Even though I’m a grown up with my own family, I still have an undying love for anything with sprinkles. How can you not love them? They make food look like it’s been infused with rainbows!
I also have a love for classic sugar cookies. I found them intimidating to bake at first, but over the years I’ve really gotten the hang of them. Yes, this recipe involves rolling, cutting, and freezing the cookie cutouts before baking, but it’s not hard and it doesn’t take that long! Plus, you can cut out your sugar cookies with sprinkles and freeze them to bake at another time. They’re so pretty, and so delicious, it’s totally worth it.
Ingredients
Step-By-Step Instructions
Make The Cookie Dough
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In second large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
Whisk together the egg, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in a smaller bowl.
Add the egg mixture to the butter and beat together for one minute.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to beat for one minute more. The mixture should be quite thick and creamy.
Add half of the flour to the bowl. Mix on low until combined, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Stir the sprinkles into the remaining flour. Add the sprinkle-flour mixture to the dough and mix on low until just combined.
Dump the dough out onto a work surface and gather it together quickly and gently. Divide the dough into four (roughly) equal portions.
Shape each portion of dough into a flat disc, about 6-inches (15-cm) in diameter.
Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for a minimum of one hour.
To Bake The Sugar Cookies With Sprinkles
Remove one (or more) disc(s) of dough from the fridge and bring to room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Have two large squares of wax paper, and a small baking sheet, or couple of dinner plates that will fit in your freezer, ready to go.
Lay out one square of wax paper and sprinkle it lightly with flour. Unwrap a disc of cookie dough, place it in the middle of the floured paper, and sprinkle a little bit more flour on top.
Place the second sheet of wax paper on top of the floured dough. Starting from the middle of the dough, gently begin to roll with a wooden rolling pin. Do not roll the dough aggressively as it will crack! As you gently roll, the dough will warm up and become more pliable.
You want to roll from the middle of the dough, almost to the edge, without going over the edge. Rolling over the edge of the dough with your pin will make the edges too thin. The dough should be an even thickness all over. Rotate the paper one quarter turn and repeat rolling, from middle to almost-the-edge, until the dough is rolled out about ¼-inch (½-cm) thick.
Gently peel away the top layer of paper. Line the freezer tray or plates with the peeled off top layer of wax paper.
Use any cookie cutters you like to cut the dough into shapes.
Carefully lift the cookie cutouts up and off of the bottom layer of wax paper and onto the prepared tray or plates.
Place the cookie cutouts in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When the oven is preheated, transfer the frozen cookie cutouts to the baking sheets.
Place the sugar cookies with sprinkles in the oven and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are light gold (smaller cookies bake faster — see notes below). Transfer the baked cookies from the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool completely.
Notes & Tips
Clear corn syrup preserves chewiness in the sugar cookies with sprinkles, however, can be omitted.
The cookie dough can be shaped into two discs instead of four. I find four smaller discs easier to roll out, and it also keeps the other cookie dough cold in the fridge while I prep my cut out shapes.
The sprinkles may bleed colour into the dough upon re-rolling, especially if your hands are warm. To minimize the look of the colour bleeding, simply add fresh sprinkles to the top of the dough before you cut your shapes. Give the dough a single light roll all over with your rolling pin so the fresh sprinkles adhere to the top.
You don’t have to roll sugar cookies with sprinkles dough between wax paper; It also rolls well on a floured work surface. I prefer rolling dough between sheets of wax paper because it eliminates the need for adding too much extra flour.
Smaller sugar cookies with sprinkles bake faster so I generally bake cookies of similar size together. Small cookies can take between 7 to 9 minutes, medium-sized cookies about 8 to 10 minutes, and larger cookies can take up to 12 minutes. Thinner cookies will also bake faster! Keep your eye on the cookies in the oven. Once the edges turn pale gold they are done.
The sugar cookies with sprinkles may seem a bit floppy when you lift them from the hot baking tray to a wire rack, however, they will firm and crisp up as they cool.
Frosting or glaze will add moisture to the sugar cookies with sprinkles, making them chewier after storage. Cookies without frosting or glaze will remain more crisp.
To freeze, I like to roll the dough, cut out my shapes, then freeze the cookie cutouts flat on a small baking sheet that fits in my freezer (the sheets I use are similar to these Nordic Ware Baker’s Quarter Sheets). Once frozen (about 30 minutes) I package the unbaked sugar cookies with sprinkles into a zip top bag and store them back in the freezer to bake at another time, for up to one month.
You can also store unrolled discs of dough in the freezer. Wrap them gently but tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and keep them frozen for up to two months. Thaw the dough disc(s) in the fridge for two days before you want to bake.
Substitutions
I used basic round rainbow nonpareils sprinkles from the bulk store in this recipe. You can use any you like or have on hand for sugar cookies with sprinkles.
Decorate Your Sugar Cookies With These Icings
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting A rich, tangy classic! Made with butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar, use it to top off many baked treats.
Nanny Burke’s Buttercream A classic American-style vanilla frosting recipe.
Brown Butter Icing Should probably be classified as a controlled substance, because this stuff is seriously addictive.
Printable Recipe Card
Sugar Cookies With Sprinkles
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- 2 large mixing bowls if not using stand mixer
- whisk
- electric hand mixer if not using stand mixer
- stand mixer if not using hand mixer
- 1 small mixing bowl
- rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- plastic wrap
- wax paper
- Rolling Pin
- small baking sheet or plate for freezer
- cookie cutters
- baking sheet(s)
- Parchment paper
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter, soft
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles , also called nonpareils
Instructions
Make The Cookie Dough
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on med-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Whisk together the egg, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in a smaller bowl. Add the egg mixture to the butter and beat for one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to beat for one minute more. The mixture should be quite thick and creamy.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl. Mix on low until combined, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
- Stir the sprinkles into the remaining flour. Add the sprinkle-flour mixture to the dough mixture and mix on low until just combined.
- Dump the dough out onto a work surface and gather it together quickly and gently. Divide the dough into four (roughly) equal portions. Shape each portion of dough into a flat disc, about 6-inches (15-cm) in diameter. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a minimum of one hour.
Bake The Cookies
- Remove one (or more) disc(s) of dough from the fridge and bring to room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Have two large squares of wax paper, and a small baking sheet (or couple of dinner plates) that will fit in your freezer ready.
- Lay out one square of wax paper and sprinkle it lightly with flour. Unwrap a disc of dough and place it in the middle of the floured paper. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough and place the second sheet of wax paper on top. Starting in the middle of the dough, gently roll with a wooden rolling pin from the middle, almost to the edge of the dough. Rotate the paper one quarter turn and repeat rolling, from middle to almost the edge, until the dough is rolled out about ¼-inch (½-cm) thick.
- Gently peel away the top layer of wax paper. Line the tray or plates you have ready for the freezer with the peeled off wax paper. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into your desired shapes. Carefully lift the cookie cutouts up and off of the bottom layer of wax paper and onto the prepared tray or plates. Place the cookie cutouts in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. When the oven is preheated, transfer the frozen cookie cutouts to the baking sheet. Place the cookies in the oven and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are light gold (smaller cookies bake faster — see notes below). Transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
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