No-Roll Christmas Sprinkle Cookies — 💚❤️ These tender, buttery holiday sugar cookies use a no-roll dough with the sprinkles baked right in so you don’t even have to decorate them!
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Christmas Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
I’ve never been that fond of classic sugar cookies that are decorated with sprinkles. They’re usually a bit too hard and crunchy for my liking, and rolling out dough is an extra step I’d rather not take when I’m already so busy during the holiday season.
However, these Christmas sugar cookies with sprinkles baked in are the exact opposite. They’re super soft and buttery with tender, pillowy centers.
It’s a no-roll dough with the sprinkles baked right in so you don’t even have to decorate them. A win-win-win.
The buttery dough just melts in your mouth and the texture contrast the sprinkles lend is perfect.
If you’re like me and you have helpers in the kitchen, you may wind up with sprinkles all over the counter, the floor, and in every nook and cranny. Actually, I don’t need my daughter to help me with that. I’m great at it on my own.
Ingredients for Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
These really are the BEST Christmas cookies, both because they’re a cinch to make and they taste so good! Gather the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Heavy cream
- Clear imitation vanilla extract – has a nostalgic, bakery-cookie flavor that’s wonderful in these cookies; use pure vanilla extract, if that’s all you have.
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Red, white, and green sprinkles – use another color combo to suit a different holiday.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Christmas Cookies with Sprinkles
Making Christmas sugar cookies with sprinkles is a quick and easy process, but you must chill the dough before baking. Here’s how the cookies are made:
- Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Then, mix in the wet ingredients, followed by the dry. (You’ll want to add the sprinkles last and mix until just combined.)
- Scoop the dough into balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Chill the dough for at least 3 hours.
- Before baking the sprinkle cookies, top them with a few more sprinkles to add a pop of color.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set and the tops are just set.
Cookie FAQs
These no-roll sprinkle sugar cookies can be made with any sprinkles / jimmies that you have on hand. Feel free to use a mixture of colors and types — anything should work!
Technically yes, but your sprinkle Christmas cookies won’t turn out nearly as soft. I highly recommend using the cornstarch if possible, it really makes a big difference!
Yes, you can freeze the unbaked cookie dough and the baked cookies. If freezing the cookie dough, I recommend rolling it into balls first so you can bake off a few cookies at a time whenever a craving hits. If freezing the baked cookies, place them in a freezer bag and press the air out before setting in the freezer.
Yes, you MUST chill the dough. The dough is very soft and must be chilled before baking. There’s two tablespoons of cream in the dough, which makes the cookies so creamy but also makes for a very soft dough. You do not want to bake unchilled dough because the holiday cookies will bake thinner and flatter and will be more prone to spreading.
These cookies are FANTASTIC! We are usually a family that falls heavily on the chocolate chip cookie side of the fence, but when I made both for holiday plates for our neighbors, these sugar cookies were the first to disappear. Now that’s the sign of a good cookie! Thanks for sharing! — Kim Q.
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No-Roll Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons cream or half-and-half
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, (I use clear imitation-vanilla extract)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt, (or to taste)
- ¾ cup red, green, and white jimmies, (sprinkles), plus more for sprinkling the tops of the cookies
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric mixer), add the butter, sugars, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg, vanilla (clear imitation-vanilla extract has a nostalgic, bakery-cookie flavor and I prefer it in this recipe), and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the cream, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 1 minute. The batter may look a little ‘grainy’ and almost as if it’s separated, this is okay.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the sprinkles, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or your hands, form approximately 17 equal-sized mounds of dough. The dough is very soft and I find it easiest to use a cookie scoop. Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading. After chilling, flatten each mound about half the original height.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Top each mound with a generous pinch of sprinkles, pressing them down lightly so they adhere.
- Bake for about 8 minutes or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet completely. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Christmas Cookie Recipes with Sprinkles:
You can find all of my cookie recipes HERE. (There are lots to pick from!)
Christmas Cut Out Cookies — These traditional cut out sugar cookies are just like Grandma used to make!! They’re thin but still soft, topped with a simple 2-ingredient royal icing, and loaded with sprinkles!
Soft Frosted Christmas Cookies — Tender, buttery cookies topped with cream cheese frosting and loaded with sprinkles! Easy, no-roll holiday cookies that everyone goes crazy for!
Stacked Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies — Softy, chewy, buttery sugar cookies are stacked in the shape of Christmas trees and layered with buttercream frosting!
Glazed Eggnog Cookies — Soft, buttery tea cakes topped with a creamy eggnog glaze are a Christmas treat that everyone will love!! EASY to make, not at all dry, and great for cookie exchanges or hostess gifts!!
Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies — Jumbo, super soft, slightly chewy cake mix cookies that are a PERFECT COPYCAT of the famous Crumbl Cookies! Loaded with rainbow and confetti sprinkles, and topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting, these are a dead ringer for the real thing!
Christmas Chocolate-Covered Oreos — Oreo cookies dipped in chocolate and loaded with sprinkles are an irresistible holiday treat! Fast, EASY, no-bake, can be made in advance!
Originally published December 11, 2015 and republished December 11, 2019 with updated text.