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.
Pin This Recipe
Softbatch Funfetti Cookies
Funfetti cookies are essentially sugar cookies from scratch that have been loaded with sprinkles. They have that boxed cake flavor but are 100% homemade!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract (real vanilla extract may be substituted)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 3/4 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
Recipe adapted from my Chewy Sugar Sprinkle Cookies and Sugardoodle Vanilla Cookies.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
More Cookies From Scratch:
The Best Soft & Chewy M&M’s Cookies — These bakery-style M&M’s cookies are soft, chewy, buttery, and LOADED with M&M’s and chocolate chips. No one can resist these cookies!
Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies — These soft batch cookies are made with a combination of butter and cream cheese, which makes them extra rich and delicious!
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.
Thoughts about adding a box of pudding mix to this recipe?
They do not need it. Normally I am all about pudding cookies but these are perfect IMO without it.
Hot damn. I normally don’t pop into the comments section on recipes but… Fricken hell this recipe is the bomb dot com.Just made these, smacked done Royal icing on them and good grief.Thank you so much. I have a new addiction
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you are loving the cookies so much!
Hi,
Can i refrigerate the dough before scooping them into balls? it would just be easier space wise in my fridge…thanks!
Not really because then it’s like chiseling out rock hard dough and it crumbles and is just very difficult to work with so that’s not advisable.
Loved this recipe! Next time I’ll keep the vanilla to almond ratio a bit higher. The almond definitely adds to the flavoring but I’d prefer it just a bit more subtle. I rolled half the cookie balls in sprinkles to make them extra festive for my nephew’s birthday party.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will make them again!
I found them too almondy at first too but once I put some royal icing on them it evened out
I’ve made these and absolutely love them, but your chocolate chip cookies are still everyones favorite! Could I try swapping the cornstarch for vanilla pudding with these ones too? Thanks!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved them and that you are partial to the choc chip cookies :)
I would say yes on the pudding. Possibly go with 1/2 packet rather than the full packet to start with and if the dough doesn’t seem too dry, you could add the rest of the packet.
Love these cookies! The only thing I will do differently next time I make them is use 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. 1 1/2 ended up coming out a bit too strong. But thank you so much for sharing this recipe and the baking instructions were great!
It is a stronger flavor so yes reduce to taste if you think that will be better for you. Glad you love the cookies!
Holy cow! These are so good! I never write reviews, and I try new recipes all the time. But these cookies were so amazing that I had to say so. I triple batched them for a bunch of teens and they went crazy over them! Next time I’ll have to make even more. :)
Thanks for the 5 star review and for taking the time to write it! Glad the triple batch was a big hit with the teens!
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly on both of my questions!
These taste amazing but mine came out very flat. Do you know what I did wrong?
I have a post here about cookie baking success tips that can help prevent flat cookies https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Glad they tasted amazing!
Once again you are a life saver. The funfetti cookies were a great hit. Luckily I doubled the recipe.
Glad I am helping to save lives :) kidding! But really glad these were a big hit!
Would it be alright to substitute granulated white sugar with golden yellow sugar?
I have only tried the recipe the way I wrote it so really can’t say how that would work.
I was getting ready to make these and realized i don’t have almond extract. Do you think it would be alright to leave it out this time?
It’s okay, not ideal, but I would say next time for sure use it and they will taste even better.
Hi!! I’m making these for the first time and just want to clarify a WHOLE leveled off ice cream scoop? Thats about 68g per scoop, is that right? If not, can you tell me the gram figures? Thank you so much!!
It’s a 2-inch cookie scoop which is likely different than the standard ‘ice cream’ scoop. Feel free to make them your preferred size and adjust baking time to the size desired.
These are perfect!thanks for the resipe!My Bff will love these!
That’s great to hear!
So… I haven’t even baked these yet and the dough is OMG AMAZING!!! I had to seriously refrain myself from going to town on the dough and leaving few cookies to survive the baking process… The almond extract does wonders here! I’m making these for my fiance to take to work for his 30th birthday and can’t wait to hear how the office raves about them. I’m sure I’ll be back to update once they’re actually baked! :) Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Yes that still was amazing, isn’t it! Keep me posted how the cookies go over. And happy birthday to him!
Do you think I could sub butter-flavored extract for the almond extract for a nut-free version? I’ve used butter-flavored extract to give smoothies that cake batter flavor, so I’m wondering if it would work here.
I would probably go with vanilla extract rather than butter extract but do whatever you think you will enjoy more.
Hi can i bake these cookies in a muffin tray or a deep dish? Would I still need to refigerate the dough then?
Also can i fill them up with buttercream or would the buttercream melt out?
I think that all of these ideas sound great but since I haven’t tested them, I can’t give any details. Trial and error to the rescue. Good luck!
I made these cookies today and quadrupled the recipe. I used my Bosch mixer due to the large amount I needed for a party. I specifically wanted colorful cookies and found that your recipe fit my needs perfectly. They turned out wonderful and it made about 70 cookies.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with a 4x batch!
I made these for the 1st time in May 2015 & even left a comment on here about how delicious they are. I just wanted to add today that since then, they are the most requested cookie for me to bake by my nieces & nephews!! Tonight is my 5th time making them. My nephew’s HS graduation party is tomorrow & he begged me to make these!!
That’s great to hear they’re the most requested cookie for you to bake and that it’s your 5th time!
Would I be able to make these from funfetti cake mix in a box? Just looking for something new to do with a box of cake mix I have.
This recipe is designed to be made as written. There are lots of recipes out there for making cookies from cake mix but this recipe isn’t one of them.
