My soft, chewy, buttery, and sprinkle-packed Funfetti Cookies are made completely from scratch–no box cake mix required! This recipe can be prepped without a mixer in just 20 minutes. Recipe includes a how-to video!
100% From-Scratch Funfetti Cookies
Like a funfetti cake in cookie form, my soft, chewy funfetti cookies are perfectly sweet and loaded with colorful sprinkles. They’re simple (sort of like drop sugar cookies) and so much fun to make! The sprinkles add a surprisingly addictive texture and lots of color, and the buttery, vanilla flavor comes 100% from scratch. You won’t even miss the cake mix!
My favorite thing about these funfetti cookies (besides the sprinkles!) is that they come together without a mixer. Using melted butter makes it easy to mix everything by hand and replaces the traditional creaming step. Of course, this means you will need to chill your cookie dough before scooping and baking–but they’re worth the wait!
Important Tips for Perfect Cookies:
- Make sure the butter isn’t too warm before adding the sugar. Butter that’s too warm will melt the sugar, leaving you with a greasy cookie dough and cookies that spread far too much.
- Let the dough chill! 30 minutes is the bare minimum, but 60 minutes is even better.
- Roll your cookie dough before placing it on the baking sheet for more uniform, round cookies.
- Remove the cookies from the oven while they still look slightly underdone. They’ll finish baking on the hot cookie sheet as they cool, leaving you with perfectly chewy funfetti cookies. Over-baking makes cookies that are tough, dry, and too-crisp, as opposed to soft, buttery, and chewy!
What You Need
This recipe uses pantry staples to make super buttery and soft funfetti cookies. Here are a few of the most important ones you’ll need:
- Melted butter. Using melted butter ensures the cookies stay soft and chewy instead of cakey. It also gives them an incredible flavor (even better flavor if you use European butter!). I like to let my butter cool for about 10-15 minutes after melting to ensure that it’s no longer warm to the touch.
- Vanilla. A hefty pour of vanilla provides that cake mix flavor without all the additives. For even better flavor, use homemade vanilla extract!
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch helps these funfetti cookies hold their shape and stay soft. I use this in my funfetti Christmas cookies too, as well as many of my other cookie recipes. It’s one of my favorite secret ingredients!
- Sprinkles. Pretty much any kind will do–I use a mix of different types for a fun and whimsical look.
SAM’S TIP: Use unsalted butter! I have a separate post on why I like to use unsalted vs. salted butter, so I’ll be brief here, but essentially, you can better control the flavor of your cookies by adding the salt separately. It’s hard to know exactly how much salt is in each stick of salted butter (especially since there’s so many brands!), so using unsalted butter allows for precise and consistent results.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Funfetti Cookies
- Stir together the cooled melted butter and sugars.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and stir well.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Stir in the sprinkles, then cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge.
- Scoop chilled dough and roll into smooth balls before placing them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, then let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t add all of your dry ingredients at once! If you do, you could end up with a dry, crumbly dough. Adding the flour gradually allows it to absorb properly and makes your dough much easier to work with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Funfetti simply refers to the well-loved boxed cake mix that’s loaded with colorful sprinkles. The final product has a buttery, vanilla flavor and lots of colorful sprinkles throughout, just like these funfetti cookies! You could also call these confetti cookies! I actually incorporate funfetti cake mix in a few of my recipes, like my funfetti cinnamon rolls and funfetti cheesecake squares.
Yes! This is the only (very minor) downside to using melted butter, but it’s SO important. Chilling helps the flavor develop and prevents the funfetti cookies from spreading too much on the baking sheet.
It sounds like you may have accidentally over-measured your flour or over-baked your cookies. Remember to pull your cookies out when they still look a bit underdone, since they’ll finish cooking on the baking sheet. If you let your cookies bake completely in the oven, they’ll end up over-baked after cooling. I know it seems weird, I found this is the best way to get soft and chewy funfetti cookies.
