Sprinkle Cookies

Name: Sprinkle Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ¾ teaspoon salt*; ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed; ½ cup (4 ounces) cream cheese; ½ cup granulated sugar; ¾ cup powdered sugar; 1 large egg; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1 cup jimmies sprinkles

Published: Jan 12, 2020 · Modified: Dec 11, 2020 by Tasia · This post may contain affiliate links · 47 Comments

Jump to Recipe

This EASY sprinkle cookies recipe creates soft, chewy, sprinkle covered sugar cookies!! Better than any bakery cookie and ready in about 30 minutes!

My love for sugar cookies runs far and deep. Give me a buttercream sugar cookie and I am one happy camper. Hand me one of these sprinkle cookies and my inner child is jumping for joy!

Perfect for any occasion; just change the sprinkle colors and you have a cookie ready for game day, baby showers, Valentine's Day, Easter or Christmas. The possibilities are endless!

Disclosure | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This easy recipe uses COLD butter and cream cheese and requires NO CHILL time. Soft, chewy, sprinkle filled cookies with the slightest tang from the cream cheese. Buttery and not overly sweet (thank you cream cheese!) with a bit of firmness to the outside and a melt-in-your-mouth softness on the inside. They are ready in about 30 minutes, does it get any better than this??

WHAT KIND OF SPRINKLES SHOULD I USE FOR SPRINKLE COOKIES?

I prefer the "jimmies" variety of sprinkles for this recipe. They are soft and colorful sugar strands and can typically be found in a variety of colors. Sprinkles can be purchased in many stores; Michaels, Target, Walmart, Amazon and even my local grocery market carry them.

Nonpareils are the tiny, round balls. I find them to be too hard and crunchy for this cookie. If you love the nonpareils, give it a whirl and leave me a comment below with how you like them!

DO THE SPRINKLES MELT IN THE OVEN?

The sprinkles will melt slightly in the oven. When the cookies cool, the sprinkles firm back up, but will be adhered to the cookie.

HOW TO MAKE SPRINKLE COOKIES

Start by preheating the oven to 375° F and preparing your baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Next combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.

Then add the cubed COLD butter, COLD cream cheese and the granulated and powdered sugars. Pulse until the mixture becomes sandy in texture.

flour, butter, sugars and cream cheese in a food processor

dry ingredients and butter and cream cheese in a food processor

Add the egg and vanilla and blend until the dough comes together.

food processor with ingredients including an egg and vanilla

Then roll the dough into 1 ½ inch balls and roll the balls in sprinkles. I use a cookie scoop, like this one, to get uniform sized balls.

dough balls rolled in sprinkles on a silicone mat

Next place the sprinkle covered dough balls onto the prepared baking pans, spacing 1-2 inches apart. Use the bottom of a measuring cup or glass to flatten the cookie dough to ¼ - ½ inch tall.

raw cookie dough on a baking mat, with a measuring cup

Finally, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. They will look slightly under baked. DO NOT over bake!! To keep the cookies soft and chewy we want the centers slightly underdone. They will continue cooking as they cool and the centers will firm up.

*If the cookies appear puffy, use the bottom of a glass to lightly press them down while they are cooling on the pan. Allow the cookies to rest on the pan for 2 minutes and then carefully move to a wire rack to cool completely.

HOW DO YOU GET THE SPRINKLES TO STICK TO THE COOKIES?

After scooping the dough into 1 ½ inch balls, roll them briefly in the palm of your hands. The warmth of your hands softens the dough and makes it slightly tacky, which helps the dough accept the sprinkles.

I also recommend working one cookie at a time. Scoop the dough, roll it in your hands, then roll in the sprinkles. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Next time you are craving a sprinkle filled sugar cookie just skip the bakery and bake up a batch of these happy cookies!

MORE COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY

To pin this recipe, you can use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of the page. Come follow me on Pinterest and Instagram to see all the things that inspire me. Thank you for being here and happy baking!

Recipe shared with Meal Plan Monday, Full Plate Thursday and Weekend Potluck

Yield: 24 Cookies