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Birthday Sugar Cookies are the softest homemade sugar cookies covered in fun sprinkles that taste like a perfect birthday cake!
Making these cookies from scratch is super easy. Unlike typical sugar cookies, these funfetti cookies don’t require you to chill and roll the dough which makes them a great anytime treat!
Birthday cookies have a secret ingredient… did you know? Yep, they’re not just sugar cookies from scratch covered in sprinkles. Nope. I added a small amount of one of my most favorite flavors to give colorful little funfetti cookies and unique taste that set them apart from your basic sugar cookie. What is that secret ingredient, you’re wondering? Well, you’ll just have to make your way down to the recipe to find out. Hint: it is a certain extract that is not vanilla.
For all those cookie lovers:
- One cannot go wrong with my Faithful Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are chewy. They are soft. They are the best recipe I have ever used.
- One of my favorite homemade cookie recipes are my Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies. I made them as a Christmas cookie, but they really can (and should) be an anytime cookie. They have a cake-like fluffy cookie, a sweet frosting, and are topped with a pecan half. Yum!
- Chewy Molasses Sugar Cookies are always a favorite. To get the maximum chewiness out of them you have to pull them out of the oven at just the right moment and be sure to store them in an airtight container to keep them soft.
I have to admit, the cookies turned out pretty darn awesome. I already had the sprinkles in my pantry – something I highly recommend everyone keep on hand. This control-freak-in-the-kitchen kind of a mom even let her daughter make them because it was kind of a no fail recipe and there was no chilling of the dough or rolling out with a rolling pin required.
Tips on how to make cookies from scratch:
- Cookies from scratch are far superior to store bought cookies or cookies made from cake mix and they are super easy to make
- If your recipe calls for butter like this birthday cookie recipe does, make sure it is at room temperature and you cream the butter and sugar together as much as you can
- Eggs should be at room temperature as well
- Remember – don’t ever over mix
- If you’re making funfetti cookies which are basically a form of sugar cookies with sprinkles, you must be careful not to over mix the dough with the sprinkles because the color will bleed
Recipe video below!
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Video
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar I’ve used ultrafine baking sugar too – both work
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour cake flour works too
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sprinkles for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat until well combined for about a minute, scraping sides as needed. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into butter mixture until a dough forms. You may need to do the final mixing by hand as the dough will be thick.
- Roll dough into teaspoon sized balls and then roll dough balls in the sprinkles. Cookies will spread thin as they cook so make sure they’re spread about 2 inches a part. Bake in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes and remove when set but not yet turning brown.
- Allow cookies to remain on hot baking sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to wire cooling rack. Store in airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These are SO much fun!
What a fun treat!
These are so festive!
Love these birthday cake sugar cookies!! Great video, too!!!
These turned out great!
Can I freeze them?
You sure can! Just make it airtight so they don’t get freezer burn.
How do you send the cookies?
in a box
Ally, thank you for the suggestion of adding milk to the batter. Mine too came out a bit dry and the sprinkles didn’t stick so well. I’ll try the milk trick next time I make these. They have a delicious flavor and my family enjoyed them, even if they looked a little shoddy.
My cookies were pretty dry and had a hard time holding shape and the sprinkles wouldn’t stick to them either. I added about 3 TBS of milk and that helped a lot. My cookies didn’t spread when I baked them either, they held the ball shape. The 2nd time I squashed them down with a glass to make them look more like yours, worked perfectly! Super fun cookies, I make them for all my birthday people!
Excellent tips, Ally! Thanks for sharing!!! Krissy
The glass trick made a world of difference, thank you! Mine also came out dry, but they are for a 2-year-olds birthday so as long as there’s sprinkles, it’s good!
What can you use in place of almond extract because it’s the one extract that I never use ?
You can omit and just add a bit more vanilla. The almond extract gives a great flavor though.
These cookies are perfection! I followed your instructions and they were so bang on. Simple, fun and tasty. Thank you!!!! Can’t wait to make them again.
what exactly is “cake purpose flour”? i have heard of cake flour, OR all purpose flour…..?
Tami, I’m so sorry! I used cake flour but meant to say that all purpose flour would be fine as well. I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks! Krissy