Buttery funfetti cookies filled with a smooth and creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting, what other way would you want to celebrate your birthday?!
Birthdays are all about cake, but what about the cookies?! These fun birthday-inspired cookies are filled with sprinkles for a colourful and fun cookie that screams celebration.
Tips for the perfect funfetti cookie
Looking to create the best funfetti cookie? Follow these tips for cookies with the perfect shape and texture.
Use room temperature ingredients
Using room temperature ingredients is the first step in creating a homogenous batter. If the butter is too cold it'll have a hard time mixing with the white and brown sugar. This step is important as it brings some airiness to the cookie. It'll also make the dough softer so that the sprinkles can be incorporated easily.
Gently mix in the sprinkles
Make sure you are gentle when folding in the sprinkles. Because of all the colours in the sprinkles it is easy for them to bleed into the cookie dough and create a grey cookie. Only mix until the sprinkles are just incorporated!
Chill the dough
Chilling the dough is essential for the perfect cookie texture and height. If you don't chill the cookie the dough will spread very thin during the baking process. If you live in a warm country I would even recommend chilling the dough after the cookie dough balls have been shaped to ensure that the dough hasn't warmed up too much before baking.
Do the cookie scoot
Not all cookies bake evenly, and once they come out of the oven you'll find some are a little more lopsided than others. But don't worry, this is fixable!
Find a cookie cutter or bowl that is slightly larger than your cookies and place it around the cookie, then wiggle the cookie around in circular motions. This will push in the wonky edges and create a perfectly round cookie.
If you are doing this make sure you do it as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. The moment the cookies start to cool down they will firm up and become less malleable.
Ingredients
Cookies
- Unsalted butter, room temperature: Unsalted butter works great in this recipe, but if you prefer a cookie that is less-sweet feel free to use salted butter. If you use salted butter don't add the pinch of salt otherwise your cookie will be too salty!
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar in cookies adds texture and chew
- White sugar: White sugar in cookies adds sweetness and a lighter texture
- Vanilla extract: This is not essential, however it will elevate the taste! If you want to be extra fancy feel free to use vanilla bean paste instead
- Egg: The binding ingredient to keep everything together
- Flour: Wouldn't be a cookie without flour! All-purpose flour/plain flour is perfect
- Baking powder: Baking powder is important for the texture of the cookies as it prevents them from getting too dense
- Baking soda: Baking soda plays the same role as baking powder, but it has more of a boost!
- Salt: Don't forget the salt when making these! As the marshmallows add extra sweetness you need to balance out the flavour with a big pinch of salt
- Sprinkles: I like to use long sprinkles, but feel free to choose your favourite. Any kind will work, just make sure they are colourful!
Cream cheese filling
- Cream cheese: Use a block of cream cheese for this, we want the filling to be firm enough to hold in the centre of the cookie. Spreadable cream cheese is a lot softer in texture and not the right choice in this case!
- Unsalted butter: Butter helps give the filling a smooth and pipeable texture. Make sure you use unsalted butter as there is not much sugar in this filling to balance out any salt
- White sugar: Sugar adds a touch of sweetness to these, but we don't need much as the cookies themselves are quite sweet
- Vanilla extract: This gives the filling the vanilla frosting flavour that is essentiual when recreating a birthday cake!
Frequently asked questions
How do I know when the cookies are ready?
The cookies are ready when they are lightly golden brown, and darker brown around the edges. The cookies will look set, but will still be soft if you try to pick them up. They will firm up as they cool don't worry!
What kind of cream cheese should I use?
To make the filling it's better to use block cream cheese rather than spreadable cream cheese. This is because the texture is firmer, creating a denser, creamy cheesecake filling.
Do I have to make the filling?
Nope! If you just want some delicious birthday cake cookies feel free to just bake the cookies. They are equally as delicious.
How long do these last?
These are best 1-2 days from when they are made. As they have a cream cheese filling they will soften up as they sit. The cookie will absorb moisture from the frosting overtime, creating an incredibly flavourful and moist cookie, but it won't hold up as long as a regular chocolate chip cookie.
How should I store these?
It is important to store these cookies in the fridge as they have a cream cheese filling. This prevents it from spoiling as well as giving it more of a cheesecake texture. Place these cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for optimum storage!
Can I freeze these?
The cream cheese frosting doesn't hold very well after thawing as it will cause the whole cookie to become soft. If freezing these I would recommend freezing the cookies and cream cheese filling separately. Then when ready to consume defrost both the cookies and filling, and assemble the cookies.
Let's Get Cooking
If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.
Follow me on facebook, pinterest, youtube and tiktok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!
Print📖 Recipe
Birthday Cake Cookies
Buttery funfetti cookies filled with a smooth and creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting, what other way would you want to celebrate your birthday?!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 Cookies 1x
- Category: Cookie
- Method: Easy
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Birthday Cookies
- 120g Unsalted butter, room temperature (½ cup)
- 100g White sugar (½ cup)
- 45g Brown sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 180g Plain flour (1 ½ cup)
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup Sprinkles
Cream Cheese Filling
- 200g Cream cheese (7.05 oz)
- 60g Unsalted butter, room temperature (¼ cup)
- 50g White sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Birthday Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 355F
- Combine butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat on high speed until light and fluffy
- Add egg and vanilla, beat until combined
- Add flour, baking powder and baking soda, mix until just combined
- Fold in the sprinkles
- Cover bowl with cling wrap and chill for at least 1 hour
- Remove and shape into 12 balls, flatten slightly
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper (make sure to leave enough space between each ball for the cookie to spread)
- Bake for 12-13 minutes until golden brown
- Cool completely
Cream Cheese Filling
- Combine the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer
- Beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until smooth and creamy
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip
- Pipe a large dollop on the bottom of a cookie and top with a matching sized cookie
- Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge until it's time to eat!
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Anne
I made this last week and boy, was it delicious! I was a bit worried about these cookies being too sweet with the frosting and all... but it was the perfect amount of sweetness 🙂 my family and I devoured these 💗 thank you Catherine 💗
Catherine Zhang
Hi Anne! So glad you loved them ❤️❤️