Hi Avery, making these for the first time and I’m just wanting to verify that I should use a whole cookie scoop, that weighs out to be about 68 grams and seems like a lot. If not, can you please let me know how many grams the scoop should be? Thank you so much have a great weekend
Would you be able to roll these out and cut them like sugar cookies? I’ve made them as drop cookies before and my kids love them, but just trying to find a quick easy ‘valentine’ idea for school tomorrow.
Can’t say for sure since I haven’t tried them as roll-out cookies. They are totally fine as-is I think as a V-Day treat. They have sprinkles! What more do kids need :)
I just put these into the oven to chill overnight. I can not wait to wake up tomorrow & bake them!
If these taste even Half as good as the dough (oh yes, I am a proud dough eater) then these are going to totally rock. My kids are already going crazy about how pretty they are with the sprinkles all over. :)
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!! :D
I’m a proud dough eater too! :) Hope you enjoy them!
These turned out so perfectly!
I love the idea of just changing up the sprinkle color to match the holiday or occasion. They are definitely going to be featured at our New Years party this year. :)
I’m so glad they turned out perfectly and that you’re going to change things up to match the season! Happy eating on New Years Eve! :)
Tried these out last week, they were amazing! it was a last minute thing and I ran out of almond extract so I doubled the Imitation Vanilla and they were still phenomenal. I am doing a 15 dozen cookie swap this week and I’m very excited to incorporate the almond extract and switch rainbow jimmies for holiday colored ones! Any tips for in regards to making such a larger amount? Thanks for the wonderful recipe again!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I haven’t tried making a huge batch at once so can’t give any personal tips. Good luck with all your baking!
Hi Averie! I made these a couple months ago and they turned out great! I wanted to make the dough and freeze it. I was wondering why these keep in the freezer unbaked for only 5 days. My other doughs that I premake and freeze usually last up to three months.
Thanks so much!
I just updated the freezer storage for unbaked dough. I use up to 4 months as a guideline. Thanks for the catch!
Glad you love the cookies!
Made these last night and my husband declared them the best cookies I’ve ever made! He even refused to let me bring the extras into work and wanted to keep them all for himself :) I have had such great success with all of your recipes, thanks for all the hard work you put into them!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that your husband declared them the best cookies you’ve ever made! Glad to hear you’re having lots of success with my recipes, thanks! :)
Spotted these on Pinterest and definitely making them for my son’s rainbow sprinkle themed 1st birthday party! I was wondering if I could make the dough, roll into balls and then freeze them until I bake them for the party?
Step 6. addresses exactly that. Enjoy the cookies!
I’m not very good at baking but these looked too good to pass up. So I followed your instructions step by step and they came out perfect! I’m so pleased with this recipe. The cookies were delicious! “Were” as in past tense, they’re gone already! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Tried these today, only chilled the dough for an hour but the resu
Hi.
I want to make them for my daughter’s party. Can I cut out hearts with a cookie cutter once I flatten them out before baking. Thanks. Can’t wait to try them. ??
I wouldn’t flatten them too much before baking because they could spread. You could always use cutters to cut them after baking.
I made these today for my boyfriends birthday!! They look amazing!!
I did a little taste test and the almond extract was a bit overpowering. I feel like it is because I tried one freshly cooled after 10 min. Will that flavor settle down or should it have a strong almond flavor?
It shouldn’t have a strong, overwhelming almond extract flavor and yes flavors do mellow and marry over time. Some people are more sensitive to the flavor and also some brands are stronger than others. Sounds like you have both things going on. Give it a day and it’ll mellow and if you re-make another time, use less almond extract given your palate :)
Made these last night then put them in the fridge over night and then popped them in the oven this morning. They turned out to be be totally raw in the middle and a little bit cooked on the outside. I wish they wouldve turned out right :(
All ovens vary and it sounds like you simply underbaked them given your oven, climate, etc. Bake them for a few minutes longer next time and you’ll be all set.
These turned out great! I made them as part of the party spread for my daughter’s first birthday – the sprinkles are perfect for a party! We decided to make them about half the size in order to increase the yield and make them easier for smaller hands. As a result, we decreased the cooking time by one minute (our larger-sized batch took nine minutes total after sitting out for 15 minutes, and the smaller sized cookies took 8 minutes total after sitting out for 15 minutes). To make them half the size we used a rounded Tablespoon scoop (shaped like an ice cream scoop) that we just happened to have on hand.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with tweaks you made. I bet all those little hands and mouths at the party loved them :)
Love these! I made them with King Arthur’s Gluten Free flour blend (due to allergies) and I’m happy to report they are amazing even with the substitution!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with KAF’s GF blend! That’s great news!
thanks for the idea of adding corn starch! Do you add corn starch to chocolate chip cookies too?
I have many recipes for choc chip cookies and in many of them, yes I do add cornstarch.
Can you make these without almond extract? Or could you replace it with extra vanilla? I’d like to make these but don’t have any almond. Thanks!
They won’t have quite the same special effect but they will still be fine w/out the almond ext. You can add a little more vanilla if you wish, or not, either way will still ‘turn out’. Enjoy!
I pinned these awhile back and finally got around to making them-they turned out awesome! I totally agree with you regarding cornstarch…I love soft cookies and almost all my favorite cookie recipes have cornstarch in them. My husband said the cookies taste like a cross between sugar cookies and Angel food cake.
Thanks for trying the recipe after pinning awhile back and I’m glad it came out great for you!
a cross between sugar cookies and Angel food cake <--- I love that assessment and I think he's onto something!
