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Fact: it’s been ages since I posted a recipe with sprinkles.
Weird, considering I’m known as “Sally Sprinkles” to some of my friends. It’s true– sprinkles and glitter and confetti and sparkles are a handful of my favorite things in life. I’m actually a 5 year old at heart.
When I think of sprinkles, I think of birthday cakes. Funfetti madness. Bright colorful dots assorted through soft, buttery confections. Pinks, blues, greens, and orange flecks of sugary beauty. No cake batter is complete without a hefty pour of sprinkles, in my opinion.
And I like my sprinkle-filled cake batter just as it is… an unbaked batter. I believe that the actual batter sort-of-kinda tastes better than the actual baked cake. Kinda like how cookie dough probably-all-of-the-freaking-time tastes better than the cookie? FACT.
I like my cake batter taste in things… other than cake.
Like itsy bitsy cinnamon buns.
And today? Well, I LOVE my cake batter taste in sugar cookies.
These sugary little cake batter dreamies are void of any boxed cake mix and took me THREE failed attempts to get down. I was a cookie maniac this week! Pure sprinkle madness.
The first batch tasted NOTHING like cake batter. They were delicious sugar cookies, indeed… but not what I was going for.
The second two batches were flat and crispy. Blech. I like my cookies thick, with a little personality, and ultra soft. My fourth and successful batch are chewy, puffy, and buttery. They remind me a lot of my XXL Buttery Soft Sugar Cookie, but are teeny tiny.
Love love love.
The secret to these cookies… and all of the cake batter flavor… is the BUTTER extract. Rather than using boxed cake mix to achieve a cake batter taste, I splashed a bit of butter extract into the sugar cookie dough. Butter extract can be found in the baking aisle next to the vanilla extract. This is my first recipe using it and I must say… I am hooked.
The smell of the cookie dough alone had me in cake batter heaven.
I couldn’t wait to taste one. 
The secret to the super soft texture is the egg yolk. Egg yolks give cookies a moist richness, without drying the finished cookie out. The reason why I didn’t use the egg white is because my first three batches had too much liquid with an entire egg added in – they spread too much and were too thin for my liking.
So instead of cutting down on the butter extract… which is key to the cake batter flavor… I cut the egg white in batch #4.
Oh and did I mention I love sprinkles? These guys are stuffed with ‘em. All different kinds. The more, the better. Sprinkles make the world a better place.
Preliminary notes:
*If you can’t find butter extract, try using almond extract. I actually made a batch of these cookies (my fifth batch, yes) with almond extract. The resulting cookie doesn’t taste as “cake batter-y” in comparison to the butter extract cookie, but it’s pretty close.
**I must note that you could use cake flour in place of all-purpose flour in these. The resulting cookie will be fluffier and more cakey. If you can’t find cake flour, simply take one cup of all-purpose flour, remove two tablespoons, and then add two tablespoons of corn starch back in and sift together. This equals 1 cup of cake flour. I did not take this extra step because I felt as though my cookies were darn delicious and already puffy using all-purpose flour and baking powder.
***Depending on how I rolled them, I had to gently press down on a couple of the cookies mid-baking. If you find they aren’t spreading at all, remove them from the oven at the 6 minute mark and very, very slightly press down.
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Makes 24 small cookies. Cookies remain fresh up to 1 week covered at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp butter extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup colorful sprinkles
- 1/4 cup sprinkles, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside. Pour 1/4 cup sprinkles onto a plate to use for rolling. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat in egg yolk, butter extract, baking powder, and salt. Add flour, and mix until a dough forms. Dough will be thick. Gently mix in sprinkles.
- Roll dough in teaspoon size balls. Make sure that the balls are tall, rather than wide. The taller the cookie dough ball, the thicker the cookie will be. Roll the dough balls into the reserved sprinkles and bake for 9-10 minutes. Watch them closely at the 9 minute mark to assure they do not brown.
- Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cookie rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe source: sallysbakingaddiction.com
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
PS: Sally’s Sprinkle Addiction:
Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats
Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls (without cake mix)
Classic Yellow Funfetti Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies (using cake mix)
Fudgy Cookies n Cream Oreo Brownies
What are your favorite recipes using sprinkles?
I think today’s cookies are up there on my list. I can’t get enough. <3
{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
Okay, so butter extract is going on my Walmart list. I’ve always wondered about it! I need these cookies Sally, like, yesterday.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted..Rolo Stuffed Oatmeal Cookies {Back-to-Shool Printable}
Dorothy – you will have a heyday with butter extract, I know it!
