provides a classic, bakery-cake, nostalgic flavor. It’s found in the baking aisle next to real vanilla and it’s a fraction of the cost.
How to Make Funfetti Cookies From Scratch
To make these birthday cake cookies, you first need to cream together the butter, sugar, egg, and extracts for about 5 minutes. Do NOT shortcut the creaming process — you need to make sure the butter mixture is very light in color and fluffy before adding the other ingredients.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined, making sure to not break apart the sprinkles. Then, scoop the cookie dough onto a plate and roll into balls before flattening them slightly with your hands. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking the cookies.
Once the dough has chilled, bake for 8 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. These cookies should not turn golden or brown at all and should stay white.
How to Store Funfetti Cookies
You should store these homemade cookies in an airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you freeze the cookies, you can reheat them in the oven or set them on the counter to thaw.
Can I Make These Cookies in Advance?
Absolutely! I make the dough, scoop into balls, cover and refrigerate them for up to 5 days, before baking. You can also freeze the cookie dough (after you’ve scooped it) and bake these sugar cookies with sprinkles directly from frozen.
Can I Omit the Almond Extract?
If you have a nut allergy or are simply out of extract, I’d add extra vanilla extract to make up for the lack of almond extract. Your funfetti cookies won’t taste exactly like mine without the almond extract, but they’ll still be delicious!
My Cookies Came Out Flat, What Happened?
Sometimes these things happen! But this funfetti cookie recipe always turns out perfectly for me. If you need help troubleshooting this cookie recipe, check out this chocolate chip cookie recipe for all of my best tips and tricks to making cookies from scratch (scroll to the bottom of the post for the list of tips).
Can I Double This Recipe?
Most definitely! These sugar cookies with sprinkles can be doubled or even tripled to feed a crowd.
Can I Make These Into Cookie Bars?
I haven’t tried that myself, so I can’t say for sure how they’d turn out. However, I have lots of cookie bar recipes on my blog already! If you’re looking for inspiration, try out my Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars, M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, or Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Does it Matter What Type of Sprinkles I Use?
Nope! But I’d steer clear of the sprinkle balls if I were you, just because they’re fairly hard.
Can I Roll Out These Cookies and Cut Them Into Shapes?
I haven’t tried that myself, so I’m not sure that’d work. If you roll out these cookies, I’m afraid they wouldn’t turn out soft and chewy at all.
Can I Make These with Whole Wheat Flour?
I haven’t tried that myself, but my gut says no. Whole wheat flour would majorly alter the texture and flavor of these funfetti cookies.
Can I Make These Gluten-Free?
I’ve never made these with a GF flour, but if you find one that works please leave me a comment below!
Tips for Making Funfetti Cookies
You absolutely must chill this dough before baking, no exceptions. The cookies will spread and bake flat and thin if you don’t chill the dough.
And don’t over bake! The cookies will look quite raw and underdone at 8 minutes, but they firm up while they cool. Don’t be tempted to bake them longer because they’re not meant to be browned, golden, or crisp. They’re meant to be white and soft.
Also note that the cornstarch in these birthday cake cookies can’t be substituted. It’s the secret ingredient and they wouldn’t turn out properly without it.
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Softbatch Funfetti Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract, real vanilla extract may be substituted
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup sprinkles, jimmies
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, extract, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Do not shortcut the creaming process; make sure dough is very light in color and fluff, stop to scrape down the sides of the mixer as necessary.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the sprinkles and beat momentarily to incorporate, less than 1 minute, or fold in by hand.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two tablespoon mounds (I made 15). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line two baking sheets with Silpats, or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. These cookies should not turn golden or brown at all and should stay white. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
- Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies – Super SOFT sugar cookies that just melt in your mouth!! If you’ve ever thought that sugar cookies can be boring or dry, this EASY recipe with frosting and sprinkles will change your mind!
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — These cookies are soft, moist, and oh-so chewy. They taste like banana bread and chocolate chip cookies rolled into one dessert!
The Best Snickerdoodles – Soft, pillowy puffs that are so irresistible! The closest recipe to Mrs. Fields snickerdoodles that you’ll find!
One-Bowl, No-Mixer, No-Chill, Extra-Large Chocolate Chip Cookie For One – An incredibly FAST and EASY recipe that produces ONE extra-large soft and chewy cookie that’s loaded with chocolate!