Just finished baking these. Followed the directions explicitly & they came out beyond perfect! Serving these tomorrow for Memorial Day BBQ. I have 9 nephews & 3 nieces who are going to LOVE these cookies! Thanks for posting Averie!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that they’ll be a hit at your BBQ! Lucky nephews & nieces!!
hi,i have a spoon with 70mm of size its like .5oz per cookie, can i use it? or i have to buy a big one for make them.
I’m not exactly sure how big that looks in reality but if they seem skimpy, make a double scoop and smoosh the dough together, or a scoop-and-a-half. Use your best judgment but no need to probably go out and buy something.
can I double the recipe and make them into bars?
Probably, yes! I haven’t tried but I’m sure it will work fine.
Was really disappointed to find out these cookies flattened like a pancake for me as well. Something isn’t right with the recipe. Do u have convection oven?
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m sorry they flattened for you. Many others have made them successfully but sorry you had trouble.
Make sure to read over this post with all my tips for cookie making success (Silpat, chilled dough, cookie scoop, brand of flour, etc)
https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
No I don’t have a convection oven.
Hi Averie! The taste of the cookies is AMAZING, but I too had some major flattening out despite following the recipe precisely. I did notice, during the creaming process, that the batter was not as fluffy as it needed to be and was more liquidy. I double checked the measurements and did not make a mistake there. I was hoping that chilling the dough in mounds as the recipe called for would correct for any flattening but apparently not. I’d like to make these again, though, for an upcoming cookie exchange and was wondering if creaming the butter and sugar by themselves together first would help. I’d love to know your thoughts!
I haven’t had any issues with the dough being loose or liquidity, but you could try just creaming the butter and sugar together by themselves as you suggested.
Also see this post for my tips and tricks for perfect cookies, i.e. King Arthur flour, Silpat, etc. https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Glad the cookies tasted great!
I have never used them before. I bought them, and I was careless because they aren’t what I needed. So, now I have like 5 bottles of them! I will get jimmies for this recipe. Thank you for your reply!
Eeek, well, yeah they’re tooth-crackers (at least the ones I’ve bought over the years). Maybe yours are different? and you can get away with them in these!
Hi! All I have in the house are grande nonpareils. Do you think they would work for this recipe? Or will the run like they do in cake batter?
grande nonpareils = are those the really HARD, crunchy, firm little balls? I personally would not want to bite into a hard ball inside soft cake and would wait until I had softer sprinkles to add. I’d be more concerned about the texture than that of color running.
Hi buddy, your blog’s design is simple and clean and i like it. Your blog posts are superb. Please keep them coming. Greets!!!
I seldom write comments after I tried and savoured the countless web recipes, but truly this one hit the spot, a perfect cookie and a new family favourite. I live in Switzerland so the ingredients are not 100% exact; I had the round sprinkles that are super tiny, but seriously an AMAZING COOKIE!!!!
Glad they came out perfectly for you and that they’re a new family favorite! Thanks for trying the recipe (all the way from Switzerland!) :)
hi! i love your blog :)
i know this question might sound stupid, but i live in italy and i can’t seem to find sprinkles anywhere, so i was wondering if trying to do these with mini smarties would turn out wrong.
i wanted to do these for my little sister’s birthday.
I would do mail order rather than smarties. Those would not be the same at all and could adversely effect the dough and sort of dissolve when heated. Not a good idea.
i’ll order them then! thank you so much for replying :)
Honestly, I made these today and they came out perfectly flat. I followed the recipe in every minute way.
HOWEVER- they are totally worth it, flat or not. Amazingly delicious! I can’t imagine loving them any better if they were mounded. Thanks Averie!
I have a cookie baking tips segment within this post https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Silpat, King Arthur Flour, chilled dough…those are my top 3 suggestions. But it sounds like flatness didn’t effect taste and happy you enjoyed them!
What do you think about chilling the dough in a log. Then, cutting into rounds and baking?
I don’t tend to do that because sometimes dough get crumbly after it’s been chilled and cut. Where the knife hits it, it breaks and crumbles. Not sure if that would happen with this dough because I haven’t tried it.
WOW! My granddaughter and I made these cookies yesterday. They were a huge hit with the family. The only change I would make the next time is to use less sprinkles. These would be great without sprinkles too. Just love the idea of small batch cookies too. So glad I found your website.
Thanks for finding my site and glad you love the recipe! Glad your granddaughter and family are pleased with these!
Love these! I made the cake batter version previously but I would love to try these sometime. The sprinkles just make my life better. :)
Check out my baking blog! http://Www.forloveofbaking.com to see my funfetti cookies!
Sydney
HOLY AWESOME! These seriously filled this gaping void in my cookie repertoire!!! Thank you for sprinkle sunshine and this fabulous perfectly textured, non cakey recipe!!!
So glad you liked these, Jen, and that they filled a gap for you! Love it when that happens woot for non-cakey!
I tried this recipe the other day and was super disappointed as they came out looking nothing like the photo. :( The cookies seemed very dry and way too airy. I am not sure what went wrong. I want to try again as I have enough ingredients for another batch but I don’t understand whats wrong with my first batch! I didnt chill for 2 hours – Maybe 1 hour but the dough wasn’t runny AT ALL so I thought it was fine. Other than that, I cannot think of what the issue was but the photo had me craving them and they came out nothing like it! :(
I would chill for the recommended amount of time and also way too dry and airy would seem to indicate the dough was over-floured and or over-baked. When you are measuring flour, don’t hard-pack it; use a light hand and loosely put it in the cup, then measure. Don’t compact it or the dough could become too dense. I use King Arthur all-purpose flour and swear by the results. Also, you don’t want to overbake sugar cookies or they will be dry and airy and all ovens vary, so watch them closely (like a hawk) and the minute they look barely even done, they’re done. Let them cool on the tray for 10-15 mins and they will carryover cook and should be perfect.
