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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

    By Wendy Sondov · Published: Nov 9, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Sprinkle Sugar Cookies are an old-fashioned treat that never goes out of style! Just like the big, crunchy cookies so popular at bakeries, these treats are sure to become home baked favorites.

    Whatever the occasion, these crisp sugar cookies show off in festive colors. Nothing says “celebration” better than a cookie covered in sprinkles.

    Large, round sugar cookies coated in rainbow colored nonpareil sprinkles.

    Why you'll love this recipe

    Coated in nonpareil sprinkles, these cookies are deliciously crunchy inside and out. Fantastically, these sugar cookies are both quick and easy to make, with no chill time necessary.

    The recipe calls for creaming the sugar and butter until very light and fluffy, which creates a light, airy texture.

    Using holiday colored sprinkles makes Sprinkle Sugar Cookies perfect for any celebration.

    I love using sprinkles. There is something almost magical about the smile inducing quality of sprinkled cookies. I highly recommend baking and sharing some smiles with this colorful treat. They are a celebration in every bite.

    Closeup of a cookies coated in rainbow colored nonpareil sprinkles.

    Ingredients

    Ingredients labeled; all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, sprinkles, large egg, vanilla.

    Instructions

    This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

    1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
    2. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter and sugar at least 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix at medium speed until incorporated.
    3. Use a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion the dough. Roll each dough portion into a ball and roll in nonpareil sprinkles to coat. Place 2 in. apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten the tops of the cookie balls slightly with palm of hand.
    4. Bake 14-16 minutes. The cookies will not brown, but the centers of cookies should be semi-firm to the touch.

    Storage

    Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

    For longer storage times at home, freezing is recommended. For longer shipping times, vacuum sealing is recommended.

    A stack of three cookies showing their thick size.

    Tips

    • For almond flavor, replace one teaspoon of vanilla extract with one teaspoon of almond extract.
    • To use another kind of sprinkles, be sure to press firmly when rolling the dough ball in the sprinkles. Larger sprinkles sometimes resist sticking to the dough.
    • To make sugar sprinkle cookies, replace the nonpareils with colored sugar.
    • This is a great recipe for any holiday and birthday parties! Just vary the colors of your sprinkles to match the holiday or use rainbow sprinkles year round.

    More sugar cookie recipes

    Funfetti Sugar Cookies are crunchy, chewy and speckled with sprinkles inside the dough, for a rainbow colored treat.

    Mexican Sugar Cookies, polvorones, are thick, crunchy cookies with bright colors and three different citrus flavors!

    Balloon Sugar Cookies are cheerful celebration cookies. A few dots of colored icing quickly and easily transforms sugar cookies into party.

    Looking for lots of sprinkles? Check out this collection of 25 Cookies with Sugar and Sprinkles!

    Sprinkle Sugar Cookies coated in different colored sprinkles for a year of different holidays.

    My experience with this recipe

    There used to be two Jewish bakeries in St. Louis that specialized in Jewish holiday baked goods, as well as regular bakery items like Danish, cookies, babka, and birthday cakes. Sadly, after many decades of business, both of the bakeries closed.

    When my now adult daughter was a toddler, we would make a special trip to Petrofsky’s Bakery every Friday afternoon to buy our challah (braided egg bread), traditional for the Friday night Sabbath meal.  

    With her big blue eyes and friendly smile, my daughter became a favorite of the grandmotherly ladies behind the counter. Every single week, they brought my daughter behind the display case and asked her to point to her favorite colors of sprinkle sugar cookies.

    The ladies filled an entire bag with big, crunchy cookies, as a gift for my daughter.  To this day, I have a nostalgic fondness for bakery sugar cookies. My first bite of these Sprinkle Sugar Cookies immediately triggered sweet memories of Petrofsky’s cookies.

    I think it's the perfect sugar cookie recipe!

    Ready to bake? Join the free membership group to get new recipes and a newsletter delivered to your inbox! You can also stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’d love to stay in touch!

    Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

    Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

    A sprinkle cookie recipe for an old-fashioned bakery sugar cookie with lots of crunch and sprinkles. No chilling time needed.
    4.72 from 7 votes
    Print Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 30
    Calories: 151kcal
    Author: Wendy Sondov

    Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
    • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 1 egg
    • ¾ cup nonpareil sprinkles

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at least 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
    • Beat in egg and vanilla.
    • Gradually, add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
    • Use a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion the dough. Roll each dough portion into a ball and roll in nonpareil sprinkles to coat. Place 2 in. apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten cookies slightly with palm of hand.
    • Bake 14-16 minutes. The cookies will not brown, but the centers of cookies should be semi-firm to the touch. Remove from the oven.
    • Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
    • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

    Notes

    • For almond flavor, replace one teaspoon of vanilla extract with one teaspoon of almond extract.
    • To use another type of sprinkles, be sure to press firmly when rolling the dough ball in the sprinkles. Larger sprinkles sometimes resist sticking to the dough.
    • To make sugar sprinkle cookies, replace the nonpareils with colored sugar.
    • This is a great recipe for any holiday and birthday parties! Just vary the colors of your sprinkles to match the holiday or use rainbow sprinkles year round.
    Packing tips
    • Double wrap pairs of cookies (with bottoms together) in plastic wrap, then place in a column in an airtight container or freezer weight zip lock bag.
    • For longer storage, vacuum sealing is recommended.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 16mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 197IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @TheMondayBox or tag #themondaybox!

