When I was little, there were three things I loved: superheroes, books, and rainbows.
As mentioned in my matcha and ube sugar cookie recipe, the Hulk was one of my childhood heroes, and back in preschool when we celebrated Halloween in ballet class, I chose to dress up as the Hulk instead of a Disney princess. Another childhood hero of mine was The Flash, and lucky 7-year-old me even received a signed autograph from the actor, Grant Gustin!
I was also an avid reader back in elementary and middle school, and one of my obsessions back in third grade was with the Harry Potter series. A couple of my friends and I started a (very) unofficial Harry Potter club at school, and one of my friends even fake-wrote a Hogwarts admissions letter and slid it into my locker as a prank (I didn’t believe it of course).
And then I loved everything with rainbows. Naturally, rainbow sprinkles became another one of my favorite things, so I loved any baked good that had sprinkles in it. Actually, I take that back. Using the word ‘love’ in the past tense is completely and utterly inaccurate because I do still love any and all baked goods with sprinkles. So how could I not have a recipe for birthday cake cookies packed with rainbow sprinkles on my website?
These cookies are for that inner-child in everyone. They’re soft, thick, and have plenty of rainbow sprinkles and white chocolate chips. Making and eating them is just pure happiness, and if you don’t believe it, then that means that you just need to try it. They’ll boost your mood, I promise.
tips for success
- Use clear vanilla extract! – If you want that iconic birthday cake flavor, use clear vanilla extract in place of the regular vanilla extract. It’s artificial, but it makes it taste just like funfetti cake mix.
- Take the cookies out of the oven before they’re fully done! – Make sure you take out the cookies while the middles still look a little underdone. They will finish baking on the hot pan, and this will ensure that they are perfectly baked with soft, chewy middles.
Love anything with sprinkles? Then you should check out my matcha funfetti cookies! They’re made with a matcha sugar cookie dough swirled with plenty of sprinkles.
birthday cake cookies!
makes 16 cookies
ingredients:
- 1 2/3 (200 grams) cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (52 grams) rainbow sprinkles
- 1/4 cup (53 grams) white chocolate chips
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together until well-combined. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or hand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and egg. Mix on low speed until combined. Add the dry ingredients from step two, and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in the sprinkles and white chocolate with a spatula.
- Scoop the dough into two-tablespoons portions, and arrange on the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes (the middles should still look a little underdone!). Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and enjoy!