I love using butter extract! Works great in yellow (from scratch) cakes, as well as rice krispie treats and pound cake. To name a few….
These cookies are adorbs.
Aimee @ ShugarySweets recently posted..Pina Colada Pound Cake
I’ll have to expand my horizons and use my new little secret weapon in a pound cake or rice kris pie treat next! Thanks Aimee!
I can’t pick a favorite….I love anything with sprinkles
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes recently posted..Baked Pork Flautas
We def have that in common Ashley
When I took a cake decorating class at Michael’s, I learned about butter extract. Who knew?! I’d only used it once in a frosting and it made it taste delicious. Never thought to add it to cookies and cakes but girl, that’s a genius idea! These cookies are so stinkin’ cute! Sprinkle-overload–is there such a thing? (Um, definitely not). I’m totally making these this weekend since I’ve been dying for sugar cookies for awhile now!
Hayley recently posted..Rice Krispies Cupcakes
I want to take a cake decorating class! So jealous, Hayley!!
YUM! I have been using butter extract for a while-it adds that depth of flavor without having to use (as much) butter. Great for skinny recipes
Elaine recently posted..Spaghetti Squash and Tomato Casserole
Good point, Elaine! That’s a great idea, I’ll have to give it a go in a healthier recipe soon!
Live is always so much better with sprinkles! These cookies look incredible. I’ve never even heard of butter extract but I will have to keep my eyes open!
luv what you do recently posted..Will Hike for Pizza
I couldn’t agree more… sprinkles make me happy! You’ve gotta try butter extract girl!
what.an.ordeal in getting to the FINAL recipe – and who said blogging was easy
all your efforts are SO WORTH IT. Btw butter extract is so incredibly common, the Kroger/Ralph’s grocery store sells their own generic and I add it to butter for popcorn b/c it gives it even MORE flavor so I always have tons on hand.
And the egg yolk only. Nice. job.
And the cake flour tips/techniques with the corn starch and replacing 2 tbsps of AP with it – wow…I swear, you’re in my head.
OUTSTANDING COOKIES!
Averie @ Averie Cooks recently posted..Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate Pretzels
Thanks Averie! I have more sugar cookies right now than I know what to do with – i’ve lived and breathed sugar cookies this week.. which, I know you can relate! My coworkers are getting a lot of my leftover flatter sugar cookies lol. I need to try different recipes with the butter extract, it’s a new ingredient to me. Love the idea of using it with popcorn
I have never seen butter extract before! I will have to look for that! These cookies look so fun and I am sure they are delicious!
Christina @Sweet Pea’s Kitchen recently posted..Back To School Roundup
Ok so I have only used butter extract in frosting, but now I’m going to start using it for more things!!! I love how cute, sprinkly, and puffy these look!!! I want cookies now!!!!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life recently posted..Reeses Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies
Jocelyn – you have to use it as a substitution for vanilla extract one time.. you will be blown away!
Beautifully done. I love how vibrant and colorful your desserts always are.
Jen @ Savory Simple recently posted..Blueberry Buttermilk Cookies
These are so stinkin adorable! I swear sprinkles are happiness in candy form, they just make everything more fun (and pretty)!
Butter vanilla extract is amaaaaazing too! Gotta try these. Just curious though, why did you use baking powder vs soda here? Fab pictures, too btw.
Hope you have a super fun weekend girlie!
Back For Seconds recently posted..Strawberry Lemonade Cookies and *Link Party*
Hey Stephanie! I used baking powder because there aren’t any acidic ingredients in the recipe, including brown sugar – just white sugar. I wanted these sugar cookies to be chewy and not overly cakey as well, which meant I only had to add a small amount of leavener with the appropriate amount of flour, giving these cookies the right amount of lift and not drying them out. Thanks dearest!
these are so adorable!! i’d gobble them all up!! haha i love that you’re sally sprinkles..suits you very well! they just make all desserts POP and look so much prettier
Julie @ Table for Two recently posted..Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
These look so lovely! I’ve tried to find butter extract before, but I haven’t found any anywhere
(according to CCK it should be vegan, so I hope to find some soon) Guess I got the motivation to search back now though 
Cinnamon recently posted..Spicy Sweet Potato Oatmeal
I can’t wait to try butter extract in other recipes! I hope you find it… mine was at my regular grocery store in the baking aisle.