    First Published: October 11, 2017. Last Updated: November 9, 2021. Updated for additional information, improved photographs, and better reader experience.

    Sprinkle Sugar Cookies on a white serving plate.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Becky

      December 14, 2022 at 8:49 pm

      5 stars
      Me and my family love these cookies! They're so delicious we love the added crunch from the sprinkles! They are also cute! I made these cookies a few times and have never had an issues.

      Reply
    2. Patricia

      December 13, 2021 at 12:46 am

      Good Morning Wendy,
      Yesterday I baked up these cookies and sorry to say they did not turn out well. They were tasteless and tasted like “Flour”. They also did not puff up at all. My friend mixed up the dough and said she used the correct measurements. I’m just noticing that there is no leaving in the recipe as far as baking powder or baking soda. Is this correct?
      Sorry to give it a 1 star review but they turned out totally inedible and we ended up throwing out the dough.
      Just wondering what your thoughts might be on the problem we had with the recipe. They looked so beautiful and I was expecting they would be tasty. Thank you for your help.

      Reply
      • Wendy Sondov

        December 13, 2021 at 1:24 pm

        Hi Patricia. I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with this recipe. As you can see from the comments, these cookies are delicious when made properly. I make these often, but can only guess at where you might have gone wrong. First, let's start with the ingredients. Many shortbread, butter, and sugar cookies do not contain leaveners. In this recipe, the egg provides moisture and a bit of rise to the cookies. Flour must be measured by spooning fluffed flour into a measuring cup. If it is scooped, you compact the flour and end up with way too much. The butter must be room temperature. That means that you should just be able to make a dent in the stick with your finger, not mushy. Butter must be the right temperature to incorporate the correct amount of air when creamed with the sugar. If the butter is too warm, the cookies will be flat because air can't be incorporated. Other than adding too much flour, the only other reason I can think of that your cookies would taste like flour is that you didn't use a TABLESPOON of vanilla. If you only used a teaspoon, there wouldn't have been much flavor. When you place the dough ball on the baking sheet, you shouldnt be flattening the ball, only flatten slightly with your palm or fingers to the thickness of a hockey puck not a pancake. I hope that you see something here that explains your trouble with this recipe.

        Reply
        • Patricia

          December 14, 2021 at 3:10 pm

          5 stars
          Good Afternoon!
          I followed all your tips and baked up a half batch to test this morning and the cookies turned out perfectly this time. Puffed and exactly like pictured. I shared some of the baked cookies with my nieces. They liked them a bunch!
          The size of the cookie using a 2 inch scoop was key. The original batch made by my friend were made too small and flattened too much. I also found out she measured the flour by dipping and scooping and that also probably caused too much of a flour taste.
          I will definitely be adding them to my baking list. All your added tips definitely helped in creating a perfectly baked and flavorful cookie. Have a wonderful holiday season!
          Thank You so much for your help!

          Reply
          • Betty

            April 26, 2022 at 1:19 pm

            5 stars
            My 7 year old granddaughter and her 13 year old brother made these cookies this morning. They had fun making them and they were delicious. We will definitely make them again.

            Reply
            • Wendy Sondov

              April 26, 2022 at 3:49 pm

              You comment has me smiling, Betty! Kids and sprinkles go together well. I'm so glad you and your grandchildren enjoyed these cookies!

    3. Jeannine

      November 21, 2021 at 4:39 pm

      3 stars
      Just made a batch of these. They were good, but they came out flat. I was so careful making sure I followed the directions exactly because my sugar cookies are always a disaster. They came out flat and wide, nothing like the picture at all. Don't get me wrong...they taste good and look good for a flat cookie....but had no dimension. I'm not sure where i went wrong 🙁

      Reply
      • Wendy Sondov

        November 21, 2021 at 5:43 pm

        Hi Jeannine. When a cookie goes flat it is often due to the butter being too warm when mixed into the batter. Room temperature doesn't mean soft and mushy. It takes about 20-30 minutes for butter to reach room temperature an you should be able to just make a dent in the butter when you press on it with your finger. The directions say to flatten each dough ball because if the dough is made correctly, it won't flatten out into a cookie shape unless you flatten it before baking! In the future, with any recipe, if you bake one batch and it flattens, refrigerate the next tray for 30 minutes before baking. That should help.

        Reply
    4. Carlee

      November 11, 2021 at 6:08 am

      I love the collage of all the different sprinkle combinations. How beautiful! These cookies look like a party.

