Chewy Vanilla Funfetti Sugar Cookies
These easy Funfetti Sugar Cookies are soft and chewy in the center and packed full of happy, colorful sprinkles!

What I love about these fun cookies is how festive they are, making them perfect for parties, birthdays, bake sales or a fun weekend of baking. Theyโre buttery, vanilla flavored and perfect for bringing out the kid in all of us or keeping the kids busy with a simple baking project.
Before we get stuck into todays cookies, I have so many great cookie recipes on the site. I love these Chocolate Brownie Cookies, Easy Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars and these Caramel Crunch Brownie Bars! Technically not a cookie, but delicious!
Letโs talk sprinkles!
Ok, first of all we have really bad sprinkles in Australia. Theyโre terrible in every way, shape, size, color brightness and their ability to be used in bakes. Thereโs no getting around that.
You need to use the right sprinkles in these cookies. Specifically, American-style, rainbow Jimmies. These are coated in something that stops them bleeding in your cake batter and cookies. They also donโt dissolve into a sugary mess.
Americans, you can pretty much get these anywhere. Fancy Sprinkles make them, Wilton makes them. Aussies, our options are limited but we have some! Lollipop Cake Supplies have them, check out their site for ordering options.
Why youโll love these cookies!
Thereโs so many things love about these cookies! These are your typical buttery, chewy cookie but packed with funfetti sprinkles. Theyโre a great recipe for any occasion!
- Theyโre quick and easy to make.
- Soft and chewy
- Buttery
- Made with simple ingredients.
- Freezer friendly
- Perfect for parties
- Great for ice cream sandwiches.
I Tortured Myself So You Donโt Have To.
Yes, I went through four batches of testing this recipe with varied results, but the 4th batch was perfect!
Batch 1
Standard cookie recipe. Eggs, egg yolk (chewier richer cookie) butter (softened, will try melted in upcoming cookie recipe) flour brown and granulated sugar with baking powder and salt. Scooped and chilled for 2 hours to let the flavours meld. The cookie was way too buttery. The edges burned too quickly, middle was raw and the cookie was really flat. Tasted good though!
Batch 2
Increased flour from 200g to 225g to balance buttery result, increased baking powder to help it rise more (did it work?), increased salt from 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp. Way too salty, could taste the baking powder, flour helped.
Batch 3 & 4
Back down to 3/4 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. 225g flour. Only difference between 3 & 4 was the sugar. Same exact amount but batch 3 has more brown than white and batch 4 more white than brown. Interestingly, batch 3 with more brown cooked quicker. But ultimately batch 4 was a whiter cookie which helped the sprinkles pop.
I loved the ripples on batch 1. Thereโs two things I love looking at: cookie ripples and curved brick designs on houses. If I see curved bricks, I slow the car down to appreciate the design. Got slight rippling on batch 4, but itโs a great tasting sprinkle cookie thatโs really easy to make! Recipe coming next week! Wait till you see whatโs coming this week!
Ingredients You Need To Make Funfetti Sugar Cookies
Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page โ just scroll down to the bottom, or click the โJump to Recipeโ button at the top of this post.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour, also known as plain flour.
- Baking powder – this lightens the texture of these cookies and helps them rise a little.
- Salt – I used fine salt.
- Rainbow sprinkles – itโs important to use the right sprinkles here. The ones I used were American Style Rainbow Sprinkles. These are slightly shiny in appearance, bright in color and donโt bleed in bakes. If youโre in Australia, these are really hard to find, but you can use confetti sprinkles. These are different to 100โs and 1000โs.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter. Make sure your butter is softened.
- Granulated sugar – this is regular white sugar.
- Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar. Anything darker will affect the appearance of the cookies. Essentially, the sprinkles wont pop in color as much.
- Eggs – I used large eggs in this recipe. The addition of an egg yolk helps make these cookies a little richer and chewier.
- Vanilla extract – the imitate the flavor of a classic birthday funfetti cake. Itโs dirt cheap to use and for a good reason. Itโs artificial flavoring. If using imitation vanilla extract is something that would keep you up at night, then you can of course use REAL Vanilla Extract. I have a great recipe for it here.
How to make Funfetti Sugar Cookies!
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Add the sprinkles.
- Mix together.
- Cream the sugar and butter together.
- Add the eggs and egg yolks and mix.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.
- Mix only until no dry ingredients are showing.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out cookie balls.
- Place on a tray and chill for 2 hours
- Bake until slightly golden around the sides.
- Use a cookie cutter to shuffle around the sides as soon as they come out of the oven.
Tips and Tricks For Recipe Success!
- Make sure you measure out properly – using kitchen scales to weigh the ingredients is the best way to get delicious cookies ever single time.
- Use the right sprinkles! – these cookies are simple to make, but rely on using the right ingredients. You want to use American style Jimmies. Australian readers, these are different from the sprinkles we have in AU. Iโve written more about this at the beginning of this blog post.
- Room temperature ingredients – make sure your butter is softened and your eggs are at room temperature.
- Use baking paper or a silicone mat to make sure your cookies donโt stick.
- Cookies are super soft when they come out of the oven, they firm up as they cool!
- Use a round cookie cutter to shuffle around the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven to get nice round shapes.
- Scoop your cookie batter before chilling as the dough firms up and makes it impossible to scoop once chilled.
Frequently Asked Questions about Funfetti Sugar Cookies
What does it taste like?
These cookies are unique in flavor, instead of using regular, good quality vanilla extract
How do I store the cookies?
Store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yep! You can freeze the rolled/scooped cookie dough balls before baking and then bake whenever you want fresh cookies! Simply place on a baking tray and freeze before placing in a zip lock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months!
Gave this a go? Donโt forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!
If you loved this recipe, check these out!
Brownie Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Soft Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Lofthouse Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @thescranline on Facebook and Instagram!
Chewy Vanilla Funfetti Sugar Cookies
Serves 15
Ingredients
Funfetti Sugar Cookies
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 95 g rainbow sprinkles, (see notes)
- 190 g unsalted butter, softened
- 160 g granulated sugar
- 100 g brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 / 12 g egg yolk
- 1 tsp / 5 ml imitation vanilla extract, (see notes)
Instructions
Funfetti Sugar Cookies
- Into a medium bowl, sift the flour baking powder and salt. Use a whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Add the softened butter and both sugars into a large bowl and use an electric hand beater to cream until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the dry ingredients and sprinkles and use a spatula to mix until a dough forms. Take care not to overwork otherwise youโll end up with tough cookies.
- Use a medium scoop (about 2 tbsp) to scoop out 15 cookie dough balls. Place on a large baking tray lined with baking paper and chill in the fridge for 2 hours, overnight for a truly delicious and fudgy cookie experience!
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 150C/300F (175C/350F with no fan). Space the cookies out onto two baking trays lined with baking paper. Bake one tray at a time in the middle rack for 10 minutes or until golden around the edges.
- To make your cookies perfectly round, use a cookie cutter to shuffle around the soft cookies until they form a rounder shape. Allow to cool completely before serving.
4 comments
Sooooo yummy. I made for a friend get-together, and she said they were so good that I should sell them! They were definitely a hit!
How amazing Mary! N x
It’s just a little too sweet for us, but they were well received at my daughter’s bake sale ๐
Glad to hear it Laly!