These super fluffy and soft Christmas sprinkle sugar cookies are the best holiday dessert to share! They are drop-style, no-chill sugar cookies that are quick and easy to make at home with simple ingredients. Festive red and green sprinkles are baked inside the cookies for the ultimate sugar cookie flavor.
Baking sugar cookies with sprinkles doesn't get easier than this recipe. Skip the process of chilling the dough, rolling the cookies, and cutting out shapes. While that's fun on occasion, sometimes you need a super easy cookie recipe for the holidays. These Christmas sprinkle cookies are perfect for all your holiday parties this season!
Add these cookies to a holiday cookie box and pair them with these easy 3-ingredient peanut butter blossoms, these thumbprint cookies with icing, and these gluten-free gingerbread cookies! Need one more? Try these snickerdoodles!
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Why You'll Love These Cookies
- These are soft-baked sugar cookies that are super fluffy and chewy!
- The no-chill recipe is quick and easy to make at home with simple ingredients.
- Drop-style sugar cookies with sprinkles take all the fuss out of holiday baking.
- Festive sprinkles are baked into the dough and sprinkled on top to create the best Christmas cookies to share with friends and family.
- These cookies are gluten-free and dairy-free friendly for everyone to enjoy.
Ingredients
You can make these holiday sugar cookies with only 7 simple ingredients. Below are some helpful ingredient notes. Be sure to see the recipe card for all information.
- Granulated sugar - Sweetens the cookies and gives them that classic sugar cookie flavor. You may also use cane sugar.
- Salted butter - The butter should be just soft enough to mix, but not too warm, or the cookies will spread too much. Salted butter tones down the sweetness. Alternatively, you can use unsalted butter and add ½ teaspoon salt.
- Egg - Binds the ingredients and makes the cookies super fluffy and soft.
- Vanilla extract - Pure vanilla extract provides the best flavor.
- Flour - Use gluten-free 1-1 baking flour or normal all-purpose flour. Be sure not to pack the flour into the measuring cup or the cookies will be too dry.
- Baking soda - Helps the cookies rise into their soft and fluffy shape.
- Christmas sprinkles - I recommend red and green jimmy sprinkles or nonpareils. Christmas shapes sprinkles often melt in the oven.
Step-by-Step Instructions
These Christmas cookies are quick and easy to make for the holidays! Here are step-by-step instructions for how to make the best Christmas sugar cookies with sprinkles:
STEP 1: Beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until smooth, light, and fluffy. This usually takes 1-3 minutes.
STEP 2: Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
STEP 3: Add the flour and baking soda to the bowl and mix gently on low speed until just combined, being careful not to over-mix the cookie dough.
STEP 4: Gently fold the Christmas sprinkles into the cookie dough until evenly incorporated. Don't over mix or the sprinkles will be crushed.
STEP 5: Use a cookie scoop to form small to medium-sized balls of cookie dough. Roll each ball in sprinkles until it's well coated, and place them on a baking sheet 2-3" apart.
STEP 6: Bake the cookies at 400ºF for 7-10 minutes or until the cookies have spread and edges appear set. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
TIP: Get creative with your holiday sprinkles and do multiple versions from one batch! Have 2-4 small dishes of different sprinkles for a nice variety of red, green, and mixed Christmas sprinkles to make a beautiful Christmas cookie tray to share.
Need another holiday dessert? These red velvet brownies with cake mix are easy to make on the fly for a last-minute treat!
Expert Baking Tips
- Use cool butter - It is important that the butter is not too warm or soft, or the cookies will spread too much. The butter should be soft enough to mix, but still quite firm and slightly cool to the touch.
- Properly measure flour - Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off for accuracy. Avoid directly scooping the measuring cup into the flour. This will create dry cookies that do not spread properly.
- Don't over-mix the dough - Mix the dough until the dry ingredients are just combined. Don't mix too long or the cookies will be dense instead of fluffy.
- Slightly under-bake - The cookies should be slightly underdone because they will continue to bake as they cool. This helps make sure they have a soft and chewy texture inside.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Variations
Here are a few easy ways to customize these holiday sugar cookies to your liking:
- Thin and chewy - If you prefer a thin and chewy cookie instead of a thick and fluffy one, use room temperature or slightly warm butter and gently press the cookie dough balls into a flatter shape before baking.
