(Last Updated On: April 19, 2023)
Not only do these cream cheese cookies look cute, but they also melt in your mouth with a chocolaty surprise inside, a couple of chocolate chips, just enough to say… Mmmm! Cream cheese cookies with sprinkles are soft, chewy, and so delicious!
What’s in these Cream Cheese Cookies with Sprinkles?
These amazing little cookies have butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, cream cheese, 1 egg, and vanilla extract in the recipe. A touch of cinnamon and a couple of chocolate chips inside for a sweet surprise, then surrounded with lots of sprinkles on all sides. They-Are-So-Good!!
Key Ingredients for Cream Cheese Cookies with Sprinkles
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter – softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar – firmly packed
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- An 8-ounce brick of cream cheese – softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- Sprinkles
Step-By-Step Cream Cheese Cookies with Sprinkles Instructions with Photos
Step 1. Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2. Soften the Butter
In a small microwaveable bowl, put 3/4 cup of unsalted butter in the microwave for 20 seconds, just until it starts to soften up a bit. Depending on the power of your microwave, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the butter while it is in the microwave.
Step 3. Combine the Butter, Sugar, and Cream Cheese
Put the 8-ounce brick of cream cheese on the cupboard and let it sit at room temperature until it has softened, or microwave it for about 5 to 10 seconds to soften it.
Then, in a medium-sized bowl, add the softened butter together with 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and the softened 8 ounces of cream cheese.
Stir the butter together with the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cream cheese. Stir until well blended.
Step 4. Add the Eggs and Vanilla Extract
Add 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract together with the butter, cream cheese, and sugar mixture.
Stir the egg and vanilla extract together with the butter, cream cheese, and sugar mixture with a spatula or spoon until well blended.
Step 5. Prepare the Flour Mixture
In a different medium-sized bowl, add 2 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour together with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Mix the flour mixture until well blended.
Step 6. Add the Flour Mixture to the Butter, Cream Cheese, and Sugar Mixture
Slowly add the flour mixture together with the butter, cream cheese, and sugar mixture. Stir together until well blended into cookie dough.
Step 7. Refrigerate the Cookie Dough
The flour mixture and the butter, cream cheese, and sugar mixture make up the cookie dough. This cookie dough will be a bit sticky. Because of this, the cookie dough needs to be put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to chill before baking. Chilling the cookie dough in the refrigerator makes it less sticky and helps to firm the dough for easier handling.
Above all, don’t panic and think it needs more flour added to it. This cookie is a soft melt-in-your-mouth cookie, hence, adding more flour will make the cookie dry, hard, and crumbly.
Tip: You can chill the cookie dough even longer than a couple of hours if you are busy with other life matters, even a couple of days if need be. Cover the cookie dough with some plastic wrap if it’s going to be in the refrigerator longer than a few hours.
Step 8. Hide the Chocolate Chips
This is the fun part of making these cookies because we are going to hide a couple of chocolate chips inside the center of the cookie dough.
After the cookie dough has chilled for a couple of hours, use a cookie scoop and scoop out about 3/4 of a scoop of the cookie dough. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can use a spoon and roll the cookie dough in your hands to form a ball.
Tip: In case the cookie dough is still sticky after chilling it in the refrigerator, you can “very lightly” dust your hands with flour if you aren’t using a cookie scoop.
Push a couple of chocolate chips, one at a time, into the center of the cookie dough. You can hide more than two chocolate chips inside each cookie. The more chocolate, the better, right? But in this case, about four is the limit because there’s not enough room for any more.
After that, cover the chocolate chips with some more cookie dough. It’s okay to overfill the cookie scoop with cookie dough while hiding the chocolate chips. The cookie dough should be rounded out above the cookie scoop a little bit.
Step 9. Roll the Ball of Cookie Dough in the Sprinkles
Release the cookie dough from the cookie scoop and let the cookie dough fall out into the bowl of sprinkles. With your hands or a spoon, roll it around getting sprinkles on all sides of the ball of cookie dough. Do this with the rest of the cookie dough, scoop out some cookie dough, hide the chocolate chips, and then roll it in the bowl of sprinkles.
Note: There are so many different kinds of sprinkles to buy for cookies. From original sprinkles to fancy sprinkles, holiday sprinkles, and special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, and graduation. You can let your imagination go wild while decorating these cookies. Even edible glitter, and sprinkle stickers would be so cute on these cookies, so have some fun with that.
Step 10. Line the Cookie Sheet with Parchment Paper
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Better yet, if you have two cookie sheets, line both with parchment paper.
Step 11. Place the Balls of Cookie Dough on the Cookie Sheet
Place the balls of cookie dough with sprinkles on them on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough until the cookie sheet is filled. Place each cookie about 2 inches apart from one another. Put the remaining cookie dough back into the refrigerator in between each batch.
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.
Tip: While one batch of cookies is baking in the oven, you can fill another cookie sheet with cookie dough ahead of time and have it ready to go into the oven when the first batch is done. But if you only have one cookie sheet, do not put the next batch of cookie dough on the hot cookie sheet that just came out of the oven. Let the cookie sheet completely cool before adding the next batch of cookie dough. Why? Because the balls of cookie dough will start to spread out from the warmth of the cookie sheet before they are even put into the oven.
