Birthday Cake Cookies

These birthday cake cookies are a sweet and simple way to celebrate someone’s special day. Soft, buttery, and full of colorful rainbow sprinkles, these cookies are the perfect treat for a birthday party or to package up as a birthday gift.

Whether you’re baking these for a birthday celebration, a cookie gift box, or a custom order, they’re a fun, festive variation of the classic sugar cookie that always brings joy.

🎉 Say "happy birthday" with more options like this funfetti cookie recipe:

• 4-Inch Mini Birthday Cake: A petite, sprinkle-packed funfetti cake that's perfect for smaller celebrations and gatherings.
• Chocolate sprinkles cookies: Birthday cookies made for the chocolate lover in your life, these are packed with rainbow sprinkles.
• Funfetti Oreo Cookies: These funfetti cookies double the nostalgia with Oreos and a whole lot of colorful sprinkles.
• Big batch chocolate chip cookies: If you need a simple treat for a big crowd or celebration, this recipe yields 40 cookies.

Jump to:

• ⭐ Why You’ll Love This Birthday Cookie Recipe
• 📋 Key Ingredients in Birthday Sugar Cookies
• Best Results: Baking in Grams
• 💡 Substitutions and Variations
• 📖 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🤫 Secret to Perfectly Round Cookies
• More Tips for the Best Cookies 
• ❄️ Freezing and Storing These Sweet Treats
• 🎊 More Desserts for Celebrations
• Birthday Cake Cookies

⭐ Why You’ll Love This Birthday Cookie Recipe

• Ideal for any celebration – Whether it’s a first birthday or your best friend’s birthday party, this is the perfect cookie to make someone feel special.
• Customizable – Feel free to add white chocolate chips to your cookie dough if you are a white chocolate fan and want an even sweeter cookie!
• Great for gifting – These cookies hold their shape well and look beautiful in a clear bag or airtight container as party favors or birthday gifts.

📋 Key Ingredients in Birthday Sugar Cookies

The recipe card contains all the steps and ingredients for making these cookies. Below are a few key items that bring flavor to this recipe for chocolate cookies and cream cookies. 

• Unsalted butter, melted and cooled – Melt the butter and let it sit for about 15 minutes before using. This gives the cookies a slightly chewy texture while still keeping them soft.
• Granulated Sugar – Sweetens the dough while helping it hold its shape. White sugar also helps cookies spread while baking.
• Light brown sugar – Adds a subtle molasses flavor and helps with softness, creating nice, chewy cookies.
• Vanilla Extract – Adds warmth and depth.
• Almond Extract - For that classic birthday cake flavor, some recipes calls for cake batter extract. I don't have enough of a need to keep that on hand, but I find that combining vanilla and almond extracts gives a similar flavor and feel to your cookies.
• An egg and egg yolk, at room temperature – Eggs help bind ingredients. Eggs in general, along with the added yolk, add richness and moisture.
• Baking soda and powder – This combo gives the cookies just the right lift and spread.
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt – While we love a sweet cookie, salt is actually very important for balancing and giving the right amount of sweetness. Note that if you're using table salt, add half the amount called for.
• All-Purpose Flour – Be sure to measure with a kitchen scale or spoon and level method to avoid a dry dough.
• flour if the dough seems too sticky.
• Rainbow sprinkles – For that classic birthday look, this ingredient is a must! I prefer to use jimmies-style sprinkles (the ones shaped like tubes), but various options like nonpareil sprinkles from high-quality brands like Wilton, Betty Crocker, and others should work fine, too.

💡 Substitutions and Variations

🎨 Choose a theme – Celebrating a baby shower for a little boy or a fun bachelorette party? Use all blue, pink, or whatever sprinkle colors you like to lean into a particular theme or celebration!
🌈 Color the dough – Add gel food coloring to the dough for a vibrant, personalized look.
🧁 Turn them into sandwich cookies – Make a vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting to place between two cookies for a different take on these chewy birthday cake cookies.

📖 Step-by-Step Instructions

Mix the Wet Ingredients - In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the cooled melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pure vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until well-mixed and slightly thickened.

Add Egg, Salt, and Leaveners - Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, egg, and egg yolk. Mix on medium speed for 45 seconds until fully incorporated.

Add the Flour - Add the flour and mix on medium speed for about one minute.

Combine Sprinkles - Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and Add the rainbow sprinkles. Mix just until combined, about 30 seconds more. Don’t overmix once the sprinkles are added.

Scoop and Bake - Scoop cookie dough balls into small mounds that are about two-thirds the size of a golf ball. Place them about 2 inches apart on your baking sheets.

Bake - Bake for 10–11 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden brown and the centers look slightly underdone. They’ll continue baking as they cool.

Cool - Let the baked cookies sit on the sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack once they’re firm enough to handle.

🤫 Secret to Perfectly Round Cookies

As soon as your cookies exit the oven, you can also help shape and round them if you'd like.

🥛 Use a cookie cutter or even the open side of a glass that's slightly bigger than the cookies to gently slide them into a more circular shape. 

More Tips for the Best Cookies 

Below are some general tips to keep in mind when baking this cookie recipe and any recipe, really:

1. Periodically check the freshness of your leavening agents. Mix a pinch of baking powder with hot water to see if it reacts. For baking soda, you can mix a pinch of it with a few drops of something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice. If your leavening agents have no reaction (i.e. you see no fizzing or bubbling), it means they also won’t help your ingredients rise during the baking process. 
2. Before diving into the recipe, clear your workspace and set out all your ingredients in front of you. This will make it less likely that you’ll forget to leave something important out of your mixing bowl! 

❄️ Freezing and Storing These Sweet Treats

Room temperature - These cookies will stay fresh at room temperature (around 70°F) for about 3-4 days. Keep them in an airtight container.

Refrigerating - Instead of refrigerating them between servings, I'd recommend freezing. Bring them out in small quantities at a time if you plan to share them over the course of more than 3 days.

Freezing - They also freeze well for up to three months in an airtight container.

I add wax or parchment paper between the layers as I stack them. 

To enjoy, let them come to room temperature before serving. You may also gently warm them for a few seconds on low speed in the microwave.  

🎊 More Desserts for Celebrations

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