Classically soft, delightfully festive, and impossibly easy, Christmas Cookie Sparkles are the holiday sugar cookie everyone adores. They start with a plush, cream-cheese-enhanced sugar cookie dough, and are rolled in sparkling sugar or your favorite sprinkles for the prettiest crunch on the outside and an ultra-soft center inside.
I originally published this recipe in 2017. These cookies have been a longtime reader favorite (and you may recognize them from Sally’s Cookie Addiction all dressed up in holiday colors!), and this updated post now includes more tips and sprinkle options.
A Cookie That Always Sparkles
Yes, they’re called Cookie Sparkles, and for good reason: you will roll each cookie in sanding sugar for a shimmery, glittery finish. But don’t feel limited! While the original recipe uses classic sanding sugar sprinkles, these cookies are wonderfully flexible and take well to jimmies, nonpareils, holiday-themed mixes, pastel blends, rainbow sprinkles, even natural-color sanding sugars.
If it sticks to cookie dough, you can use it. 🙂
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Christmas Cookie Sparkles
- Extremely soft thanks to a touch of cream cheese (like my frosted cream cheese cookies)
- Minimal chill time (just 1 hour!)
- Drop-style dough—no rolling pin, no cutters
- Customizable with any sprinkles you love
- Classic sugar cookie flavor with extra richness
Grab These Ingredients
This recipe uses the basics you likely already have in your kitchen. In fact, it’s the same dough as my Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies—just without the frosting.
- Flour: All-purpose flour gives these cookies their structure.
- Baking Powder: Helps them rise gently.
- Salt: A must for balancing sweetness.
- Butter: Make sure it’s properly softened for the creaming stage. See How to Cream Butter & Sugar if you need a refresher on this step.
- Cream Cheese: The secret ingredient that makes these cookies exceptionally soft and creamy.
- Granulated Sugar: Simple, classic sweetness.
- Egg: For binding and structure.
- Vanilla + Almond Extract: The almond extract adds such a lovely bakery-style flavor.
- Sanding Sugar or Any Sprinkles: The sparkly coating. Use classic sanding sugar or get creative!
How to Make Christmas Cookie Sparkles
Today’s cookies are drop-style, not roll-out style like classic Christmas cookies—meaning they’re simple, fast, and perfect for kids to help with.
Whisk the dry ingredients. Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Combine wet + dry ingredients. The dough will be thick, as pictured above.
Chill the dough for about 1 hour, and then roll into balls (about 1 Tablespoon each). Roll in sprinkles or sanding sugar:
Gently flatten the tops. This helps them spread evenly.
Bake until the edges are set. Quick, unfussy, and reliably delicious!
Don’t Skip The Cream Cheese
A couple ounces of cream cheese transform these from “good sugar cookies” to truly exceptional sugar cookies. Cream cheese adds:
- Softness without making the cookies cakey
- A creamy, slightly tangy richness
- A plush, smooth center that contrasts beautifully with the crisp sprinkle coating
- Once you try sugar cookies with cream cheese in the dough, it’s hard to go back!
To Sparkle or Not to Sparkle
Love a crunchy exterior? Stick with sanding sugar or sprinkles because it’s festive, fun, and adds a satisfying texture. Prefer your sugar cookies soft all the way through? Skip the sprinkles and bake them plain. They’re wonderful frosted with my cream cheese frosting (use the version from my Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies) or enjoy them unfrosted as simple, extra-soft sugar cookies.
Either way, you’re using the same reliable dough.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Christmas Cookie Sparkles
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super soft and creamy cream cheese sugar cookies rolled in sprinkles!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ounces (57g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract*
- 3/4 cup (150g) sprinkles (sanding sugar, nonpareils, and/or jimmies)
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until relatively smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until combined and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be thick. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 3-4 days. If chilling for longer than 2-3 hours, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard and the cookies may not spread.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Pour sanding sugar in a bowl or, if using multiple colors, a few separate bowls.
- Roll balls of cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie, then roll each ball in the sprinkles to coat. Place each dough ball 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Using the back of a measuring cup or drinking glass, gently press down on each dough ball to slightly flatten.
- Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. Unbaked cookie dough balls (without sanding sugar coating) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, pre-heat the oven, then roll in sanding sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Stand Mixer or Handheld) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds a wonderful flavor to the cookies. You can leave it out. No need to replace with anything.
- Sprinkles: You can use sanding sugar, non-pareils, or jimmy-style sprinkles. This sprinkles collection has a little of everything. I find sanding sugar sprinkles at my regular grocery store. You can usually find them in the baking aisle. I like Wilton brand. If you’re shopping for sanding sugar online, I like (affiliate links) the sugars from this holiday set, these multicolor, these green, and these red. I’ve also used this gold pearlized sugar.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Will this work if I add a Hershey kiss on top after they are baked? Maybe keep the kisses in the fridge first?
Yes, absolutely!
These are amazing exactly as written. For the holidays I thought I’d try an eggnog spin so I swapped the cream cheese for 1/4 cup of eggnog, swapped the almond extract for an eggnog emulsion and added a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg – phenomenal with the same pillowy softness plus warm holiday spice!
Love these! Easy to make, fun to look at, and delicious!
Can’t tell you how many times I have made this yummy cookie! I just made them for Easter using the pastel-colored sprinkles. They look so darn cute. Haven’t found a recipe of yours that I haven’t liked. Thank you.
Wow, these were amazing and I’m sure your secret ingredient, cream cheese, made all the difference. Thank you! For the holidays, I bake cookies, bars and fast breads to share with neighbors and family. And to keep it interesting, I never make the same cookie twice, often experimenting on them (though they don’t know it!). So my question might be tough for you (kind of like picking your favorite children) and without knowing which of your amazing cookies I’ve made before, can you give me a list (maybe 4 or 5) of your favorite cookies? That way, next year I won’t spend a few hours agonizing over which ones to make. Thank you for sharing your amazing and delicious recipes!
Hi Sally
These cookies look amazing! Can you use this cookie dough in a cookie press? I would like to make your spritz cookies as well (rainy day kids activity) but don’t want to make two types of dough 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Jennie! We haven’t tested it, but this dough is likely too thick to use with a cookie press. Best to stick with the spritz dough recipe!
Hi Sarah, We have never tested these cookies with an egg substitute so we are unsure of the results if you use one. Let us know if you give anything a try!
Can I use the regular sugar cookie recipe and instead of cutting into shapes I roll in the sugar? Since the classic recipe makes 24 cookies I want to make sone different. Thanks
Hi Jennifer, we don’t recommend it. The sugar cookies are best meant for cutouts. If used for these Christmas Cookie Sparkles, the won’t spread correctly. You could always halve the recipes if you don’t want as big a yield!
So there really is a cream cheese shortage. Is there anything I can substitute? Or another sugar cookie recipe that I can still use the sanding sugar with?
Hi Alice! You can use our drop style sugar cookies and leave the sprinkles out of the dough (if desired) and roll in sprinkles instead.
Hi! I love this recipe!
I got some cool cookie stamps recently for my birthday. Would this recipe work if i pressed the dough ball with the stamp after rolling in sugar? Thx so much!
Merry Christmas
Yes, this dough should work with a cookie stamp – let us know if you try it!
I want to make three batches of these. Can I double this recipe?
P.S. I already know your cookies are real good just by the picture.
Hi Sarah, doubling these should be fine, just make sure the added volume is not too much that it overwhelms your mixer. Hope you love the cookies!
Thanks! I was planing to gift normal sugar cookies but then I felt lazy on having to do the 5 steps of sugar cookie making ( making the dough, cookie cutting, baking, frosting making, and decorating which can be tricky), but when I found this recipe it saved my day because its both festive and easy to make. God bless you.
These cookies are so good and so pretty! Mine came out just like yours pictured on the site (that doesn’t usually happen to me)! Thank you for the great recipe and these are going into my holiday cookie tins!
I love this recipe, its such a hit! Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes it can!