Funfetti Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies — The cookies are loaded with Oreos, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and are adapted from my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
I am loving all the sprinkles, Averie! These cookies look so soft and pillowy. I could go for a dozen right now!
I made some funfetti cookies a few weeks ago for my kids/nieces and nephews and they thought they were the coolest thing ever :). Yours look so soft and delicious and the colors are so pretty!
That’s awesome that your kids and relatives were happy. I love it when baking puts smiles on their faces :)
You have stolen my heart with these cookies! They are so stunning. Love them!
I love that you used almond and vanilla extract (and, of course, that everything is made from scratch!). These cookies look like edible, sweet, happy pills! Can they replace my lexapro, please? :D
Dark chocolate and champagne would probably work too :)
I would never say no to these cookies! I love all of the sprinkles!
Wow, I could take a mega-bite out of these right now. That third pic from the top with the pink swirly plate had me mesmerized. My eyes kept going in circles around the sprinkles and the cookies and the pink swirls! 2 extracts- totally up my alley!
I bought the plate at Anthro about 6 mos ago. It was pricey for 1 plate, as their stuff always is (I get most of my plates for a buck or 2 at the thrift store) – and wondered WHY I bought it. It just wasn’t fitting with any recipe. And then bam, it fit with these :) Glad you like!
Not only do these cookies look beautiful, and like they taste amazing, but I am SO glad they don’t use cake mix! I have nothing against it in general, but I personally can tell the difference in taste texture and strongly prefer scratch cookies. Definitely putting these on my “to-make” list!
I used to use it tons more. But life changes and now, like you, I try to do more from scratch stuff as much as possible :)
I love love love funfetti cookies! And yours look absolutely perfect!
Thanks, Colleen! And thanks for popping back in the past few days – you were missed :)
Thanks! I missed all my fav blogs too!
We were away on our honeymoon :)
You make the most perfect looking cookies every time!! You are for sure the cookie making queen bee! These just look incredible and so soft and big! I love big and soft cookies with a little chew. So darn good. Plus, my little sister would love me if I made here some of these. Sprinkles are her favorite. Especially, the pink ones!
You’re so sweet! I would gladly trade you one of these for a bb cornbread muffin with honey butter. And I don’t even love cornbread. But you made me love it :)
And sprinkles. I wish I could just get pink sprinkles without having to do mail order! That would make my day :)
I’ve decided to devote the next 20+ years of my life to sprinkles.
No lie.
I’m right there with you!
I’ve been wanting to make cookies lately but nothing has been grabbing my attention. These have my full attention! Can’t wait to make them! And yay for drop cookies. When a cookie recipe calls for rolling, I either don’t make it or try it as drop cookies.
When a recipe calls for rolling, I tune out. Immediately.
Glad these have your full attn!
Yum in the tum. These cookies need to be coming out of my oven stat.
Yum in the tum. <-- love that expression. I use it often :)
Cornstarch has become my secret weapon in cookies now, too. I never bake cookies without it! I love how huge these are, and you can really see from the pictures how buttery and soft they are. All those sprinkles and the fact that they look like little scoops of ice cream from above make these cookies irresistible!
Thanks so much for saying that you can really see how buttery they are. It was SO hard to shoot white cookies and get that to convey without them looking washed out. Glad it worked.
As for size, they’re what I would call normal size home-baked cookies. They’re no where near as big as bakery cookies or coffeeshop cookies. The camera has a way of distorting the size scale. Everything always looks bigger than it really is!
Almond extract is a great addition to these (and sprinkles are so fun and cheery). I love the stuff and also use it in my coffee, hot chocolate, banana or chocolate smoothies and anything else I think it will work in. I don’t like hard sugar cookies either–and I know these are the polar opposite!
Polar opposite is right!
And I love that you use almond extract in your coffee!
I swear yesterday I saved into my recipe box your other funfetti cookie recipe as I was going to make them in the next couple of days..well looks like there’s an even better recipe now! It’s like if you read my mind! lol :) I will let you know how they
turn out :)
Oh you are going to LOVE THESE! They are sooo good. They are way better than the other ones for me at least. People really like that recipe and there’s nothing wrong with it; but I do like these better! Keep me posted if you try them!
SPRINKLES! I’ve never heard of adding cornstarch to cookies–definitely going to try this recipe in the imminent future. :D
Makes a HUGE difference in results – just 2 tsp but the results are wonderful!