Christmas funfetti cookie recipe
This Christmas funfetti cookie recipe is soft and chewy with just a hint of mint. Made with only a handful of pantry ingredients, these cookies don’t require a boxed mix or any special ingredients.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my chocolate chocolate chip cookies and my buttermilk cookies recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my cookie recipes in one place.
Pook’s Pantry participates in affiliate programs. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.
Funfetti Christmas cookies
Peppermint funfetti cookies are so colorful and festive. This variation is a wintery spin on my original recipe, making it perfect for the holidays.
Ingredients
No need for a boxed mix, just grab a few baking essentials and you’ll be enjoying this holiday funfetti cookie recipe in no time!
- Butter – Use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in your baked goods.
- All-purpose flour – Weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure.
- Vanilla – Gives baked goods that familiar flavor we all love.
- Peppermint extract – A hint of mint gives these cookies that holiday feel.
- Sprinkles – For best results, use jimmies in the dough. Nonpareils, while fine for topping the cookies before baking, will bleed into the dough and turn it an unappetizing color.
- Sugar + Brown sugar – This combination yields a cookie with a soft, chewy center and crisp edges.
- Egg – Provides moisture and structure to the dough.
- Salt – All baked goods need salt.
- Baking soda – Gives the cookies a little lift and helps them spread just the right amount.
- Cornstarch – Helps to make baked goods tender and chewy.
How to make this funfetti cookie recipe
First, gather all of your ingredients. Measure everything out ahead of time. This is your “mise-en-place“. You want to make sure you have everything you need BEFORE you begin.
Whisk dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add egg and mix until thoroughly combined. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until you no longer see big pockets of flour.
Add sprinkles and pulse the mixer (turn on and off) a few times to distribute the sprinkles throughout the Christmas funfetti cookie dough.
We do not want to beat the dough at this point for two reasons – for one, we don’t want to break the sprinkles up too much and also, we don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour – that will make our cookies tough.
Scoop the dough, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. When you are ready to bake, dip in sprinkles or more jimmies and slide into the oven.
Frequently asked questions for this funfetti cookie recipe
Absolutely. You can make the dough up to 2 days ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. If making ahead, I suggest scooping the dough before chilling. It’s much easier to do when the dough is room temperature.
Yep! You can freeze the balls of cookie dough for up to 3 months. The baked peppermint funfetti cookies can also be frozen – wrap tightly and seal in a freezer bag for best results.
Jimmies, or the sprinkles that resemble short sticks are the best to use in these cookies. The round nonpareils will bleed in the dough. They are fine for using to top the cookies, but not in the dough.
Variations and substitutions
Homemade funfetti cookies from scratch are so easy to make, you can swap out the sprinkle colors for any time of the year! Trade the red, white and green for pastels and make them in Springtime.
You can also swap out the extracts with anything you like – try lemon for a citrusy twist.
Tips and tricks for success
- The most important tip is to chill your dough. This is non-negotiable. If you skip this step, the funfetti sprinkle cookies will spread and you will be disappointed.
- Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to line the baking pan to prevent funfetti cookies from sticking.
- Use a small scoop to make sure all of the cookies are the same size. This makes even, round cookies that bake at the same rate.
Helpful tools and equipment
- When baking, a food scale is the most useful tool you can have in your kitchen. Weighing ingredients is the most accurate way to measure.
- This is the small scoop I used to make the funfetti cookies.
- Reusable silicone baking mats are useful for so much more than cookies and these are inexpensive.
- A stand mixer is a great investment that will last you for many years.
Please share
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!
I hope you love this Christmas funfetti cookie recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting.
Your shares help this site to grow and I appreciate it so much. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.
Christmas funfetti cookie recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temp. // 1 stick // 8 tbsp.
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar // 53 grams
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar // 99 grams
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. peppermint extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour // 180 grams
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 cup holiday colored jimmies sprinkles + extra for topping cookies SEE NOTE
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk to combine flour, salt, baking soda and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also use a hand-held electric mixer), cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy – about 4 – 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.
- Add egg and mix until incorporated. Scrape down bowl.
- Add vanilla and peppermint extracts. Mix again to combine.
- Carefully add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix just until you no longer see pockets of flour.
- Finally, add 1/2 cup of jimmies to the dough. Pulse the mixer (turn on and off) a few times to distribute the sprinkles throughout the dough. Using a rubber spatula, fold dough a few times, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate everything.
- Use small cookie scoop to portion 24 balls of cookie dough. Place on cookie sheet and cover tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for at least one hour, up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F convection) / 180°C / Gas mark 4.
- Remove dough from fridge and top each cookie with more jimmies or nonpareils, and place on lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, just until edges are golden brown. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 – 8 minutes before transferring to cookie rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂
Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos or recipe (other than for personal use) without prior written permission. Thank you!