Ok ill try again tonight. Im a New Yorker living in England so I’m just using normal flour which should be fine. What about butter? Does it matter what kind? Also with regards to baking soda versus powder – I used baking soda like the recipe indicated – are you certain? Normally baking soda recipes also have an acidic/ citrus ingredient also to “activate” it – are you 10)% its baking soda and not powder? Just making sure I have it all right for my second try because I am desperate to shove this entire batch of cookies into my mouth exactly as they are from the photo :) I am obsessed with amazing sugar/ almond flavored cookies!!!
I’m just using normal flour which should be fine. = not so fast. European flour is very different from American and if there is such a thing as ‘bread’ flour, you may want to try that. It has more gluten and therefore the cookies will have more structural integrity and not be as prone to spreading. But since I live in San Diego, I cannot comment too much on the flours there!
I was asked this about the baking powder/soda before and I did use baking soda. If you want to add 1/2 tsp baking powder, it can’t hurt; it could make the cookies a little more airy/light and cakey-textured which I personally don’t prefer so I didn’t use it, but it’s ‘insurance’ if you will.
OK, Tried it again and they’re amaze balls! Thanks! Things I did differently this time:
– used unsalted plain butter (last time i used whatever my flatmate had)
– carefully measured the flour (used same basic flour as its all I had)
– Chilled overnight
Used a MIXER and NOT my hand to whisk the ingredients.
I think a potential huge error was the baking soda measurement – I might have accidentally doubled the amount because I doubled the recipe both times and I think I used the TABLEspoon and not TEAspoon measurement the first time around by mistake. These are great! Love the almond and the denseness to them – thats my favorite part – a DENSE, soft sugar cookie! :) :) Thanks girl! xo
So glad they came out just right for you this time…and yes using the butter the recipe calls for, carefully measuring the flour, chilling overnight, and using a mixer AND the baking soda (gosh yes that would have totally done them in had you used a tablespoon and not a teaspoon), all these things ALL matter. Baking is precise and you have to do things just like I write in the recipe or that any recipe calls for to get a good result and glad it all worked out!
Made these this past weekend and they turned out perfect!! Soft & puffy, they did not spread or flatten at all!! So happy with this recipe!!!
Glad they came out perfectly for you, Veronica! Thanks for trying them!
I was drooling and thinking about these cookies after I pinned them on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago and finally made them today! I altered a couple of things like subbing part almond flour, a little less cornstarch and little more baking powder, but I found it so interesting that you used cornstarch! Does that make it fluffier or since it’s a thickener does that help with the slight crispiness? Or is it the chewiness? (haha I am pretty sure it’s one of those but not sure which!)
Cornstarch gives that softbatch-style ultra soft texture. It’s probably the almond flour you subbed with that gave more chewy/crispyness because it’s a nut, and nuts get crunchy/crispy in the oven so I’m thinking that aspect comes from the almond flour.
I live in Flagstaff Arizona at 7000 ft. what altitude do you cook your funfetti cookie?
San Diego, flat, sea level.
You’re definitely right, nobody can ever say no to a soft sugar cookie! These look so yummy.
I see these cookies all the time – they are sheer perfection and so gorgeous!
Thanks, Jaclyn! They’ve turned out, almost a year later, to be one of my most popular recipes! Funny how that can happen!
These cookies rock. I am a straight up sugar cookie snob and I can’t stop eating them. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Well I’m impressed if you’re a self-proclaimed sugar cookie snob that you’re super in love with them – glad to hear that!
I just made these tonight (had to use christmas sprinkles as that is what I had handy lol) and these tasted awesome. Trying not to eat more than my calories allow. I used a smaller cookie scoop to yield more and I cannot wait to serve these to my co workers tomorrow. I did not wait two hours to bake and they did not spread too much. Did keep it covered while other batches were baking. These are fun, festive and tasty and the almond extract adds a nice flavor to these. LOVE THESE COOKIES!
Glad they were a big hit for you, even without chilling the dough! You have lucky coworkers :)
YUM – I seriously just discovered this recipe, and made it immediately. Yes, put down my computer, got up off my couch at 9 pm and made it. You had me at homemade funfetti. I will have to let you know just how yummy they turn out after I bake them, at 11 pm. :) I might just wait and have one for breakfast instead. THANKs and I love the “how to grow your blog” and “blogging 101” posts!
I remember this dough as being so good :) Thanks for trying them, asap! And glad you like my blogging how-to posts!
Okay, I made these today and they were an absolute hit! I followed the directions to a “t”, other than that I didn’t have any almond extract (we’ve been snowed in the last few days), but I did have rum extract. I made another nutty, shortbread cookie over the holidays with it, so I figured I’d might as well use it up in this recipe. I don’t think I’d do it any differently! For those of you who aren’t familiar with rum extract, the cookies won’t taste like alcohol at all, even though the extract smells JUST LIKE the liquor. The rum extract just enhances the vanilla in the recipe. I will also say that although I chilled the dough for almost 4 hours, the cookies I made did flatten quite a bit, too. I didn’t have a scoop, so I just used a Tablespoon measuring spoon and made slightly rounded Tablespoons of dough. That ended up making 46 cookies from a double batch of the recipe. I cooked them at 350 for 4 minutes, turned the cookie sheets (baked two sheets at a time), and then baked them for 4 more minutes. They turned out perfect! This recipe will be a keeper. Thank you Averie for posting it. I will definitely be trying more of your recipes in coming weeks.
