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Home » Desserts » Cookies » Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe

Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe

April 15, 2020 By Maria 6 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This soft, buttery Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe is not only delicious but also fun and festive for any occasion.  Use your favorite cookie cutters to make fun shapes and decorate with royal icing for a beautiful presentation.

Bowl of round shaped funfetti Cutout Cookies.

Let’s face it, sprinkles make me happy!  They are colorful, fun, and the perfect addition to any celebration.  Before having our daughter (our second child), I used to make custom decorated cookies for clients.  I would make plain sugar cookies topped with royal icing for all occasions (birthdays, bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, baptisms, etc.).  But adding sprinkles to the cookie dough, takes it to the next level.  I can’t resist a delicious funfetti dessert, and these cookies are no exception.

Funfetti cutout cookies are soft, buttery vanilla sugar cookies with the addition of a pop of color.  The dough is simple to make, and adding a chilling time will help ensure perfectly cut shapes.  Kids and adults alike will love these cookies.  You can simply serve them as is or add a delicious frosting to complete.  These cookies are the perfect celebration cookie!

Stack of round funfetti cutout cookies.

Before you begin

Take out the following baking equipment.

Digital kitchen scale
2 baking sheet pans
Parchment paper
1 medium bowl
2 small bowls
Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
Silicone spatula
Rolling pin
Cookies cutters
Wire cooling rack

Allow all your ingredients to come to room temperature.
Read the recipe through from start to finish.

Understanding Ingredients

Butter adds a delicious flavor to cookies.  But that is not the only role of butter in cookies.  It also coats the proteins and starches in the cookie dough to create a delicate crumb.  Always use unsalted butter and ensure that it is room temperature before beginning this recipe.  Ideally, allow it to sit at room temperature as opposed to microwaving it to soften.  For best results, always use real butter.  Do not substitute or else your cookies will lose their perfect shape.  And when it comes to mixing, make sure your butter is completely incorporated.  Otherwise, you will have pockets of butter that will cause your cookies to spread when they melt in the oven.

Baking powder is added to these cookies to prevent dense cookies.  The leavener creates carbon dioxide, which lightens the cookies and gives the cookies a lovely chew factor.  I do not recommend using baking soda, or else it will cause the cutout cookies to spread (goes against everything we are trying to prevent!).

Stack of round funfetti cutout cookies.

Rolling out Funfetti Cutout Cookies

Over the years, I have tested making cutout cookies without chilling the dough, chilling the dough once and chilling the dough before and after rolling out the dough.  I have found the most effective method for making cutout cookies is to roll out the dough and then chill the dough.  Following this particular sequence makes it simple to roll out the dough (no fighting cold dough to roll it out only to have it soften it up again), gives a clean cut with sharp edges, and helps prevent your cookies from spreading in the oven.

To get consistent cookie thickness every time, I always use an adjustable rolling pin (this one).  I set my rolling pin to 1/4-inch (6 mm) for the perfect thickness.  Anything less tends to be too thin, and increasing to 3/8-inch (9 mm) works but tends to be a bit thick and heavy.

Decorating cookies

Although these funfetti cutout cookies are delicious on their own, it’s fun to dress these them up.  There are a variety of ways to add the final touch.  I always prefer using royal icing for a beautiful clean look, but you can also decorate with swiss meringue buttercream or a simple glaze.

Royal Icing

To make royal icing, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine 50 g of meringue powder with 150 g of lukewarm water.  Turn the mixer on to low speed until combined and then increase speed to high for about 3 minutes.  Add 907 g (2 pounds) of powdered sugar to the mixer and turn the mixer back on to low until the sugar is incorporated.  Increase speed to high for 2 minutes.  Add 12 g pure vanilla extract and continue to mix for an additional one minute.  Keep covered when not actively using so that the royal icing does not dry out.

I have always preferred to outline my cookies with a stiffer royal icing and then flood the cookies with a thinned out royal icing.  If using this method, I would highly suggest using this piping tip.  When I switched to that specific piping tip, I honestly believe my outlining skills improved (this is not a sponsored post, just what has worked for me over the years of trial and error).

Stack of round funfetti cutout cookies.

