Funfetti Birthday Cookies

HOW CUTE ARE THESE BIRTHDAY COOKIES???

So cute.

And delicious. And sweet and rich and dense and colorful and soft and tender and chewy with crisp edges.

And festive and both kid and adult-friendly and perfect for all sorts of celebrations. Especially when you’ve got neither the time, patience, nor skillzz to make a layer cake, as per birthday/celebration tradition, but you’d still like a celebratory dessert to mark the occasion.

Enter these funfetti birthday cookies. SO much easier than making a birthday layer cake. But just as appropriate and festive.

These birthday cookies consist of a couple things:

• a soft-batch sugar cookie filled with sprinkles

• a creamy, velvety, sweet, and tangy cream cheese frosting

And then there are more sprinkles for garnishing the frosting. And mini candles, inserted into the center of the cookies, to form the ultimate birthday cookies.

The cutest, most delicious birthday cookies that ever were. That’s what these are.

These funfetti cookies are soft and tender, thick and dense, buttery and vanilla-y, have a perfect crisp at the edges thanks to cornstarch, and have that nostalgic flavor of youth courtesy of sprinkles.

These birthday cookies also come together in minutes (you will need a machine to cream that butter tho), and technically can be made as plain funfetti cookies, without the frosting, which would really make these quick and easy cookies to whip up.

This funfetti cookie recipe yields quite a lot of cookies - like 36 large.

But I figured, if you’re making these cookies for a party or event, you’re bound to have a crowd, so the more cookies the better, right?

And even if you don’t have a birthday or particular occasion to celebrate, definitely still make these soft sugar cookies. Just leave out the cream cheese frosting and/or candles.

Because they’re wonderful. On their own. Being the perfect sprinkle cookies that they are.

But if you do have that occasion. Most certainly include the piping of frosting and sprinkle garnish and mini candle situation.

And if you’re wary of piping the cream cheese frosting, simply spread it onto the cookie with a knife. Not as fancy. But definitely as delicious.

Easy funfetti cookies that are soft and gooey and rich and chewy and thick and dense and sweet and topped with a velvety, fluffy cream cheese frosting.

These cookies are basically like individual tiny birthday cakes. And they’re adorable. And are required at your next celebration.

Funfetti Birthday Cookies

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Yield: 32-36 cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups packed flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sprinkles

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 ½ + cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
-Sprinkles, for garnishing
-Candles, for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and cream mixture till fluffy again.

3. Pour the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in sprinkles last.

4. Round large balls of dough between your palms and space them evenly onto baking sheets. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until you can just lift the edge of a cookie off of the sheet with your hand.

5. Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese (with a whisk attachment). Once smooth, add in the confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and beat for a few minutes till smooth and fluffy. If you'd like your frosting sweeter, add more confectioners sugar and beat again. 

6. Assembly: Insert an open star tip into a piping bag. Fill with frosting. Pipe a spiral design onto each cookie. Garnish frosting with sprinkles, then insert candle into center of the frosting of each cookie.