Birthday Cake Cookies are made with stacked sugar cookies coated with glaze icing that dries firm. These adorable celebration cookies have a real birthday candle and a hidden candy surprise inside.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easily vary the sugar cookie or glaze icing flavors for custom birthday cakes in cookie form.
- Stacked cookie cakes are a great alternative when mailing a birthday cake isn't an option.
- The hidden candy inside is sure to delight everyone who takes a bite of these cute cookie stacks.
These adorable birthday cookies look just like little cakes complete with colorful sprinkles and a birthday candle for lighting and making wishes.
Coated in glaze icing, these cookie cakes are sturdy enough for mailing making them an ideal celebration cookie for care packages.
Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Sugar Cookies- Firm, no spread sugar cookies are the foundation for the cookie cakes. Make vanilla sugar cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, or for variety make half a batch of each flavor.
- Mini candies- Any tiny candy can be used as the hidden surprise inside the cookie stacks. Suggestions include the candy coated chips in the photos, mini m&m's, candy coated sunflower seeds, heat resistant sprinkles.
- Glaze Icing- is a powdered sugar-corn syrup icing that dries firm enough to wrap and stack the cookies, but has a soft bite and delicious flavor.
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Prepare the sugar cookie dough.
- Roll out the dough to ¼" and cut out 3 circles for each birthday cake cookie.
- Bake. Immediately after baking cut a small hole in each top cookie and a larger hole in each middle cookie.
- Pipe icing to attach the middle cookies to the base cookies.
- Fill the center holes with mini candy level with the top edge of the cookie.
- Pipe icing to attach the top cookies to the middle cookies.
- Trim birthday candles to desired size and fit into the top cookie holes.
- Pipe icing over the top of the cookies to coat the top and sides of each cookie.
Storage
Wrap each cookie cake in a cellophane bag or plastic wrap.
Birthday Cake Cookies will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks if wrapped individually and stored in an airtight container.
Tips
- Follow the instructions and cut out the holes AFTER baking. If the holes are cut out before baking, the circle diameter expands when the cutter is inserted, resulting with different sized layers. Also, the doughnut shaped middle layer is difficult to move onto the cookie sheet without distorting the shape.
- The small hole in the top cookie can be made with a plastic drinking straw.
- Use a 1" circle cutter or a small medicine measuring cup to make the hole (or hollow center) in the middle cookie.
- Coating the cookie stacks completely with glaze helps the cookies stay fresh longer.
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Funfetti Cookies are another fun birthday recipe for crunchy cookies with plenty of sprinkles.
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Lemon Slice Sugar Cookies are a refreshing treat that tastes especially good with a glass of iced tea.
Decorated Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies are so impressive but ths show stopping design can be made by children as well as adults.
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Be sure to check out all of our Decorated Sugar Cookies designs that are easy to make, tasty to eat, and a fun addition to care package themes.
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Birthday Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 batch Cut Out Vanilla Sugar Cookies full recipe if making only vanilla cookies or a half batch if making both flavors
- 1 batch Chocolate Sugar Cookies full recipe if making only chocolate cookies or a half batch if making both flavors
- 1 batch glaze icing
- ¾ cup mini candies
- 12 small birthday candles
- rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Preparing the cookies
- Prepare the Sugar Cookie dough according to the recipe instructions.
- Roll out the cookie dough to ¼" and cut out 36- 2" circles (3 circles for each Birthday Cake Cookie).
- Transfer the dough circles to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake chocolate cookies for 8 minutes, vanilla cookies for 9 minutes.
- Immediately after removing the baked cookies from oven, use a 1" circle cookie cutter or the top edge of a small medicine measuring cup to cut out the center from 12 cookies for the middle cookie in each set. Using the tip of a drinking straw, press out a candle hole in the middle of 12 cookies for the top cookie in each set.
- Cool the prepared cookies on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assembling and decorating the cookie cakes
- Prepare the glaze icing to the consistency of honey. Spoon the icing into ziplock sandwichbags or icing bags. If using a ziplock bag, cut a tiny piece off of a bottom corner. If using an icing bag, cut a tiny piece off of the tip.
- Place the cookies on a wire rack over waxed paper. Arrange the cookies in sets, 3 cookies in each set with a top (candle hole), middle (larger hole), and bottom (no hole) cookie.
- To assemble the cookie sets into “cakes”, squirt a line of icing around the top edge of the solid bottom cookie. Place the middle, doughnut shaped cookie on top, pressing gently. Icing should show on the outer edge between the cookies like frosting between the layers of a cake. Allow this icing to set for at least half an hour.
- Pour a small amount of mini candies into the hole of the middle cookie. The top of the candy should be even with the top surface of the middle cookie so that the next layer can lie flat on top.
- Pipe a line of icing around the top edge of the middle cookie. Place the top cookie (with the candle hole) over the icing and press gently. Allow the icing to set for at least half an hour.
- Use a sharp knife to trim small birthday candles to a height proportionate with the size of your cookie “cake” (about 1"). Insert a candle into the hole on each top cookie.
- Pipe icing onto the top of the cookie “cake” covering the surface and dripping down the sides of the cookie cake. Apply sprinkles to the top of each "cake" immediately after icing.
- Allow the icing to set completely for at least 2 hours or overnight before wrapping, storing, or mailing. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, Birthday Cake Surprise Cookies stay fresh for at least 2 weeks.
Notes
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- Follow the instructions and cut out the holes AFTER baking. If the holes are cut out before baking, the circle diameter expands when the cutter is inserted, resulting with different sized layers. Also, the doughnut shaped middle layer is difficult to move onto the cookie sheet without distorting the shape.
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- The snall hole in the top circle can be made with a plastic drinking straw.
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- Use a 1" circle cutter or a small medicine measuring cup to make the hole (or hollow center) in the middle circle.
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- Coating the cookie stacks completely with glaze helps the cookies stay fresh longer.
- Place each “cake” into a small plastic or cellophane bag and seal closed.
- To mail, put wrapped “cakes” into a plastic food storage box in a single layer.
- Add wadded tissue paper or waxed paper between the cookies and the storage box lid to ensure the cookies can’t move at all within the storage box.
- Use additional packing material to secure the plastic storage boxes inside the mailing carton.
First Published: February 4, 2014. Last Updated: March 1, 2025. Updated for additional information, improved photographs, and better reader experience.
Reeni
These are so ADORABLE Wendy! I can't stop staring at them! They look like just like cakes. I love that they're not. I bet your son is having fun eating them. I HAVE to make them someday soon. . . I'm trying to think of when the next birthday is. Not until May. I don't know if I can wait that long! 😉
themondaybox
Thank you so much, Reeni! Sometimes, adorable desserts are just adorable to look at, but I love that these taste as good as they look! Wouldn't some little green iced cookie cakes be cute for St. Patrick's Day?The leprechaun's gold could be inside!
Jocelyn@Brucrewlife
These have got to be the best birthday cookies ever!! 🙂 Love them!!
themondaybox
Thanks, Jocelyn! I was hoping for something that would make my son's special birthday a celebration! 🙂