I love rum extract and actually, in so many ways, it’s pretty similar to almond extract and in a pinch, I have subbed rum extract for either almond or vanilla extract. There’s one I can get the storebrand (Ralph’s/Kroger) for like 1.99 super cheap called ‘butter rum extract’ and I really like that one. Anyway, good call!
The best thing you can do for the flattening issue is go buy a cookie scoop. It’s just impossible to get high/tall yet tightly compacted dough balls by using a tablespoon. You’ll be amazed at the difference & if not baking on a silpat, get one too. A small investment for even better cookie results!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! It was very clear, concise, and thorough. This is exactly how every recipe should be! Mine turned out great, but I thought the almond flavor was a little heavy and toned it down for my second batch. My man LOVES soft cookies, so these were just his speed!
These are the first Pinterest cookies that I have made (out of several recipes) that have turned out just as pictured! They are delicious! Didn’t have any almond extract on hand so just used vanilla but going to make them again in the future with the correct extracts! Still delicious and so so cute! Thank you for a great recipe!!
Glad to hear that my recipe broke your spell and that they turned out for you just as pictured! Thanks for trying them & glad you’re a fan!
Made these again for Christmas using red and green sprinkles!!! So good.
Awesome that you made them again and went red and green! Festive and great idea! :)
“Do not overbake.”
I have had to put my cookies in the oven four times (total of at least 15 minutes) and they are still basically raw in the center. The only deviation I made from the recipe is baking them on stoneware instead of a regular baking sheet. Any ideas where I may have gone wring, or anyone else experience their cookies not actually cooking?
Thanks.
baking them on stoneware instead of a regular baking sheet = YES THAT’S where you went wrong!!! Stonewear heats/cooks/conducts heat totally differently than regular cookies sheets and they share none of the same properties. Bake cookies on a regular cookie baking sheet. Save your stonewear for your pizzas and pita breads and such.
I have made these twice now and they are very yummy. The few I did spread but I wasn’t keeping track of time and I let them sit out at room temp too long before baking. I didnt let the rest sit out and they turned out lovely. I like just to do a few cookies at first because i have seen you mention in replies to posts that oven temps can vary. I just got a new oven so I am still getting the hang of it.
My husband doesn’t like almond extract so I used only a teeny bit and used vanilla for the rest. I used Christmas colored jimmies and they look so pretty for the holidays. Thanks for the recipe! I love that you don’t overbake your recipes. The cookies are always such a great texture. I can’t wait to try you m&m cookies tomorrow.
Oh gosh, great comment! Not overbaking, using more vanilla than almond b/c it’s the right choice for your family/hubs (good, always bake to taste; yours!), the xmas jimmies, realizing that room temp dough does and will spread more than chilled (wish all people clued into that), new oven and testing things out in batches – I am so happy that you’re baking smart! And thanks for trying this recipe!
The M&M cookies are great! It’s my fave all-around dough base for choc chip cookies, twix/snickers/milky way/M&M cookies, and LMK how they go for you!
I made those m&m cookies and they were soooooo good. They spread a bit more than in your photos. Not sure where I went wrong. I was careful about chilling them and such. Only thing I could think is maybe I am not creaming the butter enough AND I used salted butter. Regardless though they are delicious and I will try again possibly doing a better job of creaming the butter.
Perhaps I should have put this on the actual m&m cookie review!
Thanks for your replies and comments! My family (Dad especially) loves your soft cookies.
Feel free to just paste this on the M&M cookies if you’d like! That way others know what’s up :)
https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/03/soft-and-chewy-mms-cookies.html
The softbatch funfetti cookies are prone to spreading more so than some of the other cookies, like the M&M Cookies which are based on my fave choc chip cookie base. Cookies made with that base, just don’t spread. But it doesn’t translate to a white, pale cookie like the funfetti. I would say cream better, continue with the chilling, but also using a higher quality flour, like king arthur brand, will really help you. It has a slightly higher protein content and in baking that means cookies, cakes, etc rise better, get better oven spring with muffins and breads, and just all around, it will help you!
Do you have any recommendations for baking these in high altitude?
I’m sorry I don’t personally but you may want to reference this
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html
For those who are experiencing flattening….
you may want to try substituting half the butter with an equal amount of butter flavor crisco. This will stop the spreading and flattening, and does NOT change the flavor of the final product.
These look so good – I can’t wait to give them a try! I also love the fact that you can make these so far ahead of time and have them ready to bake in the fridge!
Enjoy – glad you like the recipe!
Dearest kitchen genius,
I have made these cookies and am most thrilled with the results!! I gave the link to a friend. I also got to thinking that multi-coloured chocolate chips might just be fantastic in these. I did use less sprinkles as that was all I had, but it was plenty!! I love how huge these cookies are!!
Awww what a great comment! Thanks and glad you love them and told your friend about them, too!
I just posted another similar version of them here, just this week!
https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/10/lofthouse-soft-sugar-sprinkles-cookies.html
And yes, some multi colored choc chips would be fun! Cannot go wrong with chocolate :)
I made these cookies tonight and they came out very flat. I refrigerated them overnight in 2″ balls and baked them as stated. In fact, the 1st batch I baked right out of the refrig. and the 2nd batch I let sit at room temp. for 15 min. before baking. Both versions came out of the oven slightly mounded but flattened immediately as they cooled. The centers of the cookies did not firm up and look like the photo of your cookies.
