Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies are a fun twist on a regular sugar cookie. These cookies are soft & chewy, full of buttery vanilla flavor, and coated in bright rainbow sprinkles!

Sugar cookies on the counter covered with sprinkles and text on the photo that reads "Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies."

Sprinkle Cookie Recipe

I love making these cookies and customizing the sprinkles based on an upcoming holiday, a party theme, the birthday kid’s favorite colors, etc. But don’t let the bright sprinkles fool you, these cookies have the best flavor and texture that will keep even the adults coming back for seconds.

Several rainbow sprinkle cookies on the counter with a striped dish towel in the background.

Ingredients for Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

Salted Butter (softened) – If you only have unsalted butter, just add an extra pinch of salt to the dough.
Margarine (softened) – You’ll notice this recipe calls for both butter and margarine. This combination creates a soft and chewy cookie with a buttery, crisp, melt-in-your-mouth edge. However, you can use all butter or all margarine if you’re in a pinch.
Granulated Sugar – Because this is a sugar cookie base, you don’t need any brown sugar in this recipe.
Egg
Light Corn Syrup – The corn syrup makes this cookie extra chewy. However, if you don’t have any, it won’t ruin the cookie without it.
Vanilla Extract – This is my favorite kind.
Butter Extract – Just trust me on the butter extract – it makes this cookie almost taste like funfetti cake! If you only have vanilla extract, increase to 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla. However, it’s totally worth it to use butter extract because it will make these cookies taste out of this world!
All Purpose Flour
Baking Soda – We use baking soda in this recipe to help the cookies spread, rather than puff up. It also gives the cookies that perfect crisp edge we’re looking for.
Salt – This is my go-to salt for baking.
Rainbow Sprinkles – You can use any sprinkles here. I love using rainbow sprinkles or a festive holiday mix depending on the upcoming holiday. I always purchase sprinkles in bulk from the grocery store bakery – it’s so much cheaper that way!

Sugar cookie dough balls rolled in rainbow sprinkles, sitting on parchment paper before baking.

How to Make Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, cream together the margarine, butter, and sugar until well combined.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are in the mixture.
Now add in the egg, corn syrup, vanilla, and butter extract and continue to mix until well combined.
Scrape the sides of the bowl again, then add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until a soft dough forms.
Portion out the cookie dough into your desired cookie size. For small cookies, use 1 1/2 tbsp of dough (I use my #50 scoop for this). For medium cookies, use about 3 tbsp of dough.
Roll each portion of dough into a ball and then roll/press the sprinkles onto the outside of the ball. Then place each sprinkle cookie dough ball onto your prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 7-9 minutes (small cookies) or 9-11 minutes (medium cookies). To know the cookies are done baking, they should have flattened, spread, and no longer look wet or glossy in the center.
Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan (about 5 minutes) before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy!

Sprinkle cookies on a cookie sheet after baking.

Do you put sprinkles on before or after baking cookies?

Always put sprinkles on cookies before baking so the sprinkles can stick to the dough, otherwise they won’t stick to the baked cookies. In this recipe specifically, we roll the dough in sprinkles to create an outer layer, but you could also simply just mix sprinkles into the cookie dough for a different look.

Will my sprinkles burn in the oven if I put them on the cookies before baking?

Nope! As long as you follow the recipe and use the correct oven temperature, you should have no problems with sprinkles burning while baking.

How to store Sprinkle Cookies:

Store your Sprinkle Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you want the cookies to stay fresh longer, store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Several sprinkle cookies on the counter with a striped towel in the background and a bite taken out of one cookie.

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