These homemade Sprinkle Sugar Cookies are fun, colorful, & yummy thanks to being covered in crunchy little nonpareils. The classic chewy sugar cookie with the colors of the rainbow has never tasted better.
Bake a batch of these sugar cookies with sprinkles for any celebration; birthday parties, holidays, Christmas, Easter, pride month, potlucks, or whenever your sweet tooth has a craving. It is the best drop sugar cookie recipe - no rolling pin, slicing, cookie cutters, and they are made without icing/frosting.
This bright & fancy dessert is also fun to make with the kids. It was inspired by my recipe for Chocolate NonPareils Candy. So if you are looking for a sprinkle recipe with chocolate, this one can't be beaten.
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Ingredients for Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
I've taken the best chewy sugar cookie recipe and added some yummy sprinkles for the ultimate treat. The dough is made with simple ingredients you likely have in your pantry or refrigerator.
This no-fuss recipe is perfect when you need a last-minute dessert idea. And like Spritz Cookies, changing up the colored sprinkles make is great for any holiday or party.
Here are the ingredients needed to make Sprinkle Sugar Cookies:
- All-Purpose Flour - the classic flour for sugar cookies
- Baking Soda - for chewy texture
- Baking Powder - for fluffy cookies that rise
- Salted Butter - room temperature
- Eggs - room temperature
- Vanilla - lovely flavor
- Granulated Sugar - plenty for a sweet sugar cookie dough and extra is optional for rolling the dough in
- Nonpareil Sprinkles - these crunchy tiny ball-shaped rainbow sprinkles add so much color and texture
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
Sugar cookies topped with sprinkles are so easy to make. It starts with a classic recipe for soft, airy, & chewy sugar cookies. Roll them in rainbow sprinkles for a simple recipe.
Here are the easy steps for making Sprinkle Sugar Cookies:
- Make the Sugar Cookie Dough
- Chill & Roll the Cookie Dough
- Bake the Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
1 - Make the Sugar Cookie Dough
Begin by adding the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a medium-sized bowl. Mix to combine.
TIP: Don't forget the eggs & butter needs to be room temperature!
In a large bowl, add the room temperature butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream them together until smooth. Edd the eggs and vanilla.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix on medium until combined. Scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula. Add the remaining flour and mix until combined.
2 - Chill & Roll the Cookie Dough
To get cookies that hold their shape and stay thick & puffy, chilling the dough is key. Cold dough ensures the sugar cookies don't spread or bake up thin. Chill the sugar cookie dough for 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator.
This recipe is a drop style sugar cookie. It is not sliced or for cookie cutters. Here is how to scoop, roll, & drop the dough. Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and prepare a baking sheet with nonstick spray, parchment paper, or a silicone mat.
Fill a small bowl with ¼ cup of nonpareils. Roll a tablespoon of dough using your hands and then roll it in the sprinkles.
- if you don't want to use sprinkles, you can roll the balls into the optional granulated sugar instead (or a bit of both!)
Place the sprinkle-covered ball on a prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until you have a dozen placed 2 inches apart.
3 - Bake the Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should look soft in the center and slightly golden on the edges when they are ready to come out.
Let them set on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Use a spatula to remove them to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy while warm.
Substitutions & Variations
Try a recipe option with these variations and ingredient swaps. Modify, add, exclude, or replace to create a delicious recipe catering to a variety of cultural, dietary, health, or personal nutritional needs & tastes.
Substitutions
- Salted Butter - use regular sweet butter without salt if you are salt senstive or want it more low-sodium
- NonPareils - use any unicorn rainbow sprinkles or chocolate jimmies.
- Vanilla - use almond extract instead for a nutty flavor or as an alternate due to allergies.
Variations
- Deluxe Funfetti- fold ½ cup rainbow sprinkles into the batter (nonpareils are not recommended, they bleed their colors inside dough)
- Lemon - use lemon extract instead of vanilla for a citrus flavor
If you love this recipe, try some Italian Ricotta Sprinkle Cookies. The lemon-flavored iced cookies are soft, cake-like, & a Christmas tradition.
Equipment Needed
The right ingredients, supplies, & equipment help recipes taste amazing & turn out well. Here are recommendations for products that are needed for making this recipe. Shop this recipe & buy these top-rated items today.
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Storing Leftovers & Freezing the Dough
The baked cookies last for up to 5 days if stored in an air-tight container. Keep them in a cool dry place. I don't recommend freezing baked cookies with sprinkles - when defrosting the sprinkles may get gooey & the colors may bleed.
The dough can be made ahead of time & frozen. Store raw dough, without the sprinkles, in tightly wrapped plastic wrap & then seal it in a freezable Ziploc bag. Thaw dough in the refrigerator overnight & then roll in the sprinkles & bake as the recipe card instructs.
Top Tips
All of these great tips are shared in the post. But these are so good and important they are worth mentioning again so you don't miss them.
- Use room-temperature eggs & butter.
- Chill the dough so it stays thick & chewy while baking.
- Make sure each dough ball is covered in a ton of sprinkles for the prettiest cookies.
- Take them out just before the middle cooks through so they DO NOT OVERBAKE!
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
FAQ
This cookie is all about the sprinkles. You can use any brand or color combination. The recipe is great for colored-themed events, parties, & holidays - try blue sprinkles for a baby boy shower or red, white, & green sprinkles for Christmas. And chocolate lovers can use jimmies.
Using cold sugar cookie dough is key to having thick and soft cookies. If you want a thin, flat, and crispy cookie, you can skip the chilling step.
More Cookie Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these home-baked cookies:
Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- hand mixer
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter softened, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Nonpareils - rainbow sprinkles
- ½ cup granulated sugar optional extra for rolling dough
Instructions
- Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature - takes typically 30 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar. On medium speed, use a hand mixer to cream the two together. Once fluffy and combined, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
- In a medium-sized bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Using the hand mixer, start at slow to mix and gradually speed it up to medium speed. Once all the flour is incorporated use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides. Repeat with the remaining half of the flour mixture.
- CHILL the dough in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare a baking sheet with nonstick spray, parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat. Add the sprinkles to a small bowl and set aside.
- Scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it in your hands to form a ball. - if you don't want to use sprinkles, you can roll the balls into the optional granulated sugar instead (or a bit of both!)Roll the ball of dough in the nonpareil sprinkles. Be sure to coat completely. You want A LOT of sprinkles of these so as they spread & bake they are still mostly covered.
- Set the ball on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat 11 more times and equally spread out the cookie dough so they are 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes on the middle rack of the preheated oven.The cookies should be just golden on the edges but still soft & squishy in the very center. Do NOT overbake.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool and sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Use a spatula and remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling. Repeat and bake additional batches or freeze/refrigerate the dough to bake later.
- Enjoy while warm. Store in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
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