I am at a loss to why these did not stay puffy. I am a very experienced baker(40+ years). The ONLY thing I can think of is the measuring of the ingredients. I measured all my dry ingredients by spooning the ingredient into the measuring cup and leveling off. Is this how you measured your ingredients or did you use the “scoop and sweep” method?
PLease comment. Thanks!!!
Hi Karen
Ok thanks for trying these and I honestly don’t know why things didn’t turn out for you with these. I use King Arthur brand flour (all purpose) and I swear by it as ‘insurance’ because it has a slightly higher protein content than others, which will give anything a better rise and better structure from collapsing or falling. Maybe try with King Arthur. You could also try adding about 1/2 tsp baking powder to the recipe; I personally did not need it but sounds like you need something to help give them some puff.
I measure my flour like you do, rather than the scoop & sweep (the later will tend to add more flour to a recipe than the former). If I am ever on the fence about calling for flour in a recipe, like 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp for example, I will always round up for readers and just say 2 cups. The pitfalls of not adding enough are worse. You could also try adding up to maybe 1/4 cup or so of flour.
I have another cookie recipe similar to these that I am posting tomorrow. Stay tuned and LMK what you try with this recipe & your results.
I was wondering if I could substitute the rainbow sprinkles for the black and orange ones they have out for Halloween cookies?
Sounds fun! Try it and I’m sure they’ll be a hit! I kind of want to, too :)
Beautiful cookies that look yummy! I plan on making these this week to surprise my kids. Just wondering, is there a certain brand of sprinkles you use or do you just get whatever the store has? Our stores don’t seem to have the lively colors, maybe Amazon will have some?
Thanks!
I use storebrand but here’s the thing…I stalk 3 different groc stores plus Target for them. Albertson’s in CA is my best bet, Vons is so-so, and Ralph’s is bad for selection. Target is hit and miss. Spring time, pre-Easter and Mother’s Day, etc it’s awesome. They have big tubs of really pretty sprinkles in their dollar bins! I know, crazy right, that I know this – but it’s HARD to actually find cute sprinkles! I agree! Wilton brand is sold at Bed Bath & Beyond and sometimes you can get lucky there, too. LMK what you end up with!
Can you refrigerate the dough and then .use the refrigerated dough or do tjey have to be refeigorates as cookies?
Refrigerating the dough cookie ball shapes is easier than refrigerating a big hunk of dough b/c then you have to chisel out rock hard dough.
I just made these today for my kids’ UnBirthday party, and they flattened. (Definitely my error. I flattened them too much before cooling and didn’t reshape. Not to mention the fact that I’m lucky if my baking attempts just TASTE good, much less look as GORGEOUS as yours do.) They’re super cute and delicious anyway. Not to mention my first use of almond extract. (I’m in love.)
Adorable recipe, and I’ll definitely re-try with a more careful hand.
<3
PS. These were a bit of a surprise for my daughter, and she FLIPPED out. Loves them. Thanks so much for this recipe.
With the flattening, just BARELY flatten or else that can spread. Also make sure the dough was well chilled and there is nothing better than a Silpat for baking cookies. Worth it’s weight in gold if you’re not a confident baker. The cookies get ‘traction’ from the mat and spread way, way, way less. It will be the best $20 bucks you’ve ever spent on baking stuff. I promise. I am not one to tout products unless I feel super strongly they work. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008T960/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00008T960&linkCode=as2&tag=lovvegyogruna-20
And so glad your daughter loved them :) The best, isn’t it!
Hi,
I’m making these my 4 year old daughter today and just wondering……can I freeze the raw cookie dough? I was thinking of baking some today and then freezing some to bake later.
Thx!
Yes you can do that – with these, or any of my cookie recipes. Just cook about 1-2 mins longer, if necessary. No need to even thaw it. Just put on baking sheets while oven preheats and bake as directed. LMK how you like the cookies!
These cookies were amazing! I made them for my daughter but couldn’t resist eating them myself as well!!! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
So glad both you and your daughter found them irresistible and that they turned out amazing for you! Wonderful!
These cookies are absolutely gorgeous! Love!!!!
Thanks Melissa! And I love all your EASY fun recipes!
I threw a batch of these together this evening, and man, are they ever good. And a great homemade version of the Funfetti cookies I love so much :)
Thanks for trying them and so glad you’re loving them! Thanks for coming back to LMK!
Yeah because of that I now go to the gym basicly every day lol :) There;s no way I can give up all these goodies!!! It’s a pleasure to try all you recipes! :) x x
Hi Averie, I just made these into one big cookie, I have divided the amount of ingredients of course and it turned out amazing!!!! I looooove the after taste of almonds, that’s possibly one of my favourite flavours! Next time I will make them into normal cookies though cause they are more easy to control how much you eat! lol :)
Almond extract is just so heavenly – I love the stuff, too! And I like your idea of a biggie cookie. Makes it easier/faster, actually :) So glad you loved these and had amazing results! You’re the best for trying almost every single recipe I post! xo
Hey Averie! Your cookies always turn out so beautifully, it got me wondering – what brand of butter do you use?
Trader Joe’s unsalted 95% of the time. Otherwise Kerrygold unsalted on rare occasion. I think it has more to do with chilling the dough and baking on a Silpat than the butter to be honest though!
