These thick, buttery, soft birthday cookies have an incredibly dense (yet moist!) texture and are topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting! Prepare for these to become your new favorite cookie!
Why I LOVE These Birthday Cake Cookies
- Incredible texture: these thick birthday cake cookies have a dense, chewy texture that is at the same time so soft and luscious. If you’ve ever tried my all-time favorite lemon sugar cookies, this recipe uses that same incredible base dough!
- Buttery cake batter flavor: these cookies use cake batter extract to give them that iconic, buttery cake batter flavor! If you can’t find that, this recipe still works great as a regular sugar using vanilla, almond or lemon extract.
- Festive & fun: Rainbow sprinkles, enough said. These are so fun for birthday treats or anytime you’re trying to win a baking competition.
Tips & Ingredient Notes
- Don’t skip the cake batter extract! A lot of grocery stores carry this now but you can also buy it on Amazon for a few bucks – it’s so good in baked goods, frostings, or even directly in ice cream! Apparently, McCormick just changed the name of their “vanilla butter and nut flavor” to cake batter, so if you have that on hand, it’s likely the same thing!
- Scoop them big! To get a thick, moist cookie I highly recommend scooping these 1/4 cup big (I used a 4-tablespoon cookie scoop!).
- Try them chilled! The texture gets even more perfectly dense & chewy after a night in the fridge! I developed this base dough before Crumbl existed (and I haven’t tried their birthday cake flavor yet!) but I’d say the texture of these cookies is very similar to their other chilled cookies!
How to Make The Best Birthday Cake Cookies:
This is just an overview showing step-by-step photos, click here to jump down to full recipe card with exact instructions.
Step 1: Make Dough
Follow the instructions in the recipe card below to make the sugar cookie dough. The texture of the dough should be similar to playdoh (it will firm up after a few minutes as the melted butter cools). If it looks runnier than the photo below, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
Step 2: Scoop, Roll, Flatten, Bake
After scooping the dough into 4 tablespoon-sized balls (i.e. 1/4 cup), use your hands to roll into balls and then flatten the tops a bit to look like thick discs (see below). This helps them bake and spread into a nice even cookie without having dome tops.
Tip: If you’re passionate about big, bakery-style cookies then you need this 1/4 cup cookie scoop!
Step 3: Make Frosting
After baking & allowing the cookies to cool, whip up a batch of the cake batter cream cheese frosting and pipe it on top. This frosting is super creamy, has a butter cake batter flavor, and is the perfect consistency for piping basic swirls or spreading with a knife.
Tip: When piping, hold the tip very close (but not touching) to the cookie to get an even layer of frosting. Holding it too high above the cookie & swirling it will result in a THICK layer and you will likely run out of frosting before you frost all the cookies ;) If you like a very thick layer, 1.5x or 2x the frosting recipe.
Step 4: Top with sprinkles!
Top each cookie with rainbow sprinkles, then enjoy! These are so much better than dry, store-bought cookies and you won’t turn back after making these birthday cake cookies from scratch! They are sure to win over any crowd or just to make for a weekend treat!
Storage & Freezing
- Storing: Because the frosting uses cream cheese, you need to store the frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These cookies stay soft & moist for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: While you can freeze the frosted cookies, I would recommend freezing them unfrosted to prevent the sprinkle colors from bleeding. When ready to serve, thaw cookies and top with freshly made cream cheese frosting and sprinkles.
Gifting idea: Gift them in a bakery box and attach a gift card! Check out my 7 Easy Cookie Packaging Ideas for packaging links and printable tags!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Where can I buy cake batter extract?
A lot of grocery stores carry this now but you can also buy it on Amazon for a few bucks – it’s so good in baked goods, frostings, or even directly in ice cream! Apparently, McCormick just changed the name of their “vanilla butter and nut flavor” to cake batter, so if you have that on hand, it’s likely the same thing!
Can I make these without frosting?
You sure can! The cookie is tasty on its own but even better with frosting.
Can I make these gluten-free?
I haven’t tested this recipe gluten-free but I think it would work fine with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. If you try it, be sure to report back!
Frosted Birthday Cake Cookies
These thick, buttery, and soft birthday cookies have an incredibly dense (yet moist!) texture and are topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting! Prepare for these to become your new favorite cookie!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks) you will be melting this
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cake batter extract see notes for substitutions
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk (you will be using 1 whole egg + 1 extra egg yolk)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour be sure not to overmeasure
- 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles you can use more or less based on your preference!