      Reply
    5. Carol Palmer

      February 11, 2021 at 10:25 pm

      5 stars
      These cookies are beautiful and nice crunchy texture and just make you smile! I made a batch last week and our family and friends loved them. Will make another batch this weekend for Valentine’s Day ❤️

      Reply
      • Wendy Sondov

        February 12, 2021 at 7:37 am

        Hi, Carol. I'm glad the you and your family enjoyed these cookies and even more delighted that they made you smile! (I think it's the sprinkles. Sprinkles always make me smile!) Thank you so much for leaving your comment and 5 star rating! Happy Valentine's Day!

        Reply
      • Sandy

        October 27, 2021 at 12:25 pm

        I tried these and they came out great! I am making Halloween sugar cookies and wanted a different cookie to go with them. These turned out perfect! I baked them at 12 minutes and they came out perfectly soft with a bit of a crunch! Yay!

        Reply
        • Wendy Sondov

          October 27, 2021 at 12:49 pm

          Hi, Sandy. I'm delighted to hear that you are enjoying these cookies! They really are a great cookie for every season and any holiday.

          Reply
    6. Janine

      June 02, 2020 at 9:21 am

      I made them yesterday and I followed the recipe. I let them cool off before storing them. My husband came home from work and said they were way to crispy. Crispier then a normal sugar cookie and hard to chew . Other then that he said they had a nice appearance.

      Reply
      • Wendy Sondov

        June 02, 2020 at 10:37 am

        Hi Janine. I am sorry to hear that your cookies didn't turn out as expected. Though these are meant to be crunchy, they certainly aren't usually hard to chew. It sounds like your cookies over baked. Each oven is different in terms of temperature fluctuations, which is why I always bake one cookie first when making a new recipe, to try out timing and adjust for my oven.

        Reply
    7. Ashley@CookNourishBliss

      October 19, 2017 at 1:28 pm

      Sprinkle cookies definitely say celebration! Plus, how can you not love them??? I will take a few to celebrate fall over here!! 🙂

      Reply
    8. Kat (The Baking Explorer)

      October 16, 2017 at 4:28 am

      They are absolutely beautiful!

      Reply
    9. Saltandserenity

      October 14, 2017 at 3:33 pm

      I'd love to see all the jars in your sprinkle drawer!! These cookies are so joyful to look at. I never use sprinkles. Not sure why, but I may have to start.

      Reply
    10. Miz Helen

      October 14, 2017 at 3:16 pm

      I pinned your amazing Sugar Cookies Wendy, they are perfect for every holiday! I really appreciate you sharing your awesome post and your talent with us at Full Plate Thursday.
      Have a great weekend and come back soon!
      Miz Helen

      Reply
    11. Roseann Hampton

      October 13, 2017 at 7:33 pm

      I need to make a batch of these for my daughter - she loves anything with sprinkles!

      Reply
      • The Monday Box

        October 14, 2017 at 11:52 am

        Thanks, Roseann! I hope your daughter enjoys the cookies. I love everything with sprinkles too. 🙂

        Reply
    12. Monica

      October 13, 2017 at 11:19 am

      I know I'm smiling after seeing these - I love how you did all those varieties of different color sprinkles. And you're right - there is such a nostalgia or a natural draw we all feel about sprinkle cookies. I know they were one of my son's favorites when he was younger and we went to the bakery together for treats. I've been wanting to make these exact cookies for a long time, especially since my son and I are partial to nonpareils. I love that little crunch and they are really so happy looking. : )

      Reply
      • The Monday Box

        October 14, 2017 at 11:58 am

        Thanks, Monica! I think the bright colors are cheerful and attract kids. Then as adults we are attracted to the sprinkles because they bring back feelings of childhood joy. When my daughter saw this post, she was smiling when she said, "These really DO look like the cookies from Petrofsky's!", though she hasn't seen one of those cookies in over 20 years. 🙂 (How did my daughter get old enough for me to say that?!?! OMG hug your "little guy". Time flies!)

        Reply
    13. April J Harris

      October 13, 2017 at 11:03 am

      What a lovely cookie to celebrate a birthday! I'm sure your adopted sailor will really enjoy them. You know how I love sprinkles, Wendy, so I definitely love these cookies. Pinning and sharing around. Thank you so much for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party.

      Reply
      • The Monday Box

        October 14, 2017 at 12:00 pm

        Thanks, April! I do believe that you and I should form the International Sprinkle Lovers Society. 🙂 One should be wary of individuals who don't like sprinkles. 😉

        Reply
    14. Shannon Ketchum

      October 12, 2017 at 12:35 pm

      Another adorable creation. These look so delicious.

      Reply
      • The Monday Box

        October 12, 2017 at 9:39 pm

        Thanks, Shannon! Sprinkles really do make me happy. 🙂

        Reply

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    I'm Wendy, a baker, care package maker, and smile creator. On The Monday Box you’ll find care package inspiration and recipes for delicious treats that make it easy for you to share home baked love. Let’s spread happiness, one cookie at a time!

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