- Cut-out cookies - Chill the dough for 1 hour and roll it out on a floured surface to make cut-out Christmas cookies with sprinkles. Just watch the baking time!
- Chocolate sugar cookies - Try this chocolate sprinkle cookie recipe and use festive holiday sprinkles for a delicious chocolate Christmas cookie recipe.
- Dairy-free - Use dairy-free butter to make dairy-free Christmas cookies.
You can make these pink sugar cookies and color them red and green for the holidays!
Frequently Asked Questions
Coat the cookie dough balls in sprinkles before baking. They will stick to the soft cookie dough balls and bake into the cookies as they spread in the oven.
You can make the sugar cookie dough up to 30 days ahead and freeze it until baking. Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days before serving and they will still be soft and taste great.
If the dough is cold, it is harder for the sprinkles to stick. Bring the dough to room temperature or roll the dough balls in your hands to soften them. You can gently press the sprinkles into the dough to ensure they stick.
If you over-measured the flour, the cookies will not spread very much. Chilled cookie dough does not spread as much as room-temperature dough. Make sure your oven is preheated before baking the cookies.
Use jimmy sprinkles or nonpareils sprinkles, which are generally safe for baking. Shaped sprinkles do not hold up to high heat in the oven and can melt.
Storage & Freezing
These cookies are easy to store. Keep leftover baked sprinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. This keeps them soft and fluffy.
For longer storage, you can freeze the cookies in an airtight container for up to 30 days. Remember to thaw the cookies for 1-2 hours before enjoying them again.
More Soft Cookie Recipes
Did you make these soft-baked christmas sprinkle sugar cookies? Please leave a star rating and review below. This supports my blog and helps other readers! Share your sprinkle cookies on Instagram or TikTok and remember to tag me. To stay updated with new recipes, follow me on Pinterest and join my email list. Happy baking!
Recipe
Soft Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- 1 Cookie Scoop
- 1-2 Baking Sheets
- 1-3 Small Dishes for Sprinkles
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter slightly softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour*
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup Christmas sprinkles plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup salted butter
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and evenly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the gluten-free flour and baking soda. Mix gently at low speed until just combined, being careful not to over-mix the dough!2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Turn the mixer off and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in ½ cup of Christmas sprinkles. The dough will be thick and sticky.½ cup Christmas sprinkles
- Use a medium cookie scoop to form evenly sized balls of cookie dough. Roll each ball of dough in sprinkles until fully coated. Place them on the prepared baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. (For flatter and chewier cookies, slightly flatten the cookie dough balls with your fingers before baking).
- Bake the sugar cookies for 7-10 minutes or until they have spread and the edges appear set. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
WOW. I found my new favorite christmas cookie recipe!! I love making sugar cookies but didn't have time to do the cut-out cookies for my holiday party this weekend. These were SO easy to make and they were done in under 30 minutes! I used dairy-free butter and they taste awesome. Everyone loved how soft and fluffy they were. Thanks!!
Hi Shari, thanks for such a kind review! I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much. Happy holidays and happy baking!
Such a great sugar cookie recipe for the holidays. I rolled them in red and green sanding sugar and they looked beautiful. My butter might’ve been a little warm because they spread more than the photos but I loved how they came out! Super chewy and awesome flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
Judith, so kind of you to share your thoughts! Sanding sugar sounds like a beautiful touch. Thinner cookies are even more soft and chewy so I am glad that you liked them. Enjoy!
These came out perfectly. I will be making them again closer to Christmas. It’s hard to find good gluten-free cookie recipes but you’d never know that these are gluten-free! I will probably make them all year and change the sprinkles because we liked them so much.
Hi Kim, I love the idea of making the sugar cookies all year and using different sprinkles for different holidays. You can leave out the sprinkles completely if you want a plain sugar cookie recipe. Enjoy them!
Tried the underbaking tip -- they came out perfectly!
I love the looks of these cookies. They are so cute and so easy to make!
A perfect cookie for the holiday season!
These look so pretty! Cannot wait to make them soon.
If you use butter, they can't be dairy free.
Hi Jaclyn,
You can use vegan butter to make the cookies dairy-free. I recommend earth balance butter sticks and have used them with good results! Enjoy the recipe.
Do you think coconut sugar would work in this recipe?
Hi Diana,
Yes! Coconut sugar should work as a 1:1 replacement for granulated sugar. Just know that the color of the cookies will be darker brown. Enjoy the recipe!