These soft Funfetti Cookies are fun, colorful, easy to make. They are ready to eat in 30 minutes with no need to chill the dough, no need to get fussy, no need for frills beyond a boatload of rainbow sprinkles. These cookies taste like birthday cake batter and are the kind of cookies you can bake anytime, for any occasion, and everyone will love them.
Welcome to the colorful world of funfetti cookies made from scratch without funfetti cake mix! These are sure to brighten anyone’s day or be the star of your next birthday party alongside a chocolate chip cookie cake, frosted sugar cookies (Lofthouse copycat!) and lemon blondies. Or perhaps lean into the funfetti and make a funfetti cake and funfetti cupcakes with funfetti frosting! Too much? Never.
The dough is made with cream cheese and both vanilla and almond extracts, so the results are uniquely tender, chewy and flavorful. These easy cookies can be made entirely in a food processor or in a stand mixer. If you make them in a food processor, you don’t even need to soften the butter and cream cheese!
Table of contents
Why You Will Love these Funfetti Cookies
- No chill cookie recipe. There is no need to refrigerate the cookie dough before baking! If you made them with softened butter and cream cheese, chilling will make them thicker, but it still isn’t necessary.
- The softest funfetti cookies on the internet. The cream cheese in this recipe yields extra-soft, extra-tender and perfectly chewy sugar cookies with a bit of a tangy flavor.
- Make the dough in a stand mixer, food processor, or by hand! There is nothing standing between you and making the best funfetti cookies ever.
Professional Tips for Making Confetti Cookies
- Funfetti your way. I rolled my cookies in the sprinkles but you could mix the sprinkles in the dough.
- Don’t overwork the dough. As soon as the dough clumps up in the food processor or incorporates in a stand mixer, stop the machine. Even if you have a few bits of sugar or flour that haven’t been incorporated into the dough, you can use your hands to work them in; it’s better than overmixing the dough and ending up with tough cookies.
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose Flour: Sentence about specific choices and why they are important or what role the ingredient plays in the dish. Include ingredient name for affiliate link.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: The combination of baking powder and baking soda give just the right amount of leavening.
- Kosher Salt
- Cream Cheese: I use full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese for baking (and eat, but that’s beside the point). You could also use low-fat cream cheese in these cookies but not the whipped variety. Cookies made with low-fat will be less thick and chewy. Your cookie, your call.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar in this recipe for the best texture.
- Unsalted Butter: I use unsalted butter when baking, so that I can control the total amount of salt and resulting flavor.
- Whole Large Egg: If you don’t have large eggs, just beat them well and measure out 50g. Done.
- Vanilla Extract: Use a quality vanilla extract that you love because it is one of the dominant flavors in this cookie.
- Almond Extract: I love Nielson Massey almond extract forever an always but use what you have on hand.
- Rainbow Sprinkles: I use jimmies (the longer rod-like sprinkles ) because they ensure the most sprinkle coverage per cookie square inch and they hold their shape and color well during the baking process. You can certainly try using nonpareils, but I don’t love their flavor as much. Personal preference.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Cream Cheese: The cream cheese is integral in this recipe just like with apricot kolacky. If you don’t have cream cheese, I recommend making these chewy sugar cookies instead and just adding ½ cup sprinkles to the dough after incorporating the dry ingredients.
- Use festive sprinkles instead: Use different colored sprinkles to celebrate a variety of holidays like Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day or July 4th!
- Bake bars instead: Press this dough into a 9-inch square baking dish lined with parchment and bake until the center has puffed and the top is a light golden brown. Cool and frost with an easy vanilla buttercream or cream cheese buttercream! And more sprinkles, of course!
How to Make Chewy Funfetti Cookies
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2: In a medium bowl or in the bowl of a food processor add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt). If using a food processor, pulse until well-mixed, otherwise whisk together and set aside.
Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Cream until a paste forms. If using a food processor just add the butter, cream cheese and sugar straight to the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture is powdery and clumpy.
Step 4: In the stand mixer add the egg and extracts and beat until smooth. If using the food processor simply Add in the egg, vanilla and almond extract to the other ingredients; process mixture just until a dough forms.
You can also add ½ cup sprinkles directly to the dough at this point. If making the dough in the stand mixer, just dump them in right after the last bit of flour incorporates, but if using the food processor, you’ll want to mix them in using a wooden spoon. The food processor will just pulverize the sprinkles!
Step 5: Using a 1 1/2-tablespoon (#40) cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll each piece of dough between your hands into a ball, then roll in a bowl of sprinkles to coat. Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
Step 6: Once you’ve rolled all the dough balls in sprinkles, use the bottom of a drinking glass (or your fingers) to gently press each cookie into a ¼ – ½ inch dish.
Step 7: Bake 9 to 11 minutes until lightly golden; cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store baked funfetti cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature or for 2 months frozen. You can also store them in the refrigerator but I find cookies stored in the refrigerator take on extra moisture which affects their texture.
You can bake them from frozen but, if freezing the dough, I would incorporate the sprinkles into the dough before rolling in balls and freezing. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake as directed. They will most likely take 11-12 minutes.
You do not need to chill the cookie dough before baking especially if you made the dough with cold ingredients in the food processor! If you use softened butter and cream cheese, chilling the dough will make for thicker cookies, but it still isn’t necessary.
Funfetti Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup cream cheese, 2 oz, not softened, cut into cubes
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
- 1 ¼ cups rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor*, pulse flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda until well combined. Add cream cheese, sugar and butter; continue to pulse mixture until it appears powdery, with very small bits of butter. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract, if desired; process mixture just until a dough forms.
- Use a cookie scoop** to scoop out dough in 1 1/2-tablespoon portions, one at a time. Roll dough between hands to soften and form into a ball. Place sprinkles in a bowl; drop dough ball into sprinkles and roll until dough is completely covered in sprinkles. Transfer to prepared cookie sheet.
- Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets (you’ll probably have to bake in batches). Using the flat bottom of a drinking glass, gently press each cookie dough ball to a 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch disc.
- Bake cookies 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- *If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a stand mixer or bowl with an electric hand mixer instead! Just be sure, then, to use softened cream cheese and butter. If the dough feels too soft once mixed, pop it in the fridge for up to 20 minutes to firm it up a bit.
- **I use a #40 cookie scoop for these cookies to get the ideal size.
- Variations: Use different colored sprinkles to celebrate a variety of holidays like Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day or July 4th! You can also add about 1/2 cup sprinkles directly to the dough.
- Cookie recipe is adapted from Deb of Smitten Kitchen.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
These confetti cookies look absolutely delightful! I love how soft and festive they are—perfect for any celebration. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing! ??
Hi there! They are delightful, excited for you to try. Happy baking!
These confetti cookies look absolutely delightful! I love how soft and colorful they are. Can’t wait to try making them for our next family gathering. Thanks for sharing the recipe! ??
Absolutely! Happy baking! ~gvd team
These confetti cookies look absolutely adorable! I love how soft and chewy they seem—perfect for any celebration. Can’t wait to try this recipe for my next family gathering! ??
Hi! That’s great, we hope you do! ~gvd team
These confetti cookies look absolutely delightful! I can’t wait to try out this recipe for my next get-together. The idea of soft funfetti sugar cookies is just perfect—thanks for sharing!
Hi Charlie! Our pleasure, excited you’ll be sharing these cookies with your pals! ~gvd team
Thanks for the recipe. It turned out very tasty. Only instead of refined sugar I used a substitute.