Who needs cake when you can have delicious, soft sprinkle cookies at your birthday party? No one will miss the cake when this happy-looking, colorful treat is served instead!
My kids always request cookies in lieu of cake for their birthdays. I can’t say I blame them one bit. After all, with the exception of this Best Ever Homemade Yellow Cake and this Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cake, I’d take a delectable, handheld cookie any day over a slice of cake.
So I’ve resorted to making copious amounts of cookies, whichever variety they choose, for their celebrations and festivities. I typically bake a triple batch and have them take a bunch to their classmates at school.
These cookies just instantly make me smile when looking at them! Sprinkles are a gift from heaven!
These cookies have a built-in party on top and within! A.K.A. I loaded the batter with the colorful jimmies AND added a hefty helping over the frosting. Because you can never have too many sprinkles. The result is pure bliss, what every birthday should be!
Each bite is cause to do the happy dance! Just look at those dots of pretty color! The soft, homemade-sugar-cookie-type dough is the perfect companion to a rich and creamy, white vanilla frosting. You won’t catch the kids just licking the icing and running! On the contrary! These cookies deserve to be eaten in their scrumptious entirety!
You can pipe the frosting on top in a swirl if you’d like to pretty them up even more. Just 1 1/2 times or double the frosting recipe if you’re going to go that route.
Either way, birthdays will never be the same without these delightful beauties!

Birthday Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 c. colorful sprinkles plus more for topping
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Milk for thinning about 2 Tbsp.
Instructions
- For the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together sugar, butter, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in sprinkles.
- Scoop dough into 1 1/2" balls and place at least 2" apart on a lightly greased or baking mat-lined cookie sheet. Lightly press dough balls down to flatten them slightly before baking. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 8 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
- For the frosting, cream together butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add milk a Tablespoon at a time to thin, while you're mixing. You'll want it to be nice and creamy and spreadable, but not runny, so add the milk very slowly, mixing in between.
- Frost cookies and add sprinkles on top for garnish. Store in an air-tight container and the cookies will get really soft!
I have a feeling these are going to be ranked very high up on the cookie request list for my kids’ birthdays! They disappeared in a hurry!
I hope you love them too!
For all other cookie recipes, go HERE!
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