Recreate the magic of Crumble Birthday Cake Cookies at home with this recipe. From the soft, chewy cookie base to the creamy frosting and festive sprinkles, each bite is a celebration of flavors that will impress any guest.
Jump to:
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients For This Recipe
- What Cake Mix to Use for This Recipe
- What Sprinkles to Use
- How to Get That Classic Crumbl Cookie Shape
- Ingredients and Steps to Make the Frosting
- Expert Tips for Making Birthday Cake Cookies
- Recipe FAQs
- More Cookie Recipes to Check Out
- Birthday Cake Cookies
Why I Love This Recipe
I love these Birthday Cake Cookies because they capture the flavor of birthday cake in a cookie. With their colorful sprinkles and rich, buttery frosting these cookies make any day feel like a celebration much like my Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats.
These cookies are a copycat recipe of the Crumbl Cookie Birthday Cake cookies. I love this recipe because you get the same fun flavor, without the high price just like my Crumbl Copycat Piña Colada Cookies and my basic Crumbl Cookie Copycat Recipe.
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
- Yellow Cake Mix (½ cup): Yellow cake mix is used in the recipe to infuse a cake-like flavor into the cookies. It also adds sweetness and a distinctive yellow color.
- Unsalted Butter, Vegetable Shortening, and Sour Crem: All three of these ingredients create a soft and chewy cookie. Make sure they are all at room temperature before making the dough.
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds a distinctive almond flavor to the cookies and enhances the cake mix flavor.
- Rainbow Nonpareil Sprinkles: These are used to add color and texture to the dough as well as decoration for the finished product.
*See the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and quantities.
What Cake Mix to Use for This Recipe
For the best flavor in these birthday cake cookies, use a white, yellow, or vanilla cake mix as your choice. These classics provide the perfect flavor base for the addition of sprinkles and other ingredients, allowing the cookies to embody the delightful essence of a birthday cake just like my No-Bake Cake Batter Mousse.
What Sprinkles to Use
When making these cookies, use colorful and vibrant rainbow sprinkles. These multicolored sprinkles add a fun and festive appearance to the cookies making them perfect for any celebration like my Easy Cake Bites.
How to Get That Classic Crumbl Cookie Shape
Step 1: Form a loose ball with the dough and place it in a covered bowl in the fridge for an hour.
Step 2: Once the dough has chilled, scoop out ¼ cup of the dough and form a ball with your hands. Place the ball on the baking sheet and repeat until the sheet is full.
Step 3: Dip a heavy bottom glass or measuring cup in the powdered sugar to coat the bottom. This will keep the glass from sticking to the dough.
Step 4: Flatten each ball until it's about ½ in thick, gently rotating the glass in a circle.
Ingredients and Steps to Make the Frosting
*See the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and quantities.
The Cake-Flavored Buttercream frosting has similar ingredients to the cookie dough. As with the dough, ensure the ingredients are at room temperature before mixing.
Place the butter and shortening into a mixing bowl or stand mixer and beat for a few minutes until nice and creamy. Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and mix completely after each addition. Add the cake mix, milk, extracts, and food coloring and combine completely.
Expert Tips for Making Birthday Cake Cookies
- Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature before mixing the dough or making the frosting. This will ensure you get a light and fluffy cookie and a smooth frosting.
- I used a heavy-bottomed glass to smash my dough balls to get the shape of the cookies. If you don't have one, any flat-bottomed cup will work.
- Don't hold back with the rainbow sprinkles. For a true birthday cake flavor and appearance, add extra rainbow sprinkles to the cookie dough. This will create a colorful and fun look.
- Use a silicon mat or parchment paper: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking and make cleanup easier.
- The frosting is what makes these cookies just like a birthday cake. Top each cookie with a generous amount of frosting and more sprinkles for that irresistible, bakery-style look and taste.
Recipe FAQs
Store any leftover cookies in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Separate the layers with parchment paper to help prevent sticking.