These are good little morsals. I used vanilla butter nut extract instead though. IMO it tastes even better than the plain butter extract.
Hi Michelle! Thanks. I’ve never heard of or seen vanilla butter nut extract before! That sounds incredible.
It’s by McCormick. I have seen just about everywhere, I get it at Walmart. I had never heard if it before my grandmother gave me a cake recipe that had it in it. It was the “secret” ingredient.
These are adorable and fun, good job Sally Sprinkles
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie recently posted..Dark Chocolate Black Cherry Oatmeal Cookie-wiches
hahahahha I laughed SO loud reading this. Yep, that’s my nickname lol
I love sprinkles and sparkles and anything that glitters at least as much as you, so these cookies are right up my alley. I also love you made these from scratch, because I’m not really a boxed mix kind of girl. And I can totally relate to making recipes over and over. I’m posting a recipe next week that I feared would never turn out, but it did, and it may be the best thing I’ve made. But I haven’t made these cookies yet, so my mind might change. I love the batter too, especially for cookies and cakes like this. YUM
Laura Dembowski recently posted..Pesto Pasta
We have a lot in common, Laura! And I thought of you posting these…. no chocolate!!
I can’t wait to see that new recipe of yours next week!
Sprinkles are basically my favorite food group. Every single time I get fro yo (which is basically daily) I ALWAYS get sprinkles. Better than oreos or chocolate fudge–everything is better with sprinkles
Ari @ Ari’s Menu recently posted..Crab Fried Quinoa with Spicy Peanut Sauce
I wish I could get fro-yo everyday! The fro-yo place by my apartment gets to be pretty expensive because I LOAD it with so many add-ins and sprinkles hehe. Thanks Ari
I need to get my hands on some butter extract! These some perfect and since they’re small, I can eat a lot of them!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction recently posted..Chocolate Glazed Peanut Butter Banana Donuts
I’ve been admiring the cake batter blondies for a couple of week now and I just printed this recipe–I think I’ll be making both when I get home from work this evening!
What a genius idea! I’d love a little cake in my cookies
And I LOVE that you don’t use boxed cake mix cuz I never have that laying around (I actually have to buy a box just to make something cake batter flavored) – using the butter extract is a great way to mimic the flavor!
Nicole @ The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie recently posted..Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Hey Nicole – I’m glad I got around using a cake mix, too. I rely on cake mixes a lot for my cake batter items, but I know it’s best to bake from scratch from time to time. Plus these are SO easy without cake mix! Thanks so much!
These cookies are beyond adorable.
You are so right about the butter extract/flavoring. It gives baked goods a little something extra that makes them especially yummy. I need another bottle soon.
Micha @ Cookin’ Mimi recently posted..Slow Cooker Biscoff Cheesecake
Hi Micha! Thanks so much… I am now hooked on butter extract! I can’t wait to taste it in anything else I bake soon!
I am taking these to my daughter next week. She adores sprinkles! And I loved the tips about the flour and the butter extract.
Thanks Abbe! I know kids love these cookies, I brought them into work and my coworker said she brought a couple home for her daughter and she loved them! How can you not love sprinkles?! at any age!
Sprinkle cookies are the best! They’re so pretty and just make me feel like a kid again. I love that. Did I tell you I made your giant sugar cookie last weekend? It was super yummy! I ate it all in one night. Half right away then the other half before I went to bed. I couldn’t resist.
Reeni recently posted..Zucchini Biscuit Pie
Reeni, that is so nice to hear! I’m glad you liked that sugar cookie… it is by far, one of my favorite recipes to date. SO soft and fluffy! Ph and obviously all of the sprinkles… so glad you like the looks of these cake batter cookies too! Thanks Reeni
can’t wait to delve into your other recipes!! these cookies look AMAZING! do you know if you can substitute whole wheat flour? i’ve been milling my own flour, but i’m not good at figuring out how to substitute it and dont know how much it affects the taste. any idea?
Hi randal! you could sub whole wheat flour, but the texture of the cookie will be tougher. Not as chewy and soft. But give it a whirl! I can’t imagine anything with butter, butter extract, and sprinkles tasting awful. Let me know how they turn out!
Love butter extract! I first discovered it when I took cake decorating classes — you can use it in non-butter frostings (cream cheese, shortening, etc.) to give the frosting that buttercream flavor everyone knows and loves, without having melty frosting.