I hope you have as much fun making (and eating!) these as I did!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Funfetti Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled until no longer warm to the touch
- 1 ⅔ cup (333 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ⅓ cup sprinkles nonpareils, quins, jimmies, or a mix
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine melted, cooled butter with sugar and stir until combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ⅔ cup (333 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, stir well.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon table salt
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
- Stir in sprinkles until well-distributed through the dough.⅓ cup sprinkles
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days (dough chilled longer than a few hours may need to sit at room temperature for a bit to become soft enough to scoop easily).
- When nearly ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop dough by rounded 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized scoops and drop onto baking sheet (or roll the dough into smooth balls between your palms for rounder, more uniform cookies) spacing cookies at least 2” (5cm) apart.
- Transfer baking sheet to 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Cookies may look slightly underdone when they come out of the oven, this is fine and makes them nice and chewy as they continue to cook on the baking sheet as they cool. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before removing as they’re fragile when warm!
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Tyler
Hi Sam,
Love the website and your cookie recipes! I noticed you are melting the butter then adding sugar. Is there a reason to do this instead of creaming the sugar into the butter like other cookie recipes?
If I creamed the sugar and butter together, could I omit the cool down step for 30 minutes?
Let me know!
Tyler
Sam
Hi Tyler! I do this to make the cookies softer, chewier and have a more buttery flavor. If you creamed the butter and sugar together you will still need to cool them for 30 minutes. It really helps them bake without spreading too much while baking. 🙂
Anna
Loved these! I only added 1 cup of sugar and they came out great! Very soft and very sweet, thanks for the recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that they turned out perfectly and that you enjoyed them, Anna! 🙂
Ana
These were beyond yummy! They were thick enough, not overly greasy or sweet and I can’t stop eating them. Highly recommend this recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Ana! 🙂
SweetLadyJ
These cookies are great! Followed the recipe and they turned out like the picture!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Cass
These tasted like just butter. Followed everything to a T and even weighed out each ingredient to get it perfect. I didn’t like these at all.
Sam
Hi Cass! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy them. Was your butter too hot when you added the sugars? This is normally the culprit when this happens. It melts the sugars and and you end up getting a butter taste.
Connie G
Can theses cookies be rolled and cut with a cookie cutter? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Connie! I wouldn’t recommend it. I have a slice and bake cookie that would work well or an icebox cookie that will work as well. 🙂
Megan Athen
Hey, so I have made these cookies a number of times but every time i make them they don’t flatten out they just turn into hockey pucks … So my question for you is, is that normal or is there something I’m doing wrong? 🙂
Sam
Hi Megan! Do you happen to weigh your ingredients? You may be getting too much flour in your dough which will cause them to not flatten properly. 🙂
Loody
I’m confused as to what the baking soda is reacting to in this recipe? Thanks
Sam
Hi Loody, it is working as a leavener here. It is reacting with the heat in your oven.
Loody
If it’s not neutralized with an acid, won’t you be able to taste it though? Sorry I just want to be clear on this before I make them as I don’t want to waste ingredients and I’ve never seen baking soda used in a recipe without an acidic ingredient to neutralize it. Thank you!
Sam
No you won’t be able to taste it here. I think you’ll love these cookies. 🙂
Jenn
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I’ve already prepared the dough but noticed that this yields 24 cookies, if I reduced the ball size tolled dough to 1.5 tbls do I have to reduce cooking time?
Sam
Hi Jenn! I haven’t made them in a smaller size so just keep an eye on them. 🙂
Mireya
Hi! These look delicious but I was wondering if one were to use salted butter would we just omit the extra salt? I don’t seem to have any unsalted butter on hand and I was really hoping to make these for hubby as a surprise when he gets home from work! 🌸
Sam
Hi Mireya! Just reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/2 teaspoon. Enjoy! 🙂
Delia Brooke
I am going to make these cookies, but I am not sure if I have to chill the dough in the freezer. So I want to know where I hacd to chill the dough.
Sam
Just in the fridge. Enjoy! 🙂
Mia
Hi, I just completed the dough and was wondering if I can leave the dough in the fridge for two days and then cook the cookies?
