Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
A fun Christmas cookie to make with the kids, these Sprinkle Sugar Cookies don’t require any rolling, fancy icing work, or a huge time investment. They’re simple, quick and super cute – the kids will be so proud of their cookies!
Christmas Sprinkle Cookies Recipe
One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is blast some Christmas music and bake cookies with my daughter.
We always have so much fun in the kitchen – and part of that is picking out recipes that she can help make that don’t require a ton of precision or fancy baking skills. We all know kids will lose interest or feel frustrated if mom has to step in or keep correcting through the baking process.
These sugar cookies are almost foolproof, and my daughter loves getting to shape the dough into balls and roll it through pretty Christmas sprinkles.
Pro tip: don’t worry too much if some of the cookie balls are bigger than others – when the kids are all done rolling their cookies, try to match similar-sized cookie balls to bake together to ensure even baking. We usually have at least one tray of cookie dough balls that are bigger than the others, but by baking them together we allow them to have an even baking time.
These Christmas sugar cookies are soft and pillowy with a delicate sugar cookie flavor that is not too sweet, so the crunchy sprinkle coating doesn’t overwhelm them.
You can use this method of making sprinkle cookies to make different themed cookies all year round!
- Pink, white and red sprinkles for Valentine’s Day
- Rainbow sprinkles for St. Patrick’s Day
- Pastel colored for Easter
- Red, white and blue for 4th of July
- Orange, black and white for Halloween
- Orange, red and yellow for Thanksgiving
Recipe Questions
Can this cookie dough be frozen? The unbaked dough or the baked cookies can be frozen for up to a month. Some people may say that the cookie dough can be frozen for up to three months, but you will see a quality loss around the 2 month mark.
What can I use instead of cream of tartar? The cream of tartar helps make these sugar cookies puffy and light. You can swap it out for baking powder for a similar effect, but they won’t be quite as pillowy soft without using cream of tartar.
Why do I need to refrigerate the sugar cookie dough before baking? Refrigerating the dough for an hour prevents the dough from spreading too quickly during baking – which would result in a thin, crispy cookie. Refrigerating the dough allows it to maintain it’s pillowy, thick shape.
Christmas Sprinkle Cookie Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, room temperature
- Vegetable Oil
- White Sugar
- Powdered Icing Sugar <– the combination of sugars allows these cookies to be soft and pillowy, not crunchy
- Large Egg, room temperature
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract <– this secret ingredient gives these sugar cookies an amazing flavor profile
- All-purpose Flour, plus more for rolling
- Baking Soda
- Cream of Tartar
- Christmas Sprinkles
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: I love adding almond extract to my sugar cookies to give them an extra dimension of flavor, but you can stick to just vanilla extract, if desired.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
- Cutting board
- Cookie Scoop
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Sheets
- Cooling racks <– I have and love these tiered cooling racks, they save so much counter space and are also oven-safe
- Small bowls
How to Make Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, oil, sugar and icing sugar.
Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
Refrigerate dough for 1 hour or overnight.
Place the Christmas sprinkles in a bowl or on a plate.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Roll the dough into 2 Tablespoon-sized balls.
Roll the dough balls in the prepared sprinkles and then set on the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are beginning to brown.
Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
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Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
A fun Christmas Sprinkle Cookie you can make with the kids! No fancy baking steps, rolling or tedious decorating - an easy recipe that lets you focus on having fun.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered icing sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup Christmas Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, oil, sugar and icing sugar.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
- Refrigerate dough for 1 hour or overnight.
- Place the Christmas sprinkles in a bowl or on a plate.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll the dough into 2 Tablespoon-sized balls.
- Roll the dough balls in the prepared sprinkles and then set on the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are beginning to brown.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
You can omit the almond extract and just use vanilla extract to make these sugar cookies.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 124Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 40mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 1g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your kids love getting to make these easy sugar cookies with you even more than they like eating them!
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