Learn to make your own sprinkles (or “jimmies” or “hundreds and thousands”) and never run out! Customize the color and sprinkle them over your favorite baked goods.
Every Thursday the local radio station asks people to call in and talk about their simple pleasures. I’ve never called in (as one of my simple pleasures in life is being able to text and actually speak on the phone as little as possible) but it always manages to elevate my mood a notch or two.
I am definitely a person whose day can be made by a simple pleasure, and I do mean simple.
I consider my day made if a squirrel or a chipmunk scurries across my path while I’m walking (fuzzy rodents make my heart melt), or if I find my believed-to-be-lost tube of Carmex in my pocket.
Another simple pleasure? Sprinkles. Lots & lots of them.
Whether it’s ice cream, or cupcakes, or a buttercream lathed cake, sprinkles always make things better (hence why I have so many Funfetti recipes on my blog).
This weekend I needed sprinkles for a recipe I was making, but I very specifically (and for no good reason at all) wanted particular colors that I didn’t have on hand. Fortunately, a quick look at the ingredients on my bin of (so-called “rainbow”) sprinkles made me realize that they’re actually made of some pretty basic ingredients, and I could probably tackle the recipe on my own.
So now, many attempts later, I have a simple, easy sprinkle recipe to share with you.
I took a lot of pictures to walk you through the steps, though they’re not difficult. The hardest part is waiting for the sprinkles to harden (I suggest waiting at least 12 hours, though yours may be done faster, or take longer).
So let’s begin.
The first step is to combine your sugar, corn starch, water, corn syrup, and vanilla extract (or whatever extract you prefer!) in a medium-sized bowl following the recipe at the bottom of the post (don’t put all the sugar in at once, it becomes too difficult to stir). If you want, you can then divide the mixture into separate bowls and color each separately to have several different colors of sprinkles. I found that one batch makes about ½ – ⅔ cup sprinkles, so depending on how many sprinkles you want you may wish to do multiple batches rather than divide the one batch.
Add your food coloring of choice and stir well. I used a gel food coloring which gives a very deep, vibrant color. Just remember, the more food coloring you add, the more you will be able to taste it in the final product, I don’t recommend more than 1 ½ chocolate-chip-sized drops (max!).
Next, transfer your mixture into a piping bag fitted with a #4 Wilton tip. If you don’t have this specific tip, you could also get away with using a similar size, or with cutting a small (sprinkle’s-width) hole in the tip of a ziploc bag and using that. Just be careful using a Ziploc bag, as the sprinkle mixture is thick and may cause the Ziploc bag to burst if squeezed too hard.
Line two cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper and draw long horizontal lines across the paper. As you’re making them, take note that they are the width that you desire. Try to keep your lines as straight as possible, but don’t stress if they’re a little wobbly (like mine are). When you break them up you won’t be able to tell!
Also, as you can see here, I made some of my sprinkles into cute half-spheres by making small dots alongside the lines. I think it added some nice variety to the traditional sprinkle shapes.
Now comes the hard part — waiting. You are going to have to wait at least 12 hours for these to dry and harden completely.
Once they’ve dried, peel off any dots that you’ve made and then use a large knife to cut down your rows to make your sprinkles! You decide how long or short you want them to be. The ends of my rows were a little sloppy, so if yours are too you can cut them off first and discard (or shamelessly eat all of them).
And that’s it! Combine your colors as you please and sprinkle away. These keep well in a sealed airtight container.
More Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Who knew you could make sprinkles from scratch?
Scroll down below the recipe for a sneak peek at my next post where I used these sprinkles to their full advantage.
What’s your simple pleasure?
Make Your Own Sprinkles
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar divided
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ Tbsp water not hot water
- 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (or any flavor you prefer -- vanilla goes with pretty much anything, though)
- Gel food coloring
Instructions
- In medium-sized bowl, stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch, water, corn syrup and vanilla extract until well-combined.1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 ½ Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp light corn syrup, ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Stir in the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar.
- Add food coloring and stir until well-combined and desired color is reached (remember, the more coloring you add the more you will be able to taste it in the final product).Gel food coloring
- Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a #4 Wilton tip*.