Sam
Yup! Just keep the dough covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy, Mia! 🙂
Emma
I don’t have corn starch. Will it effect the cookies?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Emma! It is ok to omit it, however, the cookies will not be as soft. 🙂
Jess
This was quick, easy, chewy & super popular with the family – thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your family enjoyed it, Jess! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
ivana
Hi Sam, i made the cookies and they have just cooled down enough for us to try them.
They are very good, but for some reason mine flattened to much, becoming too crispy for my taste.
I rolled them into balls and put them in the tray, however they came out as very very large thin cookies.
I did 1/2 dose so maybe i messed up baking soda and powder proportions. I also should have left them for less minutes, these were all my mistakes.
However, I would love to ask you something. Sugar cookies, being honest, are not really my cup of tea.
I live in Italy (Croatian Origins) and our baking tradition is quite different to the American one.
I do like a lot of American cakes, cookies etc and find them more funnier to do with the kids at home, but some are too sweet for us.
As we are in lockdown since the second half of February we are doing some great bakery here! A few days ago we made a great and funny funfetti cake and then decided to try the cookies. i was looking for some receipes with an idea of maybe chocolate chips cookies made funfetti, but was not able to find anything. all i found was based on Sugar cookies or funfetti cake premix with or without cream cheese.
Even though this receipe is nice and my girls already ate half of them, i personally would have preferred something less sweet and so sugary tasting.
what would your take on a receipe like that be? could you help me finding the correct proportions?
i would really appreciate it very much. of course, i hope i am not asking too much 🙂
i also hope my english was not too bade and sentences made sense!
thank you again
ivana
Sam
Hi Ivana! I am sorry to hear they spread so much, it does sound like perhaps the baking powder or soda might have been accidentally mis-measured if they spread that much. Another possibility could be if the butter was too hot when the sugar was added, this could melt the sugar and make the cookies spread more. You can absolutely reduce some of the sugar in this recipe to make the cookies less sweet. I would probably start by just reducing 1/2 cup and see how you like the sweetness and then reduce more from there if needed. Since it’s really a matter of personal preference I can’t say for sure how much you would need to reduce to get them just right for your taste. Oh and I do have this recipe for chocolate chip cookies with sprinkles, if that helps what you are looking for. You can use any color sprinkles you’d like, of course, and I’d substitute the white chocolate chips for more regular chocolate chips, since white chocolate chips are quite sweet. You may also wish to reduce the sugar in this recipe a bit to suit your taste. I really hope that helps!
PS. Your English is excellent, I wouldn’t have known you weren’t a native speaker (/writer!) if you hadn’t said so.
ivana
Dear Sam, thank you so much for coming back to me!
I left the butter aside for a while after melting it and i think it cooled down properly. The mistake probably was the quantity of one of the baking agents (guessing soda).
My first idea was to bake cookies that would have a similar consistency to the chocolate chips ones with funfetti only, without the chocolate.
Now i realize that probably is the chocolate (i cut chunks of a thick dark chocolate bar and milk chocolate together that are 3x the size of a chip) that gives the gooey consistency to the cookies.
And this is probably why you need to add cream cheese to the funfetti cookies dough if you want them to be gooey and moist.
I could be wrong but it makes some sense in my mind!
Next time we will try again your cookies and reduce the sugar, my girls loved them.
And I will try a lot of your other recipes. They all look fun to make and delicious to taste!
I have to say I really like the style of your website, elegant, fun and easy to navigate through.
I do understand why many blogs and websites need to add ads, however there are a lot of them that become impossible to read as pop ups continue to -pop up- and follow you while scrolling the page.
This discourages me immediately and I have to leave, no matter the recipes i could have found had i stayed.
Thank you again and stay healthy!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Ivana! Based on what you described, I would say it was a baking agent. You want to be sure that are fresh and not expired. I am happy that you enjoyed the recipe and am excited for you to try more of mine. I am happy that you appreciate my blog and that you find the format easy to follow. Thanks again for the feedback. I appreciate it. 🙂