Great cookie. On my save recipe must keeps. Takes a lot of sprinkles. well worth it. Used green. red and Gold
This is a perfect recipe. I followed it exactly, and it turned out great. It was a perfect choice for a cookie baking day; I set up a little assembly line where three people could participate and all keep chatting. They also look amazing on a holiday cookie plate. Definitely a keeper, and I’m looking forward to my baby son helping with these in the future as he grows up. Thank you!
Another holiday baking hit! Sally, your spin on a sugar cookie in this recipe without the roll-out process was spot on! The cookies hold up so nicely, and I love the almond flavor.
I made the cookies rolled in red sanding sugar, and then I ran out and was too lazy to get more sanding sugar. Seeing how thick the cookies were after a slight push down with a measuring cup, I rolled the rest of cookies in granulated sugar, and used your brown sugar cookie recipe idea of stamping the cookies on the remaining dough. It came out PERFECT! Plus it looked like I had two different types of cookies! For the stamped cookies, I dipped 1/2 a side into melted dark chocolate, and on a few I put some sliced almonds to give it a gourmet look. My mother in law thought I purchased the cookies from a bakery!
Hi sally, I only have “whipped spreadable” cream cheese. Will this work?
Hi Shawna! Whipped cream cheese will be much too wet for these cookies. You need block style cream cheese for best results.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! We made them tonight and they are amazing. We will definitely be making these again!
Hi! Mine came out a bit cakey, is there something that I missed?? I love all your recipes, and was really disappointed these didn’t come out the way they should’ve
Hi Briana, They should be pretty dense and chewy, not cakey. Did you make any ingredient substitutions at all? Be sure that you spoon and level (not scoop) the flour – or weigh it – to be sure you are not using too much.
Mine came out a bit cakey too but because I know I measured my ingredients correctly I could only assume that I most likely over beat the the butter& cream cheese with the sugar but my family doesn’t mind; they actually love it.
So delicious! My son keeps mentioning how good they are. I can’t wait to make them for Easter in pretty pastel colors.
I used coconut extract in place of almond in a pinch & it was delightful!
Oh my goodness! These are easy, festive and delicious. I made them a few days ago, froze the balls of dough (per your recipe tip) and baked them today. They could not be better!
Made these tonight with my kiddos and YUM!!! Kids had fun helping too This recipe is definitely a keeper!! Thanks Sally!
Hi Sally,
I made sure to make these using a tablespoon to measure out each cookie, but I ended up with close to 40 cookies…should I have done 1/5 tablespoons instead?
Thank you!
There’s no issue there! Tablespoon measures can be off by a few grams and that can add up over 32-40 cookies. Same bake time with yours.
Hi sally,
I don’t have any cream cheese on hand and was wondering if i could sub it for anything. Maybe sour cream? Thank you 🙂
Sour cream could work, but in this case, I recommend just using my drop sugar cookies recipe instead.
Can I do any substitute for the cream cheese? I’m not a fan of The flavor ofcream cheese.
Hi Sierra! You can’t really taste its flavor, though it does add a bit of tang. Instead, use my drop style sugar cookies and leave the sprinkles out of the dough (if desired) and roll in sprinkles instead.
My new go-to rolled sugar cookie! These are amazing! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
I followed this recipe exactly and they turned out perfectly… if anything I wish I would’ve pushed them down a bit more the dough is perfect! I altered this recipe for a batch and added a few DROPS of mint chocolate lorannes candy oil instead of vanilla extract AND a drop of green food coloring for a mint chip version. Amazing staple recipe for sugar cookies. I chilled my dough for about 2 hours before balling them up and coating with sprinkles.
Will this recipe work if used in a cookie cutter and decorated after?
Hi, Melissa! I’m afraid this dough wouldn’t hold its shape for cookie cutters. I would recommend my Christmas Sugar Cookies instead.
Can you use regular red & green colored sugar?
You want a course sugar – which is often sold as sanding sugar. You can definitely make your own colors with this sugar and a drop of food coloring!
Can this be made with gluten free flour?
Hi Helen, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour so we’re unsure of the results, but many readers have had success using gluten free flour in our cookie recipes. Let us know if you give it a try!