These soft and chewy birthday cake cookies are packed with white chocolate and rainbow sprinkles. Made with clear vanilla extract, they deliver that classic birthday cake flavor in a delightful cookie form!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
Nostalgic Birthday Cake Flavor: These cookies feature clear vanilla extract, reminiscent of the classic taste found in vanilla birthday cakes and funfetti treats.
Soft and Chewy Texture: With a soft center and crisp edges, these sugar cookies offer the perfect balance of chewiness and crunch.
Quick and Easy to Make: No need for softened butter or a hand mixer! Made with melted butter, these cookies come together in no time and can be ready in under an hour.
TOOLS
Baking Sheet: You can use any baking sheet or tray for baking your cookies. Make sure to line it with parchment paper cut to size to prevent the edges from lifting.
Electric Hand Mixer (Optional): While you can easily make these cookies without a hand mixer, I prefer to use one. It’s entirely optional; a regular whisk works just fine too.
4-Tablespoon Cookie Scooper: For best results, use a large cookie scooper to portion the dough—aim for a 3-tablespoon or 4-tablespoon scooper. Using more dough per cookie allows for better spreading, giving you that bakery-style look. If you’re aiming for smaller, bite-sized cookies, feel free to adjust the scooper size.
HOW TO MAKE BIRTHDAY CAKE COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 115 g unsalted butter, melted
- 125 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped (plus extra for topping)
- 50 g rainbow sprinkles (plus extra for topping)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Dry Mixture: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Wet Mixture: In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and granulated sugar using a hand mixer or whisk until smooth. Add the egg and clear vanilla extract, whisking until well incorporated.
- Combine Mixtures: Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until almost combined. Gently fold in the chopped white chocolate and rainbow sprinkles using a spatula to avoid overmixing.
- Scoop Cookie Dough: Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie to allow for spreading.
- Bake: Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers remain soft. In the last 2 minutes of baking, gently press a few extra pieces of white chocolate on top of each cookie and sprinkle with additional rainbow sprinkles.
- Cool: After removing the cookies from the oven, you can swirl them gently with a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies to create perfectly round edges (optional). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes until they are firm enough to handle, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
- Calories: 281 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.4 g
- Cholesterol: 43 mg
- Sodium: 209 mg
- Potassium: 59 mg
- Fiber: 1 g
- Sugar: 23 g
- Vitamin A: 314 IU
- Vitamin C: 0.1 mg
- Calcium: 40 mg
- Iron: 1 mg
STORAGE
These birthday cake cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
FREEZING
Baked Cookies: Store baked cookies in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour before enjoying.
Unbaked Cookie Dough: You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough for later use. Scoop the dough onto a baking tray or cutting board and freeze for 30-60 minutes until firm. Once set, transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
Baking from Frozen: To bake cookies directly from frozen, preheat your oven to 350°F and bake for about 15 minutes, which is a few minutes longer than if they were unfrozen.