I would not recommend more than 6 cookies/baking sheet. They expand slightly and if you measure out ¼ cup of dough, they will be 5" in diameter once baked.
These sugar cookies should not turn brown, so be careful not to overbake them or they will become dry. Don't exceed 10 minutes, the cookies will continue to cook a bit more when you remove them from the oven.
Dip the glass in powdered sugar before smashing the dough so the glass doesn't stick.
More Cookie Recipes to Check Out
If you get a chance to make these Birthday Cake Cookies, tag me on Instagram or Facebook and show me, or leave a review below! You can also follow me on Pinterest and sign up for my e-mail list to receive more fun and delicious recipes right in your inbox.
Birthday Cake Cookies
Equipment
- heavy bottomed glass or measuring cup
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup yellow cake mix
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temp
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup sour cream, room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
- 2 tablespoons confectioners powdered sugar (for pressing the cookies)
Almond Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temp
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups powdered confectioners sugar
- ½ cup yellow cake mix
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- gel food coloring
- rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl add the butter, shortening, and sour cream (ALL AT ROOM TEMP) and cream together until nice and smooth. This will take about 4-5 minutes. Add the sugar, egg, and extracts and mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 batches, mixing in completely after each addition.
- Form a loose ball with the dough and place it in a covered bowl in the fridge for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line your baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Once the dough has chilled, scoop out ¼ cup of the dough and form a ball with your hands. Place the ball on the baking sheet and repeat until the sheet is full (you will probably only be able to fit 6 balls).
- Dip a heavy bottom glass or measuring cup in the powdered sugar to coat the bottom. This will keep the glass from sticking to the dough. Flatten each ball until it's about ½ in thick, gently rotating the glass in a circle.
- Bake the cookies one pan at a time for 10 minutes. The cookies will spread and puff up a little but won't turn brown, so be careful not to overbake them.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Almond Buttercream Frosting
- Place the room temp butter and shortening into a mixing bowl or stand mixer and beat for a few minutes until nice and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and mix completely after each addition. Add the cake mix and combine completely.
- Add the milk, extracts, and food coloring and mix until combined.
- Once the cookies have cooled, add a generous amount of frosting to each cookie and spread it out using an offset spatula or a butter knife. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature before mixing the dough or making the frosting. This will ensure you get a light and fluffy cookie and a smooth frosting.
- Use a silicon mat or parchment paper: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking and make cleanup easier.
- I would not recommend more than 6 cookies/baking sheet. They expand slightly and if you measure out ¼ cup of dough, they will be 5" in diameter once baked.
- I used a heavy-bottomed glass to smash my dough balls to get the shape of the cookies. If you don't have one, any flat-bottomed cup will work.
- Don't forget the powdered sugar before smashing the dough so the glass doesn't stick to the dough.
- These sugar cookies should not turn brown, so be careful not to overbake them or they will become dry.
- Store any leftover cookies in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days.
- The frosting is what makes these cookies just like a birthday cake. Top each cookie with a generous amount of frosting and more sprinkles for that irresistible, bakery-style look and taste.
Nutrition
Any nutrition calculations are only estimates using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Kristen says
I made these for my niece's birthday party! The kids loved them!
Emily says
Yay, so glad to hear it, Kristen, thank you!
Dannii says
These were super cute and my daughter had so much fun making them for her little brother.
Emily says
So cute! Thanks, Danni, I make these with my son, too. The kids love them 😊
Jac says
Those look so good I could eat a few of them right now for breakfast.
Emily says
The do make a great breakfast treat!
Seema Sriram says
these will be perfect for my son's birthday as he is well past the cake age still a little something counts.
Emily says
I hope he loves them, enjoy!
Quynh says
I made these with my daughter over the weekend. So fun, and delicious! The directions were easy to follow, my 10-year-old did most of it by herself!
Emily says
Awesome, sound like you have a future baker on you hands 😁