Christmas Sprinkle Cookies are the best, easiest, quickest way to bake a batch of soft and chewy sugar cookies covered with fun and festive holiday decor. This simple recipe combines a bag of cookie mix with 3 ingredients to make a dough that is colored, rolled, and baked–no chilling, no cutting–just make ‘em, bake ‘em, and take ‘em!
No-Chill Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Get rid of the rolling pin, chuck the cookie cutters and check out these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies –it is so simple and easy to bake a batch because the dough is made from a mix!
This recipe produces perfectly soft and chewy cookies when you need a hassle-free holiday dessert in a hurry. You don’t need frosting to decorate them (they are already colored and smothered in sprinkles), you don’t need to chill or flatten the dough; all you need are a few basic ingredients (and maybe some little helping hands) to turn a simple sugar cookie into a festively colorful Christmas cookie that will brighten any boring dessert tray.
The secret to this rich and buttery baked good is the addition of cream cheese, which tenderizes the batter and balances the sweetness with its subtle tang. You won’t taste the cream cheese, but it helps create a cookie that has a melt-in-your-mouth softness on the inside and firmness on the outside.
I love the way the creamy cookie dough contrasts with the delicate crunch from the sprinkles–it’s an irresistible combination of colors and textures that tastes delicious and decks the table with the perfect green and red cookie recipe!
Why We Love This Christmas Cookies Recipe
- Quick and easy to make in under 25 minutes.
- Simple shortcut recipe combines a cookie mix with 3 ingredients plus food coloring and sprinkles.
- Soft and chewy, rich and buttery treat.
- Fun to make with kids.
- Delicious dessert with festive and colorful sprinkles.
- Perfect for a cookie exchange, Christmas party, or holiday dessert platter.
Ingredients / Shopping List
- Bag sugar cookie mix – I used Betty Crocker
- Packaged cream cheese, softened: You can substitute an additional ¼ cup of softened butter for the cream cheese in this recipe if you prefer.
- Salted butter, softened: You can use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt instead.
- Egg
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring
- Christmas sprinkles: You can use your favorite Christmas sprinkles or a combination of different types of sprinkles. I used nonpareil sprinkles, but you can also use jimmies.
Substitutions and Additions
- Switch The Sprinkles: Because these cookies are already Christmas colored, you can have a lot of fun with a variety of sprinkles! You can try using trees or snowflakes, red and green jimmies, red and green nonpareils, white nonpareils (to give the appearance of a snow covered cookie), or any other favorite Christmas sprinkles that you have. You can switch up the design by color or have a mix of sprinkles on each color. There is no wrong way to make these fun cookies!
- Change The Colors: It is so easy to change the color of food coloring and sprinkles in this recipe to suit whatever holiday you’re celebrating. Orange, brown, and yellow colors are great for Halloween, use red and pink for Valentine’s Day, and pastels for Easter. Simply swap the cookie and sprinkle colors and you have a cookie ready for game day, baby showers, or any themed party.
- Dough Decoration: You can roll your dough balls in crushed cookie crumbs, candy pieces, or chopped nuts for extra decoration and crunch.
Recommended Tools
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Stand or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls and tools
- Measuring tools
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How to Make Our Favorite Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
It is so easy to bake a batch of these festively bright and cheerful Christmas Sprinkle Cookies. Simply combine a bag of cookie mix with 3 ingredients to make a dough, add some color, roll, and bake–the perfect hassle-free holiday treat!
- Beat together the cookie mix, cream cheese, butter and egg until soft.
Pro-Tip: Set the cream cheese and butter out at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you make the cookies. You want them soft but not melty. Allowing them to come to room temperature makes sure that they will blend well but won’t be so soft that your cookies become completely flat discs. Try not to overwork your dough. This is a good reason to let your ingredients come to room temperature before using them. An overworked dough creates a hard cookie. Keep your cookies soft by using room temperature ingredients
- Divide the cookie dough in half and place each in a separate mixing bowl.
- Add red food coloring to one bowl and mix until a deep red color is achieved.
Pro-Tip: Use gel food coloring. Vibrant Christmas colors can be hard to achieve with regular liquid food coloring. To avoid having to add as much coloring, get a gel food coloring that is specifically designed to give you the color you want, such as “Christmas red” or “Forest Green”. - Add green food coloring to the other bowl and mix until the dough is uniformly green.