Hello! My name is Jess, and I run a food blog called Floptimism where every week I write a post called “Weekend Wrap Up.” Basically, it’s where I highlight some of my favorite web finds from the past week to share with my readers. I loved your recipe so much (I seriously used to LOVE those bakery cookies!) that I featured it on this week’s wrap-up, and wanted to let you know. Thank you for such a great idea and blog post! I’ve included the link below in case you’re interested. I hope you had a great weekend!
http://floptimism.blogspot.com/2013/07/weekend-wrap-up-short-sweet.html
Jess thanks for the feature and I will pop over and check it out!
This looks wonderful and homemade, I have to try this! We would love for you to share at our fun Super Summer Saturday. Thanks! Julie
These are like piles of funfetti awesomeness. I’m in love!
Seriously! My mood just picked up looking at all those happy sprinkles! No shortage, that’s for sure.
Is anyone having a problem with these flattening? I did the overnight chill and have a thermometer in my oven and they flattened like crazy. I mean like totally flat. My baking soda is fresh, but I still (I left a question on this a few days ago) don’t see how it can work without an acid… especially after seeing what happened to these cookies when they went into the oven. I’m going to try them with baking powder the next time. Love the idea of these, but do not like flat cookies… which is why I love Averie’s recipes :)
Carolyn you can see from my photos that my cookies were not flat and had nice lift and were quite puffy in the center. There have been others who have written in and have already made them with success, too. I wrote the recipe exactly like I made them and not sure what to say about yours. You could try baking powder, yes; you could add slightly more flour, maybe 1/4 cup or so. And maybe play around with the size of your mounds. You can see from my raw dough balls they are very full and round. Sorry that your cookies flattened. If you try other things, let me know.
I love your website and I’m making these cookies for a cookie exchange tomorrow and had the same problem with them flattening. :( have you heard of any tricks to fix this problem?
I don’t have any issues with flattening and have remade this recipe as this cookie, too – and have made both versions, many times.
https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/10/lofthouse-soft-sugar-sprinkles-cookies.html
Sorry you’re having issues. I would recommend doing any combination of the following: adding 1 tsp baking powder, adding 1/4 cup more flour, using a high quality flour like King Arthur all-pupose (red/white bag) – other brands of flour don’t yield as good of results, ever, in any baking – from bread to muffins to cookies – for me; baking on a Silpat (it’s instrumental for thick cookies and if you’re not, that’s a huge problem right there)….LMK what you do!
the first tray i put into the oven came out quite flat. I fluffed the mounds of dough on the second tray i put in instead of slightly flattening the mounds as the recipe says, and those came out lovely!
Glad they came out just right for you on the second tray!
Let me just say.. All of your recipes never disappoint.. My daughter and I made these cooks last night and they were amazing.
Thanks for telling me you tried them with your daughter and you’re happy! That is awesome, Erika! Thanks!
Could you omit the almond extract or add extra vanilla instead? I really want to bake these without having to make a trip to the store!
Yes of course – fine! If you have it, great. If not, don’t make a special trip. LMK how you like them!
I love love love softbatch cookies! The softer and fluffier the better. I hate it when the dough is dry and crumbly! Blech! These sound like winners ;)
These look amazing! So soft and chewy, and you’re right, cannot do wrong with rainbow sprinkles. I love anything having to do with “funfetti” and this recipe is no exception.
Thanks, Liz!
So fun!
Yummy! I can’t resist soft cookies :) these are fantastic!
Just looking at those is enough to put a smile on your face, let alone eating them – love the colours! And thanks for the tips on making soft cookies – it can be tricky to get the balance right :)
Glad you like the tips and I love your blog name!
These look incredible! Seriously, there is nothing better than a soft and warm cookie out of the oven, especially with sprinkles in them! :)
Super soft baked cookies are my most favorite! And, the kids would have a blast making these this coming weekend…already on the to-bake list! Pinning and printing as I type! (=
What’s not to love about sprinkles and cookies? :)
100% scratch 200% love! GREG
These look and sound absolutely delicious, yum!
Kelly
My son is next to me saying “Ooooo I want these!” All the kids (and of course adults) get excited when we see these funfetti sugar cookies! The cookies always makes us happy and give us a big smile!
Your son is a smart cookie :)
OMG, all the sprinklesss! Dying over these, Averie. I could demolish a dozen!
Adore these, Averie! Nothing like a soft but slightly chewy cookie…with sprinkles, especially!
I LOVE these, such a great alternative to so many that use a box mix. My sister had a funfetti wedding cake, she will flip over these.
How fun! There is something so happy about rainbow sprinkles! Love it!
I totally beg to differ on your opinion of Iced christmas cookies. Perhaps you should try my mom’s spiced sugar roll-out cookies with buttercream icing… http://www.notsoperfectlife.com/2012/12/17/cookie-week-christmas-spice-cookies
These cookies look like so much fun! Thanks for posting and sharing – gotta, gotta try these!
Oh averie! You are soft cookie queen. I love these the texture is perfect for sandwiches too. I am thinking a sprinkle ice cream to fill these babies for a party.
What do you think can we handle the double sprinkle?
Funfetti sugar cookies are one of my favorite kinds! Yours look so good Averie, as does your original version. So soft, pillowy, and I want to grab them right off the screen! Loving all the sprinkles too. Such a fun, brightly colored cookie for summertime. And a perfect cheery cookie for this dreary monday weather I’m having!
This comment means the world coming from you, Sally, because you are the Funfetti and sprinkles queen! I think your next book needs to have that as a central theme :) Your soft cookies have been tempting me since you posted them. I wanted to take the recipe I had already started with back in January (it was a C.I. adaptation from our kitchen bible, New Best Recipes) and improve upon it. I am so happy with how they turned out. I feel like I finally got the cookies I wanted!
