No Chill Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Quick and easy, these cute no chill sprinkle sugar cookies are a real Christmas treat!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Christmas baking season! These soft sugar cookies are a fantastic addition to your baking rotation. They are quick and easy, taking only about 30 minutes from start to ready for the cookie exchange. They are versatile. You can change the look by simply changing the sprinkles. And they taste delicious.
Christmas baking doesn’t have to take hours, and cookie plates don’t mean you have to slave away with royal icing and decorating tips (although if that’s your thing, more power to you). With just a few staple ingredients, no chill time, and a minimum of effort, you can create a fun and festive treat!
What do I need for No Chill Sprinkle Sugar Cookies?
Sprinkles: The star of the show! I like jimmie sprinkles — the little stick-like ones. Quins (the confetti-like ones), and nonpareils (the tiny balls) also work well. And although this recipe is clearly geared toward Christmas sprinkle sugar cookies, you can easily use any color scheme you’d like!
Butter or margarine: You can use either butter or margarine for this recipe. The difference? Margarine creates a more spread out cookie. Butter gives you a more puffy cookie, obviously with a stronger butter flavor. I recommend unsalted butter for this recipe, but if you use salted butter, just omit the added salt.
Granulated Sugar: What’s a sugar cookie without sugar? The sugar is here to lend sweetness, of course, but it, along with the fat from the egg, also helps keep the cookies tender.
Egg: The protein in the whites give structure to the cookies, while the yolk’s fat keeps these cookies soft and prevents them from being too dry.
Vanilla: Vanilla flavoring is just one of the options here. Feel free to change flavors by adding different extracts, or substitute almond or butter extract for the vanilla.
All Purpose Flour: I’ve never tested this recipe with any other kind of flour, so I can’t speak to how it would turn out. All purpose flour works perfectly to give this cookie structure and create that perfect shape.
Cornstarch: This is the secret ingredient. Adding cornstarch to the flour softens the proteins in the flour, giving you a softer cookie. That’s the secret to those bakery soft cookies.
Baking Soda: This is not the same as baking powder. Baking soda gives you just the right amount of leavening and also helps your cookies get that gorgeous golden color!
How do I make No Chill Sprinkle Sugar Cookies??
Next, you’ll add the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. Mix them in until you get a cookie dough. If it’s too dry, add water by 1/2 tsps until you get the desired consistency.
Since this is NOT a cut-out cookie recipe, you can skip kneading or rolling. Just make 1 inch balls, then roll them in your sprinkles. You may need to press the sprinkles in a bit. Don’t worry about coating the entire outside, just get a good portion of the dough ball covered. In fact, if you get too many sprinkles on the outside of the cookie, they can melt off and make things a bit messy.
Once you have your dough balls covered in sprinkles, bake them at 350° for 8-10 minutes. To keep the cookies soft, I recommend taking them out a minute or two before they’re fully cooked and allow them to develop on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before you move them to the cooling rack.
FAQs
Yes! You can sub either one in a 1:1 ratio. They can also be mixed to create different flavors!
Lemon extract, peppermint extract, and others taste great in this recipe! Simply add 1/2 tsp extract to start. If you want stronger flavor, you can increase the extract amount.
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
You can freeze the uncooked dough in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Some sprinkles will run if they’re exposed to any kind of condensation, so that makes freezing the baked cookies trickier. Check your sprinkles before freezing them on the baked cookies.
More Easy Christmas Cookie Ideas
No Chill Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter or margarine
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ sprinkles jimmies, quinns, or nonpareils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter.½ cup butter or margarine, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.1 egg, 3 tsp vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, and baking soda) and mix until a dough forms.1 ½ cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp cornstarch, ¾ tsp baking soda
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then roll the balls in the sprinkles.½ sprinkles
- Place the balls on greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool before serving.