I’m a sprinkles addict too, they just make everything happy (has to be rainbow sprinkles, of course!).
Liz (Little Bitty Bakes) recently posted..Running in Europe
As always, Sally, your cookies are GORGEOUS! Seriously, I need you to come here and teach me how to get mine so puffy and perfect! I use butter extract in my buttercream icing all the time (actually, half butter and half vanilla is my favorite combo), but I never thought to use it in sugar cookies like this. What a great idea–I have no doubt these are fabulous! And I love the sprinkles. =)
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl recently posted..eMeals Giveaway
Hey Ashley! Your comments about my cookies are always so sweet, thank you! Your buttercream frosting idea is wonderful – I think I’m going to try to use butter extract in my next frosting recipe. You’d LOVE these cake batter cookies. Hope you try them
I wish I had of bought the butter extract when I saw it in one of the supermarkets. Now I can’t remember which supermarket it was, gah!
What a lot of effort has gone in to perfecting this recipe. It sounds delicious. Cake batter IS delish. Thanks for sharing your perfected recipe.
Lisa {Sweet 2 Eat Baking} recently posted..Raspberry Yogurt
Hi Lisa! I definitely suggest picking up some butter extract whenever you find it again! I’m glad you like cake batter as much as I do
Hi Sally, I was searching online for homemade chocolate granola and clicked on your site. I am so glad that I did!
I made the cake batter sugar cookies and they are so yummy! I did use 1/4 cup white wheat flour + 1/2 cup AP flour. Instead of the butter extract (didn’t have any) I just used used 1/2 tsp pure vanilla and 1/4 almond extract. They are delicious and adorable! I am anxious to try a lot more of your recipes! I love baking and love your site!
Wow! Love the substitutions you used Vanessa! I love white whole wheat flour – I use it in a lot of my breakfast items like banana bread or muffins. You can’t tell at all! I made these with almond extract as well and LOVED them. So glad you enjoyed them! Let me know what else you try
Everything you make looks amazing.Your blog is inspiring! I always love to see your pics come up on foodgawker, they get me every time.
Jaclyn!! Thank you so much for stopping by. That means a lot- you are the foodgawker queen! I must make your Reese’s krispies treats soon.
Yum! I made these to bring to a work event and they were yummy! So soft and fluffy, a great melt-in-your-mouth consistency. I added two more tablespoons of butter since my batter wasn’t holding its shape, and that helped a lot. I couldn’t find this elusive butter extract, but I will keep my eye out. I used the almond extract as suggested, and it gave them a nice flavor.
I also brought a batch of the cake batter blondies since they’re so easy, and everyone RAVED over them!
Alexis recently posted..Podcasts: Fresh Air: Dean Norris on Playing Good in Breaking Bad
Hi Sally
is 350 degrees in degree Celsius or in Fahrenheit ? Thanks
Fahrenheit. Thanks!
Thank you for taking the time to reply my comment !much love xx
Hi Sally!
I was in Michaels today and I stumbled upon the butter extract so I bought it! I was wondering if you have any more recipes using it? I’d love to try some other things with this special little ingredient
Thanks!
Just made these, yummy lil sugar guys! They don’t have much of a cake batter taste though… maybe because I had imitation butter extract on hand? Also I make many things by hand, I avoid using a mixer, so can that affect it also? Yummy sugar cookies!
Interesting Nichole! I’ve had many readers say they taste like cake batter with butter extract – I certainly thought they did too. I’m sorry! Using a mixer over beating by hand wouldn’t affect the taste, just the texture. I love these cookies with almond extract as well – try that one next time!
Yeah, that’s why I’m wondering if the ‘imitation’ part did it. I do also have almond extract on hand, but I think it is also the ‘imitation’…. we shall see! They are slated to be birthday treats for my mother and sister-in-law.
I was so excited to try these for a fall party but mine were a complete fail. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I think I followed your recipe exactly. When I was done mixing the “dough” it was the consistency of a crumble topping. I still did my best to pack it tightly into balls so it would stay together and baked them but they never flattened out. The bottoms burned and I still had a perfect ball. :/ What went wrong?
Hi Mandi! So sorry to hear about that. As stated in the recipe, the dough is very thick and should be pressed down so that the cookies can spread. You may also want to check your oven temperature. Set at 350F, my oven is actually 365F. I have to make sure the dial is at the correct temperature to accurately make the oven 350F. That would lead to burnt cookie bottoms. Hope this helps!
