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Soft and chewy homemade sugar cookies are covered in your favorite holiday sprinkles – these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies are perfect for Santa’s cookie plate! They’re made with kitchen staples and great for getting the kids involved.
Every holiday season, I get excited about our cookie tray for Christmas. Each year is different from the last, but these chewy sprinkle cookies always make an appearance! They’re super easy to throw together and customize with the sprinkles of your choosing.
My go-to sprinkle variety for these cookies has to be the little round ones, known as sugar pearls or nonpareils. Particularly, the classic red and green ones! They add a light crunch that perfectly compliments the softness on the inside of the cookies. The bigger your sprinkles are, the more crunch they’ll add. So it’s really up to you and your preferences!
What You’ll Need
These cookies are composed of a tried and true combination of basic ingredients. Look familiar? This dessert was adapted from my fool-proof recipe for Classic Sprinkle Sugar Cookies!
- All-Purpose Flour: Use the spoon and level method instead of directly scooping your flour into the measuring cup. This ensures accurate measurements. You could also use a food scale if you have one.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: The combination of these two leavening agents ensures a good rise and a tender cookie.
- Salt: For flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Brought to room temperature.
- Granulated Sugar: You’ll need just over one cup.
- Light Brown Sugar: This makes for extra chewy cookies with great flavor.
- Eggs: One full egg plus one additional yolk.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
- Christmas Sprinkles: I do recommend sticking with jimmies or nonpareils.
Where Can I Find Christmas Sprinkles?
Not sure how to get your hands on some quality Christmas sprinkles? I like to purchase them from Home Goods. Believe it or not, they have awesome seasonal sprinkles and they often come in a pretty decent size container. Amazon is also a great place to find them, as well as Walmart, which always has a great baking and holiday section.
I love getting the little ones involved with this recipe. They can help combine ingredients, scoop out the dough and roll it up in the sprinkles. The sprinkles are the best part!
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set them aside.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set it aside.
- Cream Butter & Sugars: Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add Eggs: Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until well combined.
- Add Vanilla: Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Combine Mixtures: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined, but don’t over-mix it. It will be thick and a little sticky.
- Prepare Dough: Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll the dough into a ball, then roll each ball in the sprinkles to coat them. Set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes. They will spread and the centers will look soft, but should look done. Don’t over-bake them. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool.
- Let Cool: Remove your cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for Success
Keep these tips and tricks in mind when you’re making and decorating these Christmas cookies. Bon voyage!
- Cream the Butter and Sugars Well: Keep an eye on your butter and sugar mixture while you’re creaming it. Don’t stop mixing until it becomes lighter in both texture and color.
- Don’t Over-Mix the Dough: Once your flour is added and the dough is well combined, you should stop mixing. If you mix the batter too much, your cookies will be flatter and harder, losing that soft and chewy texture.
- Avoid Over-Baking: Baking your cookies for too long will also make them flatter and crunchier. The centers will still look soft when they’re ready to be removed from the oven.
- Let the Cookies Cool on the Baking Sheets First: Before you transfer your cookies to a cooling rack, you’ll want to let them rest for at least 4 minutes. This ensures easy removal from the baking sheets.
Variation Ideas
There are a few simple ways you can put a little spin on these colorful cookies. Try out one of the following variations!
- Peppermint Sprinkle Cookies: If you want your cookies to taste as festive as they look, substitute half of the vanilla extract for peppermint extract!
- Loaded Sprinkle Cookies: For even more sprinkle action, you can add half a cup of sprinkles into the cookie dough and gently fold to incorporate them. I suggest using the thin jimmies for this rather than the nonpareils, which tend to bleed out into the cookies.
- Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies: These Chocolate Sugar Cookies can be transformed into Christmas sprinkle cookies too! Simply roll the dough balls in holiday sprinkles instead of sugar.
These cookies should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature. As long as it’s not too hot or humid, they will last for 4-5 days! If you’d prefer to store them in the fridge, I recommend bringing them to room temperature before you dig in.
Can I Freeze These?
You certainly can! To freeze Christmas sprinkle cookies, place the cooled cookies onto a baking sheet and freeze them for 1 hour. After that, transfer them to a freezer bag, squeeze out all the air and seal it, then freeze the cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw out frozen cookies in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before enjoying.
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Print
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 36
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and chewy homemade sugar cookies are covered in your favorite holiday sprinkles – these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies are perfect for Santa’s cookie plate! They’re made with kitchen staples and great for getting the kids involved.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (358g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (233g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (28g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup – 1 1/4 cups Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined, but don’t over-mix. It will be thick and a little sticky.
- Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll the dough into a ball, then roll each ball in the additional sprinkles to coat them. Set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes. The cookies will spread and the centers will look soft, but should look done. Don’t over-bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 113
- Sugar: 8.9 g
- Sodium: 70.8 mg
- Fat: 6.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.2 g
- Protein: 1.3 g
- Cholesterol: 23.8 mg
More Christmas Cookie Ideas
Want more easy cookie recipes to elevate your holiday baking? Say no more!
I have a pound of Christmas sprinkles I didn’t use. The bag is not opened. Can I freeze them till next year? Thank you!
Do we need to chill this dough before baking to avoid spreading?