Step 12. Take the Cream Cheese Cookies with Sprinkles out of the Oven
Let the cookies sit or “rest” on the cookie sheet for about 2 to 3 minutes to cool after baking. The cookies are hot and still soft at this time and can fall apart trying to remove them from the cookie sheet. After 2 to 3 minutes on the cookie sheet, transfer the cookies with a cookie spatula onto a cooling rack.
Tip: Remember, leaving the cookies on the hot cookie sheet too long, for more than a couple of minutes, the cookies will continue to bake. We don’t want the cookies to continue to bake.
Step 13. Repeat with the rest of the Cookie Dough
Repeat steps 8 through 12 with the remaining cookie dough. Recap:
- Take cookie dough out of the refrigerator
- Scoop out some cookie dough
- Hide the chocolate chips
- Cover more cookie dough over the chocolate chips
- Roll balls of cookie dough in the sprinkle bowl
- Place on cookie sheet
- Bake for 13 minutes
- Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes
- Transfer the cookies to the cooling rack
- Remember to put the cookie dough back into the refrigerator in between batches
FAQs for Cream Cheese Cookies with Sprinkles
What does Cream Cheese do to Cookies?
It is amazing what cream cheese does to cookies. Cream cheese not only gives cookies a unique flavor, but also makes cookies super moist, soft, and creamy.
Do you need to Refrigerate Cookie Dough?
A good rule of thumb to follow is if the cookie recipe you are making says to put the cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill, then do it. The cookie dough for this recipe is sticky, so it needs to be refrigerated. Putting the cookie dough in the refrigerator helps to firm the dough up for easier handling.
Is Parchment Paper Necessary?
Yes, parchment paper is necessary if you want to bake better cookies. Invest in some parchment paper or cookie baking sheets for all of your cookie baking recipes. Parchment paper lays on top of the cookie sheet. In other words, parchment paper is sandwiched between the cookie sheet and the cookie dough.
Parchment paper is a Godsend for many reasons:
- Parchment paper helps distribute the heat more evenly.
- It also helps by not burning the bottom of the cookies.
- Parchment paper helps cookies from spreading out more than they normally do, specifically for this cream cheese cookie recipe. Thinner or flatter cookies make for harder and crispier cookies.
- And parchment paper also keeps cookies from spreading into each other. Cookies that run into each other end up being one big giant cookie!
- Cookies don’t stick to the parchment paper.
- No need to spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray.
- And last but not least, easy cookie sheet clean-up. Just pick up the parchment paper and toss it in the garbage can.
Final Thoughts
If you want a cookie that is going to leave a lasting impression in your mouth, this is the cookie right here, cream cheese cookies with sprinkles! You bite into it and you think yum, then you realize, there’s chocolate inside. And that’s when you want more! Enjoy!
Do you want another yummy cookie recipe? Here’s one I know you are going to love. Delicious ranger cookies, with rolled oats, raisins, and rice crispies.
Cream Cheese Cookies with Sprinkles
🫕 Equipment
- Cookie scoop (optional)
🧂 Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- rainbow ball sprinkles
👩🍳 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Soften the butter in a bowl that is safe for the microwave for 20 seconds in the microwave.
- In a bowl, add the butter to the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cream cheese. Mix well.
- Add the egg and the vanilla extract to the butter, sugars, and cream cheese mixture. Mix until well blended.
- In a different bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Mix well.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter, cream cheese, and sugar mixture. Mix until well blended into cookie dough.
- Put the cookie dough in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to chill so it won't be so sticky.
- After chilling the cookie dough, fill a cookie scoop about 3/4 full of cookie dough. Or you can use a spoon and then roll the cookie dough in your hands to form a ball.
- Push between 2 to 4 chocolate chips, one at a time, all around the center of the cookie dough. Then cover the chocolate chips with some more cookie dough.
- Squeeze the cookie scoop handle and let the ball of cookie dough fall into the bowl of sprinkles. Roll it around in the sprinkles to cover all sides of the ball of cookie dough. Repeat these steps for the rest of the cookie dough.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the balls of cookie dough with sprinkles on them on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Repeat with more cookie dough until the cookie sheet is filled.
- Put the remaining cookie dough back into the refrigerator in between each batch.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.
- When cookies are done baking, let them sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes to cool.
- Transfer cookies to a cooling rack for another couple of minutes before eating.
*️⃣ Recipe Notes
- Depending on the power level of your microwave, keep an eye on the butter while it is in the microwave.
- This cookie dough is a bit sticky. It needs to be chilled in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before baking the cookies.
- Do not add more flour to this cookie dough. This cookie is a soft chewy cookie. Adding more flour will make the cookie harder.
- This cookie dough can be chilled longer than a couple of hours, even a couple of
days if need be. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap if it’s going to be in the refrigerator longer than a few hours. - If the cookie dough is still too sticky after chilling it, very lightly dust your hands with flour if you aren’t using a cookie scoop.
- If you have two cookie sheets, line both with parchment paper. While one batch is baking, the second batch will be ready to go into the oven when the first batch is done.
- It is important to let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes to cool so they won’t fall apart when removing them from the cookie sheet. Then, after 2 minutes, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
A wife, a mother to a son and a daughter, and a grandmother to three granddaughters. Flo loves sharing recipes passed down from her own mother, her mother-in-law, and her grandmother as well as new recipes created with her daughter, Tamara Ray.
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