The butter and sugar turn creamy and light, and the dough starts to look like something you can roll without a fight. I used to rush straight from mixing to scooping; the soft dough stuck to my hands and made uneven balls. A short rest in the refrigerator makes these Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies easier to portion, with a soft center and edges that hold their shape.
There are sprinkles inside the dough and on top, so every bite has color and each cookie gets a bright finish. I keep the mixing gentle once the flour goes in, then let the dough chill before shaping. The cookies bake quickly, and the edges should be set with just a hint of gold when they come out. Their tops stay cheerful and crisp-looking against the tender sugar-cookie crumb.
Kitchen Note
Once the flour goes in, stop mixing as soon as it disappears into the dough. A few seconds too long can make sugar cookies tougher, and there’s no benefit to beating this dough smooth.
Save these Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies for a bright, buttery batch with colorful jimmies in every bite.
Why Half the Jimmies Go in the Dough and Half Stay on Top
Putting all the sprinkles into the dough gives you color throughout, but the cookies can look a little plain once they’re baked. Pressing some jimmies onto the tops gives each one a visible finish, while the portion mixed into the dough creates little pops of color in the crumb. Dividing them between the two jobs is what makes the cookies look festive both before and after you take a bite.
Use jimmies for this dough rather than treating every kind of sprinkle as interchangeable. Their longer shape stays easy to fold through the mixture and gives the tops distinct flecks of color. When you press the dough balls into the reserved jimmies, keep the coating on the top rather than rolling the entire ball in sprinkles. That leaves the sides mostly cookie-colored and helps the finished tops look bright without making the cookies all crunch.
The divided approach also gives you room to control the look. A generous sprinkle coating makes a more colorful top; a lighter press keeps the cookie surface visible. Either way, the jimmies mixed into the dough remain the surprise inside.
The Ingredients That Keep the Dough Tender and the Colors Bright
- Unsalted butter — Softened butter creams smoothly with the sugar and gives the dough its rich cookie texture. Regular grocery-store butter works well; it doesn’t need to be a specialty brand. If salted butter is what you have, use it and leave out the kosher salt.
- Granulated sugar — This gives the cookies their familiar sweet flavor and helps the butter mixture turn creamy and light. Stick with granulated sugar here; brown sugar would add moisture and a deeper flavor, changing the cookie’s texture and color.
- Large egg — The egg binds the dough and adds moisture. Use a large egg as written; a smaller one can leave the mixture drier, while a larger one can make it softer and harder to portion.
- Vanilla extract — Vanilla rounds out the buttery sweetness. Pure vanilla is lovely, but standard imitation vanilla works too, so this is a place where you don’t need to spend extra.
- All-purpose flour — Flour gives the cookies enough structure to hold their round shape. If you’re measuring by volume, fluff the flour before filling the cup and level it off; packing it down can leave the dough heavy and dry.
- Baking powder — This gives the cookies a little lift without turning them into cakey puffs. Check that your baking powder is fresh, since an old container may not help the dough rise as intended.
- Christmas jimmies — Choose the long, rod-shaped sprinkles for easy mixing and a colorful top. The colors can change to suit another occasion, but jimmies are the right shape for this dough.
From Creamed Butter to Set, Golden Edges
Cream the butter and sugar until light
Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. The mixture should look creamy and light, not like separate bits of butter and sugar. Scrape down the bowl if you see butter clinging to the sides. Beat in the egg and vanilla until the mixture looks smooth.
Bring the flour mixture into the dough
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl so the leavener is distributed. Add the dry mixture gradually to the butter mixture, mixing only until it comes together. Fold in half of the jimmies by hand so they don’t break up under the mixer. Cover the bowl before chilling so the dough doesn’t dry out.
Chill, scoop, and top each cookie
Refrigerate the covered dough for 30 minutes. Line two 18×13-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, then scoop the dough into 1 1/2-tablespoon portions and roll each portion into a ball. Press the top of each ball into the reserved jimmies, then arrange 12 cookies on each sheet with about 2 inches between them. If the dough feels sticky while you shape it, return it to the refrigerator briefly rather than adding extra flour.
Bake until the edges are just turning gold
Heat the oven to 350°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Bake the two sheets for 10–12 minutes, switching their rack positions and rotating them halfway through so the cookies bake more evenly. Look for set edges that are just beginning to turn golden; the centers will still look softer. Cool the cookies on their sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Three Simple Ways to Change These Sprinkle Cookies
Make them gluten-free
Replace the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of a cup-for-cup gluten-free baking blend that includes xanthan gum. The dough may feel a little more delicate, so keep the chill and handle the portions gently. Check that the jimmies and other packaged ingredients are labeled gluten-free if that matters for your needs.
Trade vanilla for almond
Use 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in place of the vanilla for a more pronounced, bakery-style almond note. Almond extract is stronger, so don’t swap it teaspoon for teaspoon. The cookies will taste less like classic vanilla sugar cookies and more like almond-scented sprinkle cookies.
Add a little orange
Beat 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest into the butter and sugar before adding the egg. The citrus makes the cookies smell brighter and gives their sweetness a fresh edge without changing the sprinkle method.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They’ll soften a little as they sit.
- Freezer: Freeze cooled cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months. Separate layers with parchment, then thaw at room temperature.
- Reheating: These cookies are good at room temperature. For a warm cookie, microwave one briefly and check after a few seconds; too long can make it soft and chewy.
Questions That Come Up While Baking These Cookies
Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds, and line two 18x13-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until creamy and light, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and kosher salt.
- Gradually mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined.
- Fold in 1/2 cup of the Christmas jimmies.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Scoop the dough into 1 1/2-tablespoon portions and roll them into balls.
- Press the tops into the remaining 1/4 cup Christmas jimmies.
- Arrange 12 cookies on each baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes, switching the sheets between racks and rotating them halfway through, until the edges are set and just beginning to turn golden.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
