These Christmas sprinkle cookies are a festive way to celebrate the holidays! These sugar cookies are soft, chewy, and flavored with vanilla and almond extract. The cookies are coated in festive nonpareil sprinkles for a little crunch and a lot of color! One of my favorite cookie recipes! Perfect for kids or a Christmas party!
Ingredients for Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature, softened butter.
- Granulated sugar – To add sweetness.
- Egg – Large egg, room temperature.
- Vanilla extract + almond extract – A combination of vanilla extract and almond extract adds amazing flavor to these cookies.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps give the cookies a soft, pillowy texture.
- Baking powder + baking soda – These leavening agents help the cookies puff up and spread.
- Salt – Contrasts the sweetness of the cookies.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to fluffy the flour before scooping and level the measuring cups.
- Nonpareil sprinkles – For these cookies, I went with nonpareil sprinkles. You can use “jimmie-style” sprinkles if you prefer.
Tools & Supplies for Making Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
How to Make Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
To make these sprinkle cookies, you will need an electric hand mixer and a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Here is the basic breakdown of the steps to make these cookies:
- Cream unsalted butter and granulated sugar.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients (cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour) to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until a soft dough forms.
- Portion the cookie dough using a small cookie scoop. Chill the dough balls for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Roll the cookie dough balls in Christmas sprinkles and place on the cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Christmas Sprinkle Cookies Recipe Tips
Chill the dough
A key step in this recipe is to chill the cookie dough before baking. I like to scoop the cookie dough with a small cookie scoop and place the dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling in sprinkles and baking.
Sprinkles
For these cookies, I love using nonpareil sprinkles which are the tiny little ball sprinkles. I prefer to use these over jimmies as they coat the surface area of the cookies better! You can absolutely use regular sprinkles if you prefer or if you cannot find nonpareils. Because the dough balls are chilled before rolling in the sprinkles, you may need to press them into the cookie dough a bit before baking.
Make the dough ahead of time
During the holiday season, I love making my cookie dough ahead of time. This way, I can bake off cookies as I need them! You can make the cookie dough a week or two ahead of when you need it! Simple portion the cookie dough with a small cookie scoop, chill the dough balls, and then place the chilled dough balls in a resealable storage bag.
Keep the cookie dough in the refrigerator for two weeks or in the freezer for up to a month. If you are baking from the fridge, simply roll the cookies in sprinkles and bake. If you are baking from the freezer, allow the cookie dough to sit out at room temperature to thaw a bit. The dough balls should be cold but not frozen solid.
Storing
The baked sprinkle cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days!
Click here to see a quick video on how to make Christmas sprinkle cookies! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream unsalted butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix on low speed until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients (cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour) to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until a soft dough forms.
- Portion the cookie dough using a small cookie scoop and place on a parchment lined baking pan. Chill the dough balls for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Place nonpareil sprinkles in a small bowl. Roll the cookie dough balls in the sprinkles, pressing the sprinkles into the cookie dough. Place the cookie dough balls on the cookie sheet allowing room for spreading.
- Bake cookies for approximately 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are set. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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