- Line two cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper and, using your piping bag, draw long, sprinkle-width horizontal lines across the paper. If desired, also make small dots (about the size of a pencil eraser) along the sides of the wax paper for some variety in shape.
- Allow to set undisturbed for at least 12 hours to dry.
- Once dried, peel off any dots or shapes you have made and then use a knife to cut down your horizontal lines to make sprinkles.
- That's it! Sprinkle over your favorite treats! These keep well in an airtight container.
Notes
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.
Liana
Hi! I was wondering how long these would last for? I wanted to make a big batch to use over time!
Sam
Hi Liana! They should last about a year stored in an air tight container. 🙂
Kellie
I made two batches, used three different colors (Americolor), used a #4 tip on parchment paper, and left them on the counter to dry. More than 12 hours have passed and my color is not consistent. The dots are fairly consistent but the long lines that I piped have varied shades. Any idea why? Thank you.
Sam
Hi Kellie! This just sounds like a matter of the “batter” not being mixed well enough, could that be it?
Kellie
Thank you for your prompt reply. I waited a bit longer and the color was a bit more consistent. Once I broke them up and combined three different colors to use on a cake they were okay. I think I mixed them well but the color faded as they dried. I am thinking I didn’t use enough color. I read your comments about the color changing the flavor and think it made me “color shy!”
Megan
Can I use honey or maple syrup instead of corn syrup?
Sam
Hi Megan! I’m not quite sure how it would since they are thinner. I would be worried they wouldn’t set up firmly but if you try it I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Shawna
There are many recipes online for Homemade Corn Syrup! They also seem pretty straight forward and simple!
Liz H
Can I use Clear Jel instead of Cornstarch?
Sam
Hi Liz! I haven’t tried it here but it could work. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
unicorngirl
Can you do difrent colors?
Sam
Absolutely! Any colors you’d like 🙂
Shayla
Would these work for ice cream topping sprinkles?
Sam
Hi Shayla! These will work fine to top ice cream.
unicorngirl
On a cupcake
Rebecca Rehg
Any idea how long these are good for? Or how do I know when they’re no longer good?
Sam
Hi Rebecca! These should be good for a long while. I don’t honestly know if I have ever had them around long enough to tell if they were bad.
Mrs B
Omg I have a sprinkle addiction, this may just change the game for me! Thanks for sharing!
Sam
You are not alone! Enjoy! 🙂
mimi levitt
do they harden more over the 12 hours? i am 6 hours in and mine seem hard but very breakable.. more so then a store bought jimmie
Sam
Hi Mimi! As instructed in step 6 you need to let them dry for 12 hours undisturbed, sometimes even a little bit longer depending on the humidity/temperature of your kitchen. 🙂
Constance Morace
Do these bleed into the icing?
Sam
Hmmm I have never tried them in icing. They may end up dissolving. If they are just sitting on top they will be fine. 🙂
Diane Sperduti
Could you please tell me if these sprinkles will bleed on chocolate dipped pretzels and on confectionery glazed cookies?
Sam
Hi Diane! These sprinkles will hold up just like traditional jimmies will. If you are baking them they are going to melt. If you are just dropping them on top of a frosting or something similar they will hold and not bleed. 🙂
Aryba
Can i bake a birthday cake / funfetti cake with these? Will they melt completely?
Sam
In a funfetti cake they should melt like any other sprinkle does. They will leave the color behind. 🙂
Mercedes
Hi! Here in Argentina it’s not that simple to find corn syrup. Can I do the sprinkles without it? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Mercedes! Unfortunately the recipe won’t work without corn syrup (or an acceptable substitute). Do you have access to golden syrup or glucose syrup? Those are acceptable substitutes. 🙂
Nur Zalika
Hi! Thank you for this great recipe O can’t waitnto give it a go!
May I know how long these sprinkles last i.e. their shelf life?
Sam
They should have a pretty long shelf life. I haven’t actually been able to keep them around long enough for them to go bad. 🙂
Ronn
Could I pipe it on a silione mat instead of the parchment?
Sam
That should work just fine. 🙂
annie
Tried this sprinkles it was very hard to mix it was like a lump. Is it supposed to be that way. Pls let me know.
Sam
Hi Annie! It should not be a hard lump. It should be at a pipe-able consistency. You may need to add a little bit more water. 🙂