Tips and takeaways

  • Stick with sprinkles for this recipe.  Nonpareils tend to bleed in the oven and will not yield as pretty cookies compared to using sprinkles (aka jimmies).
  • If you like almond flavor, I would recommend replacing half of the pure vanilla extract with pure almond extract.
  • If decorating these cookies with royal icing, I always recommend using a gel food coloring to get the best colors without affecting the consistency of your icing.

More cutout cookie recipes

  • Chocolate sugar cookies
  • Lemon butter cookies
  • Pumpkin spice sugar cookies

Make sure to tag me @thesweetoccasion on Instagram and leave me a review below if you make this Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe. I’d love to see your creations and read your feedback.  And if you would like to make this recipe later, be sure to pin this recipe using the button on any of these images. Let’s make every occasion a sweet occasion!

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Stack of round funfetti cutout cookies.

Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Maria
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 3 dozen cookies 1x
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Description

This soft, buttery Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe is not only delicious but also fun and festive for any occasion.  Use your favorite cookie cutters to make fun shapes and decorate with royal icing for a beautiful presentation.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 560 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 3 g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
  • 1 g (1/4 teaspoon) baking powder
  • 226 g (2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 330 g (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
  • 100 g (2 large) eggs, at room temperature
  • 7 g (2 teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
  • 65 g (1/3 cup) sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in eggs, one at a time, until combined and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
  4. On low speed, slowly add flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until incorporated.  Add the sprinkles and increase mixer speed to medium.  Mix until the dough begins to pull from the sides of the bowl.
  5. Divide the dough into two portions.  Between two pieces of parchment paper, roll one of the portions to a 1/4-inch (0.6 cm) thickness.  Refrigerate with parchment paper for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, roll the second portion of dough between an additional two pieces of parchment paper and refrigerate.
  6. Remove the first portion of dough from the refrigerator and remove the parchment paper.  Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes and transfer to prepared baking sheet pans.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on hot sheet pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.  Repeat with the second portion of the dough and any leftover scrapes.
  • Category: Cookies & Bars

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mallory

    January 31, 2022 at 3:11 pm

    I’ve been a hobby cookier for years and I used this recipe to make Valentines for my niece to give to her class. I used Valentine’s-colored jimmies and cut the cookies into heart shapes, which I decorated to look as if the icing was dripping to coordinate with the paper backing cards that said “You melt my heart!” This decoration left the majority of the cookie exposed so that you could see the jimmies. SO CUTE. As for the texture and flavor, these were more shortbread-like than my signature recipe. I did a taste test with my extended family (my harshest cookie critics), and everyone loved them!! I used Williams Sonoma cookie sheets and Chua baking mats, and these did not spread at all. I’ll be using this recipe a lot!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Maria

      February 1, 2022 at 1:23 am

      Hi Mallory! Your cookies sound like they are super adorable! I’m sure your niece’s classmates all loved them! Thank you so much for sharing and I’m so happy your family loved the flavor. Happy Baking 🙂

      Reply
  2. Melissa

    June 7, 2022 at 3:38 am

    I have my ingredients to make these cookies, but need to know if they can be frozen either before decorating with my royal icing or after. I do not want to ruin a whole batch of cookies by doing it I. the wrong order. TY in advance for your help!

    Reply
    • Maria

      June 7, 2022 at 11:46 pm

      Hi Melissa! You can freeze the cookies with or without the royal icing. If you are using colored royal icing or sprinkles there is a chance that it could bleed when you thaw them so to play it safe I would suggest freezing them before icing them. If you are freezing them with the royal icing ensure that the icing is completely dry. Place in an airtight container with parchment paper or wax paper between layers. Happy Baking 🙂

      Reply
  3. Whitney

    June 19, 2022 at 3:40 am

    I followed this recipe exactly as you say and the taste is halfway okay but the cookies literally all have fallen apart and will not stay together. When I put them in the oven they literally spread. I was making these to make royal icing cookies ? Your ingredients are off.

    Reply
    • Maria

      June 20, 2022 at 1:16 pm

      Hi Whitney, I’m sorry to hear these cookies were not up to your expectation. Cookies falling apart sounds like too much flour. I always recommend measuring flour with a scale for consistency. If you do not have a scale and are using cups it’s very important to measure flour carefully or too much flour will be used. You can do this by scooping the flour with a spoon into the measuring cup and leveling with a knife. Adding too much flour will also affect the flavor of any cookies. Hope this helps for future reference 🙂

      Reply

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