Pro-Tip: Try not to overmix your dough when adding in the food coloring. - Form balls of cookie dough and roll each in sprinkles.
Pro Tip: It is helpful to add sprinkles to a shallow bowl for rolling the dough balls. - Place sprinkled covered dough balls on cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
Pro Tip: Because the dough is soft, it is normal for the ball to flatten slightly. Don’t be alarmed if this is the case. - Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-11 minutes.
Pro Tip: Cookies are done baking when they are beginning to firm on the edges and don’t collapse if you gently touch the top. - Cool, plate, and enjoy!
Tips
- Set the cream cheese and butter out at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you make the cookies. You want them soft but not melty. Allowing them to come to room temperature makes sure that they will blend well but won’t be so soft that your cookies become completely flat discs.
- Try not to overwork your dough. This is a good reason to let your ingredients come to room temperature before using them. An overworked dough creates a hard cookie. Keep your cookies soft by using room temperature ingredients and trying not to overmix your dough when adding in the food coloring.
- Use gel food coloring. Vibrant Christmas colors can be hard to achieve with regular liquid food coloring. To avoid having to add as much coloring, get a gel food coloring that is specifically designed to give you the color you want, such as “Christmas red” or “Forest Green”.
Storage Tips
- To Store: These Christmas Cookie Sprinkles keep great when stored at room temperature, in an airtight container. I recommend eating them within 5 days for best taste and texture.
- To Freeze: You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months. Wrap them well and place them in a freezer safe container or bag before freezing.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no need to chill your cookie dough. The cookies come out perfectly soft and chewy when you follow the recipe as it is written. Chilling the dough is often recommended for sugar cookies, but this is a delicious exception to that rule!
In this recipe, since the cookies are baked and most of the moisture is removed, they do not have to be refrigerated. You do not need to be concerned that the cream cheese will turn rancid!
Cream cheese is a great addition to baked goods. Not only does it add a little tang of flavor that is creamy and a perfect pairing to sweet recipes, but it also adds a good bit of fat. The fat and moisture in the cream cheese help create a softer and tender cookie. The results make a delicious cookie that is sweet but not overly so, chewy and soft in every bite.
Add sprinkles to your baked goods right before they go into the oven. Adding sprinkles to “wet” batter is the way they will adhere to the cookie without using an additional “glue” like frosting.
Other Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Melted Snowman Cookies
- Christmas Light Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Secret Kiss Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 17.5 ounce bag sugar cookie mix
- 4 ounce (½ 8ounce package) cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter softened
- 1 Large egg
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring
- ½ cup Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to cream together the cookie mix, cream cheese, butter and egg. Beat until combined and a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough in half and place each half in a mixing bowl.
- To one bowl add in red food coloring and mix until a deep red color is achieved.
- Add green food coloring to the second bowl of dough and mix until the dough is uniformly green.
- Place the sprinkles in a shallow bowl and use a 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop to form balls of dough and gently roll them in the sprinkles and then place them on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving approximately 2 inches between each cookie.
- Because the dough is soft, it is normal for the ball to flatten slightly. Don’t be alarmed if this is the case.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes or until the cookie is beginning to firm on the edges and doesn’t collapse if you gently touch the top.
- Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm or cooled.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: These Christmas Cookie Sprinkles keep great when stored at room temperature, in an airtight container. I recommend eating them within 5 days for best taste and texture.
- To Freeze: You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months. Wrap them well and place them in a freezer safe container or bag before freezing.
- Set the cream cheese and butter out at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you make the cookies. You want them soft but not melty. Allowing them to come to room temperature makes sure that they will blend well but won’t be so soft that your cookies become completely flat discs.
- Try not to overwork your dough. This is a good reason to let your ingredients come to room temperature before using them. An overworked dough creates a hard cookie. Keep your cookies soft by using room temperature ingredients and trying not to overmix your dough when adding in the food coloring.
- Use gel food coloring. Vibrant Christmas colors can be hard to achieve with regular liquid food coloring. To avoid having to add as much coloring, get a gel food coloring that is specifically designed to give you the color you want, such as “Christmas red” or “Forest Green”.
que diversidad de recetas maravillosas me encantaron comenzare a preparar una de las recetas muchas gracias🥰💖
Can do this recipe with either red color food drop or red sprinkles for Valentine’s Day.
Use this recipe for pastel colors for Easter.
Be creativity using this recipe.
Haven’t tried this recipe.
How can I make them crunchy?
I love cookies!