Can you use imiatation butter flavor? It was in with the extracts, but I didn’t see the real deal, only the imitation.
yep, imitation butter extract will work just fine Kimberly!
Ok I love the concept but next time I will just use my own sugar cookie dough and replace vanilla with butter extract. I made this twice. The first time was crumbly and no matter how hard I tried to form a ball it just wasn’t happening. I made another batch and added an extra egg yolk. I also let the eggs get room temp too. They tasted good but the bottoms got slightly too brown because the middle was not getting done. I might try once more but extra butter instead of the extra yolk.
Tabby – I’m so sorry these didn’t turn out for you! Extra butter would cause them to brown on the bottoms as well. Is your oven temp accurate? I know my oven is a pain and I have to use an oven thermometer because it is typically 10-15 degrees warmer than what the dial states. Perhaps try using melted butter rather than softened next time – that would prevent the dough from being too dry and crumbly.
Hi Sally. Im a die-hard fan of Cake batter flavored things. Especially Coldstone’s Cake Batter ice cream.
1.)But WHERE in the world did you get butter extract?
2.) Ive seen “Mccormick’s Imitation Butter Flavor” on amazon, it that it?
Yes, imitation butter flavor is the extract I used – and it’s also pictured and described above.
I love cake batter too. Thanks Gege!
Somehow these little sprinkled gems were hiding from me. I can’t wait to try them! I love cake batter taste (or cookie batter, heck – any batter!) but I don’t like having to use cake mix to get it. These are definitely on my must bake soon list, which is constantly growing! But, first will come the banana cinnamon swirl bread. I have some bananas begging to get baked into something yummy – and everything is better with cinnamon
I love cake batter (and cookie dough!) taste as well.
Let me know if you try thse cake batter cookies sometime Elizabeth! That cinnamon swirl banana bread is a fine choice for dying bananas. I have two recipes coming this week that also use dying bananas too 
oh. my. yum.
These are scrumptiously delicious! (that may be a little redundant, but that’s okay because they are that good!) We accidentally “had” to make a triple batch because Mom (me) made a little measuring mistake (more of a memory / not paying attention mistake) s0 to fix it, I had to triple everything. What a wonderful mistake that turned out to be. A single batch would not have been enough! I’d love to see more cake batter recipes that don’t use cake mix.
The cinnamon swirl banana bread was also delicious! I didn’t put the glaze on. It was wonderful as is – and even better with some Nutella spread on it!
A TRIPLE recipe of cake batter sugar cookies?! Now that sounds fantastic Elizabeth!! I’m so glad you loved that cinnamon swirl banana bread, too! And I may have to try spreading it with Nutella next time.
Sally,
I was wondering if you use this cake batter recipe for cut out cookies too? I have butter flavoring but didn’t think about using it for that cake batter flavor. Gonna try it this week. Thanks for sharing.
Lizbeth
Hi Lizbeth! I fear this dough will be much too sticky for rolling out. I’ve never tried it before, so it’s worth a shot. If it isn’t rolling, I would just make regular drop cookies from it. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Hi Sally!
I had problems making these tonight! The dreaded spreading problem. I’m not sure what went wrong. Could it be that I didn’t use parchment paper or a silicone liner? They didn’t look pretty, but they tasted amazing
I’m determined to try again!
Hey Michelle! I always suggest readers use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Silicone baking mats are amazing and I have never had spreading issues using them. They “grip” onto the cookies and prevent them from going anywhere. I’m glad you liked how they tasted!
Stumbled on these cookies via Pinterest – and tried making them today! I live in Turkey and I couldn’t find butter extract (it’s on my shopping list for the next time I get to Canada!) so I used vanilla extract and the taste was fine…the dough was rather crumbly and dry though…I saw above that you suggested using melted butter instead of room temp butter…I’ll try that next time! Basically, I just wanted to tell you that I love the cookies
I’m so glad you love the cookies, Ayse! I do too. They are one of my favorites. Thanks for reporting back!
Hi Sally! I tried this recipe and it’s wonderfully yummy. I doubled it, and I got 24 medium sized cookies using my cookie scoop. I put the scooped dough balls in the freezer for 24 hours. I didn’t need to press them down, they cooled to a beautiful thickness, neither flat nor domed. Thanks very much for sharing.
Hi Kathy! That is so great to hear – this is one of my favorite cookie recipes.
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