Cream Cheese Frosting (if you like a THICK layer of frosting, double the frosting recipe!)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick) softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cake batter extract see notes for substitutions
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk if needed to thin frosting
Topping
- Rainbow sprinkles
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a small glass bowl, microwave butter until melted. Pour into large mixing bowl. Add in granulated sugar and powdered sugar and stir until incoporated.
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Add whole egg, extra egg yolk, vanilla extract, and cake batter extract and stir until incorporated.
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Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Half cup at a time, add flour and mix until flour is just incorporated. Mix in sprinkles.
The texture of the dough should be similar to playdoh (it will firm up after a few minutes as the melted butter cools). If it looks runnier than the photo above, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
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Scoop dough into 1/4 cup (i.e. 4-tablespoon sized) scoops, then roll into a ball. Lightly flatten each ball before placing on cookie sheet. (Because this has melted butter, do not let the dough sit out before rolling into balls & baking, or your dough will become dry and crumbly.)
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Bake at 350° degrees for 11-12 minutes until center no longer looks wet and the edges have the tiniest amount of brown. They may look slightly underdone, but they will finish baking on the hot cookie sheet after you take it out of the oven. (Of course, because ovens bake differently use your best judgment to keep them in a minute longer if they look severely underbaked.)
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After removing from oven, allow the cookies to cool on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them from cookie sheet.
To make frosting:
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Note: if you like a THICK layer of frosting, double the frosting recipe!
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In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for about 1 minute (until light and creamy).
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Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in vanilla extract, cake batter extract, and powdered sugar. Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until creamy.
If you frosting is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to thin it out. If it it too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
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Spread or pipe frosting on cooled cookies and top with sprinkles! For the perfect cookie swirl, I use a large round tip.
Piping tip! When piping, hold the tip very close (but not touching) the cookie to get a even layer of frosting. Holding it too high above the cookie & swirling it will result in a THICK layer and you will likely run out of frosting before you frost all the cookies ;) If you like a very thick layer, 1.5x or 2x the frosting recipe.
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Store the frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These cookies stay soft & moist for 3-4 days.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Recipe Notes
Cake batter extract: A lot of grocery stores carry this now but you can also buy it on Amazon for a few bucks – it’s so good in baked goods, frostings, or even directly in ice cream! Apparently, McCormick just changed the name of their “vanilla butter and nut flavor” to cake batter, so if you have that on hand, it’s likely the same thing!
Otherwise, you can substitute it for more vanilla, almond extract, or even lemon extract (they won’t have the buttery cake batter flavor but will still make a delicious sugar cookie!). If doing lemon extract, follow my soft & thick lemon cookie recipe (same dough base!).
Storing: Because the frosting uses cream cheese, you need to store the frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These cookies stay soft & moist for 3-4 days.
Freezing: While you can freeze the frosted cookies, I would recommend freezing them unfrosted to prevent the sprinkle colors from bleeding. When ready to serve, thaw cookies and top with freshly made cream cheese frosting and sprinkles.
Gifting idea: Gift them in a bakery box and attach a gift card! Check out my 7 Easy Cookie Packaging Ideas for packaging links and printable tags!
Frosting yield: Frosting makes about 1 1/4 cups which will be enough to add roughly 2 tablespoons of frosting per cookie.
Hannah says
This recipe was amazing!
The only negative thing I have to say about it, is it’s dangerous.
I’ll be making this again and again!
Melissa says
Your review made me laugh out loud Hannah! So glad that you’ve enjoyed it.
Ashley says
I followed everything exactly, I had play dough textured dough and they spread into pancakes in the oven.
Melissa says
They definitely should not have flattened like that! A few troubleshooting tips:
1) How old is your baking powder and baking soda? Spreading can happen if they are no longer active.
2) Is there any chance you did 1.5 teaspoons of baking *soda* instead of the powder? This would cause a lot of spreading.
3) Do you have an internal oven themometer? Most ovens run 15-20 degrees hot or cold and an oven that runs cold does cause cookies to bake slower and spread more.
4) What kind of butter did you use? Margarine, “real” butter, or european-style butter?
This recipe uses the same base sugar cookie dough recipe that I’ve been making for years & I’ve never had this issue myself or from readers, so I’d definitely check your leavening!
Diane Rivera says
We made this recipe..we loved it. Made just like the recipe said they came out great!!!
Melissa says
So glad that you loved these cookies, Diane!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I appreciate it!
Diane Rivera says
We made this recipe..we loved it. Made just like the recipe said.
Melissa says
So glad that you loved the recipe Diane!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I so appreciate it!