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Some recipes exist purely for fun, and honestly, we need more of those!! These mini frosted vanilla cookies aren’t trying to be complicated or overly sophisticated—they’re here to deliver big personality that’s packaged in bite-sized cookies.
These miniature, colorful cookies are small, but they deliver a big personality in every bite. They start with a simple vanilla cookie dough before it’s cut into small shapes. Each one is topped with vanilla or chocolate icing and finished with a pinch of sprinkles. If we were to describe the taste of these cookies, it is somewhere between a frosted sugar cookie and a mini glazed donut. The texture of the cookies has that perfect balance of buttery, sweet vanilla that melts in your mouth.
These mini frosted vanilla cookies are the perfect sweet treat for parties, gifting to friends or coworkers, holiday cookie platters, or simply creating a little whimsy in your kitchen on an ordinary afternoon. Their size makes them ideal finger food desserts, while the colorful icing and sprinkles make them feel instantly celebratory.
Why You’ll Love These Mini Frosted Sprinkle Cookies
- Pure fun to make!! How can you look at these cookies and not smile? The entire process of making these cookies from start to finish- cutting the small shapes, baking sheets of the tiny cookies, and finishing them with a dunk in icing and rainbow sprinkles – makes for a fun baking day!
- Personalize for holidays or events! If you’re hosting a gameday watch party, dye the icing to match the team colors. Making for Christmas? Color the icing red and green and top with festive sprinkles. The possibilities are truly endless, which makes this recipe so versatile!
- Great for gifting! If you’re looking for an intentional gift for coworkers or friends, these cookies make for a great gift! Fill little treat bags with mini cookies and tie with a cute ribbon and a note. Who wouldn’t love getting a bag of cookies?!
Ingredients You’ll Need
for the vanilla dough
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Salt
Cookie frosting
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Milk
- Corn syrup
- Red food coloring
- Cocoa powder
How to Make Mini Frosted Sprinkle Cookies, Step by Step
Step 1. Preheat the oven, and cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer.
Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them to the side while you make the vanilla cookie dough.
Using a hand mixer or an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter on high speed until creamy. Then lower the speed of the mixer to low as you beat in the powdered sugar. As the powdered sugar blends into the butter, increase the speed of the mixer until the butter and sugar are evenly blended and fluffy.
Step 2. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and salt.
Next, beat in eggs one at a time before adding vanilla and salt. Beat until creamy and smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl to beat in any excess sugar or butter that is stuck on the sides of the bowl.
Step 3. Mix in the dry ingredients until the dough forms. Roll in ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill.
Add the flour to the creamed butter mixture and mix in the flour on medium speed until just blended. Scrape the edges for any loose or excess flour and mix it into the batter. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
Once your dough forms, turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll the dough into a disk and tightly wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 30-45 minutes.
Tip: Because these cookies are small, you don’t want a lot of spread as you bake. Chilling the dough will solidify the fats and help to keep the shape of the cookies.
Step 4. Roll out the dough and cut into mini shapes. Bake and cool completely.
Flour a clean countertop or large cutting board. Roll the chilled dough into a large rectangle until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick.
Use small cookie cutters to cut the dough into small shapes. We recommend the cookie cutters be about 1-inch wide to make a small bite-sized cookie.
Place the small cookies on a baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. These cookies shouldn’t spread much, so you can load up the pan with as many as can fit without touching. You may need to bake 3-4 batches, depending on the size of your cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 8-11 minutes. They won’t take long. You’ll know they are ready when they feel slightly firm on the top.
Step 5. Ice and decorate the cookies with sprinkles. Let them set to harden for about 10-15 minutes before enjoying.
Let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack before you ice and decorate them.
Start by making a large batch of vanilla icing in a medium bowl. Separate the icing evenly into three smaller bowls.
- Bowl 1: Vanilla icing – leave as is.
- Bowl 2: Pink icing – stir in a couple drops of red food coloring.
- Bowl 3: Stir in cocoa powder until smooth.
Once you have your designated icing bowls, dip the tops of the cookies in the icing. Immediately add sprinkles to the tops before they harden.
Place the decorated cookies on a large sheet of wax paper to set. Let the icing set on the cookies for about 20 minutes. You can speed this up by popping them in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes.
Tip: Use this tip if you’re making these solo and don’t have extra hands to help in the kitchen. Have one hand for dipping cookies in icing and the other for adding the sprinkles.
Tips for Making Mini Sugar Cookies
- Add powdered sugar. We wanted these smaller cookies to have a lighter texture and the powdered sugar helps to create a ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ cookie.
- Change the icing color and cookie shape to match the occasion. The recipe is sturdy enough, but these cookies are versatile. Change the color and cookie shape for different holidays, celebrations or occasions.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing. These cookies are small, so they will only take about 10-15 minutes to cool completely. If the cookies are too warm when you ice them, the icing will run off the cookies and make a gooey mess.
- Add sprinkles right after icing the cookies. The icing will harden quickly, so make sure to have the sprinkles handy to add right after you ice the cookies.
- Corn syrup will give the icing some structure. Corn structure will thicken the icing and give it a bit more structure for these small cookies.
Recipe FAQ
How should I store decorated sugar cookies?
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Place parchment paper between layers if stacking.
More fun Dessert Recipes for your next baking day:
Mini Frosted Sprinkle Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Description
These mini frosted sprinkle cookies are soft, buttery, and topped with sweet frosting and colorful sprinkles. An easy sugar cookie recipe that’s perfect for birthdays, holidays, parties, and decorating for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup of sprinkles
- Small cookie cutters
Cookie Frosting
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2–3 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp corn syrup
- 1–2 drops red food coloring
- 3 tsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, beat butter until whipped and creamy.
- Add in powdered sugar. Beat again until smooth.
- Beat in egg, vanilla, and salt until combined.
- Pour the flour into the bowl a little at a time. Blend until smooth and incorporated.
- Roll the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
- Remove from the fridge. Roll out the dough into 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Use small cookie cutters (that are about 1 inch in diameter) to cut the dough into shapes.
- Line the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-11 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool the cookies completely before glazing.
- In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt. Separate icing evenly into 3 smaller bowls:1) white icing – leave plain, 2) pink icing- stir in a couple drops of red food coloring, and 3) chocolate icing – stir in cocoa powder until smooth.
- Dip the tops of the cookies into the icing and sprinkle the top of the cookies with sprinkles. Place the decorated cookies on a large sheet of wax paper to set.
- Let the cookies set for 15-20 minutes on the parchment paper. Or pop them in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to blast chill them.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Chill Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