They look SO SOFT!! And adorable!
These look so festive and flavorful, Averie! Love all those bright colors!
Thanks, Kelly!
These cookies are what dreams are made of! They look perfect in every way and so pretty with the colorful sprinkles! I will be adding these to the list of things that I must bake!
Thanks, Mercedes! And if you ever try any more recipes from PBC, please tell me! No rush and no pressure, but if you do, even if it’s a year from now, LMK :)
I love anything funfetti!!! these so light and fluffy!
My daughter is allergic to tree nuts. Could I just leave out the almond extract? Or is there something I should substitute it with?
Just omit then! No biggie!
Thanks for this great recipe. I only bake from scratch and I have been looking for something like this for my daughter.
Ive been tinkering trying to come up with this cookie for age and it’s finally where I wanted it! Enjoy them!
If there’s a person out there who can say no to soft cookies with that many sprinkles baked in, I’d like to meet them! It’s certainly not me. Those are some beautiful cookies, Averie!
Thanks, Jess! I really couldn’t resist them! Good thing it was a small batch recipe :)
They are some pretty cookies. I am pinning this. My friends daughter would love to have these on her birthday. You always come up with the best cookie recipes. Thank YOU.
Soft cookies with sprinkles? YES! Sprinkles always make everything better. And I’m sure it’ll cure a case of the Mondays!
Sure will cure a case of the Mondays :)
Sprinkle city! These would be a great kids project :)
I’ll let you be on sprinkle cleanup duty after the 6 year olds have time with the sprinkle shaker. I think you little girl and mine are the same age so you can probably relate :)
These cookies are so, so fun. I love the sprinkles, just like a party!
Here’s to homemade funfetti cookies! I don’t like to use cake mixes at all, so I really appreciate this one. They’re so lively and delicious looking! Well done.
Glad you like these Marcie – thanks!
Hi Averie,
These cookies looks beyond incredible! The presentation are lovely too. Thanks for sharing…
Have a beautiful day!
♥
These look so fantastic! I love that you used both vanilla and almond extract in these. We are headed to my younger sister’s house for a barbecue before my mom heads back home next weekend and she has 4 little kids (plus by big 2) – they will LOVE these. I am definitely making a couple dozen. I will be favorite auntie for the night! ;-)
Oh you will be the fave auntie for sure! Please LMK how they turn out! :)
Averie – These look beautiful and festive! Is the baking soda there for flavor only? It can’t leaven without an acid, right? They look plenty puffy pillowy regardless – so there’s obviously no issue… I’m just curious. I love comparing your adaptations b/c it teaches me what effects little changes make. I noticed your last sprinkles cookies used baking powder b/c there was no acid in the recipe (well, not counting the 1T of brown sugar), but your sugar doodles used baking soda & had brown sugar which adds some acid? These are white sugar only without any other acid like chocolate or anything so I was just wondering? Love coming here for inspiration!
I didn’t want to use baking powder in this recipe because I feel like it tends to give foods a very cakey and dry texture. Great in cakes, not cookies. So stuck with baking soda. It did the trick in terms of both flavor and leavening and I got the results I wanted. Everything you wrote is technically true, however, I do believe that it does react on some level with both the butter and egg, and I wouldn’t think of not adding it – I think the cookies would be spread like crazy without it. Plus it does give some flavor. Glad to hear you like to compare recipes – me too!
Thanks Averie – appreciate the info! You get great results, so maybe following your instinct rather than “science” is a good thing! I don’t like flat cookies either, which is why I am here :)
Baking is a funny thing – there is science that you have to follow, but then there’s also your gut and you have to trust that, too. Do you have the Cooks Illustrated book I referenced in this post? https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/07/12-favorite-cookbooks-and-taste-of-home-cookbook-giveaway.html
Get it if you dont. Best $20 bucks ever spent.
But they test recipes over and over and over…and they are science geeks and I mean that lovingly, and sometimes they get their best results when they’re about to just scrap a recipe, then dump everything into a bowl all at once and stir. Rather than doing it in some super special order. Even they surprise themselves – and they write about it. So yeah…sometimes you just have to throw your gut into the equation, too!
Ok, you’ve convinced me – I HAVE to try cornstarch in my cookies. These look too good to be true! :)
Yes, you HAVE to try it! It’s a little miracle!
I loved your last soft batch cookies, so….running to the store for sprinkles now.
I’m on this.
They are, without a doubt, my fave ever sugar cookies. After years of trying to get what I want, these are it! They are the white sugar cookie equivalent of those dark brown sugar softbatch cookies of mine you love and the sugar-doodles, too. As a dough appreciating person, you will love these, Katie! Not sure how you’re going to swap out for the flour/GF and how your sugar blends will work, but LMK!
I love everything that has sprinkles in it and these are no exception! Thanks for sharing!
I’m obsessed with anything Funfetti/Confetti so these cookies have the key to my heart!
These look so freakin’ good! I am definitely baking these next month right before the kids head back to school. What an awesome surprise treat they will be when they open up their lunchbox on the first day and find these fun, colorful yummy cookies! I don’t usually include cookies in their lunchbox but I think the first week back to school deserves it! :)
This would be such a welcome lunch box treat I would think for most anyone :)
oh yes! Pretty please!
Sprinkles just make me happy! These cookies look great.
The colors! Oh, I cannot get enough sprinkles:) And those cookies look supremely soft. Gorgeous cookies! I would have no self control around these!
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!