Key Ingredients
Butter -Adds rich flavor and a tender, soft texture. Butter also helps with a little spread so cookies bake evenly. It also provides structure and moisture because it interacts with sugar and flour.
Granulated Sugar– The most obvious and important role! Sugar provides the classic cookie sweetness and enhances the flavor of the butter, vanilla, and cake batter extract.
Cake Batter Extract – Gives thees cookies that classic “birthday cake” flavor without adding extra sugar. It also of course, imparts a fun, nostalgic taste reminiscent of boxed cake mix- which is my absolute favorite!
Baking Powder – A chemical leavening agent that helps cookies rise and become fluffy. Baking powder creates tiny air pockets for a soft, light texture. It also works especially well in cookies with a buttery base to prevent them from being too dense.
Sprinkles– My favorite way to add a touch of crunch and a pop of color! Sprinkles just make these cookie sparkle!
FAQ’s
Helpful tips
Here are some important Pro tips by Maude
- Dont pack your flour: When measuring the flour, you don’t want to pack it into the measuring cup. Gently spoon the flour into the cup and then using a butter knife, scrape off the excess on top!
- Chill your dough: It prevents excessive spreading and helps cookies bake evenly.
- Use room-temperature butter for frosting: This makes your buttercream smooth and easy to pipe. I am guilty of this! I sometimes take the butter out of the fridge too late and try to make buttercream and it doesn’t mix properly! The butter needs to truly be room temperature (not melted) before making the buttercream.
- Pipe for perfection: Using a piping bag gives a neat, bakery-style look, but spreading with a spatula works too.
- Experiment with sprinkles: Rainbow, nonpareils, or themed sprinkles can make these cookies festive for any occasion.
- Avoid overbaking: Pull the cookies out when edges are set but centers are still soft—they’ll firm up as they cool.
- Storage tip: Keep frosted cookies in a single layer in an airtight container to prevent smudging the buttercream.
More Recipes!
Here are some more recipes you might enjoy!
If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!
Birthday Cake Cookies
SERVINGS 14 cookies
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Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 stick butter (113.5 g), softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups flour (246 g), (not packed, but spooned and leveled if not measuring in grams)
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) cake batter extract
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (65-70 g) sprinkles
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup butter (227 g), softened to room temperature
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups (300-360 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp (10 g) heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp (1 g) almond extract
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- pink or yellow food gel
- sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
Enable Step-by-Step Mode- For the cookies, mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl- set aside (*see note below about measuring flour).
- Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat your sugar and butter for about 3 minutes until light in color and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and cake batter extracts. Mix gently until combined. (Note: in the recipe video I mixed by hand with a spatula. I will admit, I like the outcome from a stand mixer better!)
- Sift all dry ingredients into the bowl along with the cream. I like to run the mixer on low for about 4 seconds and then use a spatula to fully incorporate everything. Add the sprinkles and fold again.
- Lay out saran or plastic wrap on your counter and plop your cookie dough onto the wrap. Place another piece of saran wrap on top of the dough and form everything into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, I like to chill my dough overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove your dough from fridge and let it set on the counter for about 30 min, maybe an hour depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Sprinkle flour on your counter (or a large board) and roll out your dough to about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes.
- Place your shapes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill in fridge for about 20 min before baking.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies should not brown and should look slightly under baked. Thats ok! Thats what makes them tender and delicious later. After about 3-5 min of cooling, using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack.
- For the buttercream frosting, using a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat butter until nice and fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar, mix for 30 seconds. Then add remaining ingredients (if you like sweeter buttercream use 3 cups of powdered sugar), mix until you reach desired consistency! Pipe or spread frosting onto the cooled sugar cookies. Add a healthy dose of sprinkles and enjoy!
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or fridge 2–3 days.. To Freeze: Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in fridge before serving.
If you're using a 3 inch cookie cutter round, this dough can yield 14-16 cookies.
Recipe Notes: I've been using this sugar cookie recipe from Martha Stewart for years- it has been my go to! In the last couple of years, I've played around with different flavors additions like almond extract, cake batter extract, sprinkles in this case and lemon zest. I also have incorporated a touch of cream to the dough to help improve texture and bring everything together- it also adds a little richness.
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