Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies

Name: Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 13 min
Ingredients: 15 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature; 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tsp bakery butter emulsion (*see note below); 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled (390 grams); 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup rainbow jimmies; 4 ounces cream cheese, cold; 1/4 cup powdered sugar; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tsp butter emulsion (See note below); 3/4 tsp almond extract

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Funfetti Cookies taste like a birthday cake in cookie form! Soft & chewy funfetti cookies are loaded with colorful sprinkles and stuffed with a quick cheesecake filling that tastes just like a rich vanilla cake batter. These are far from ordinary sprinkle sugar cookies – they really do taste like funfetti birthday cake!

Two halves of funfetti cookie, showing the cheesecake filling inside.

Published Jan 2018. Updated August 2021. Updated August 2023.

Why you’ll love these Funfetti Cookies:

Chewy Funfetti Cookies – These cookies are soft & chewy, with crisp edges. In other words – the perfect cookie.
No Cake Mix Needed – You don’t need a funfetti cake mix to make these homemade funfetti cookies – but they do taste just like real funfetti!
Tons of Flavor – The addition of butter extract (along with real vanilla, of course!) really does make these cookies taste like funfetti, rather than just a sugar cookie with sprinkles.
Birthday Cake Cheesecake Filling – Instead of making just regular ‘ol sprinkle cookies, we’re stuffing these funfetti cookies with a cheesecake filling that’s made with just a few ingredients, and tastes just like cake batter! It’s almost the best part of these cookies (besides the cookies themselves, hah!).

A stack of cookie halves, showing the filling inside, against a bright blue backdrop.

Ingredient Overview:

As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.

Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before baking – creaming cold butter is not easy.
All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
Eggs – Use large eggs.
Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract for best results.
Rainbow Sprinkles – Use your favorite rainbow jimmy sprinkles!
Bakery Butter Vanilla Emulsion – This is a simple ingredient that packs a big flavor punch – it really makes the cheesecake filling taste just like cake batter! I highly recommend ordering a bottle – it’s only $7 and will last you awhile. You can use it any time you’d use vanilla in a baking recipe. (Not sponsored at all, I just love this ingredient!)
Cream Cheese – Use full fat cream cheese, in the block form.

Ingredient Substitutions:

Dairy-free – Use your favorite, trusted dairy-free butter and chocolate to make this recipe dairy-free.
Gluten-free – I have not tested a gluten-free version of this recipe. Let me know if you do!

How to Make this Funfetti Cookie Recipe Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Make Cookie Dough. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until a soft dough forms.

A close-up of the sprinkle cookie dough.

Step 2: Scoop & Chill the Dough. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to make it easier to scoop, then scoop cookie dough into balls and chill in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours. (I do recommend a container vs. covering with plastic wrap, so things are airtight.)

Step 3: Make Cheesecake Filling & Freeze. In a medium bowl, cream together the cold cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, butter emulsion, and almond extract. Drop tablespoon size dollops onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze until solid, 2 hours to 24 hours.

Step 4: Stuff the Cookies. Flatten the cookie dough balls and place a frozen cheesecake dollop in the center. Encase it completely with the cookie dough, making sure no cheesecake bits are peeking out. Press some extra sprinkles into the top of the dough balls.

A flattened cookie dough ball with a frozen cheesecake dollop in the center.

Step 5: Bake Cookies. Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar then bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet as directed in the recipe card below.

Baked funfetti cookies on the baking sheet.

Serving + Storing this Recipe:

Let cookies cool completely before digging in. I personally don’t like the cream cheese filling while it’s warm, but if you don’t care, feel free to dig in once they’ve cooled for 15-20 minutes. You can also speed this up in the fridge. Store cooled to room temp cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. These must stay in the fridge because of the cream cheese filling.

Expert Success Tips:

Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
Cheesecake Filling – To avoid a weepy filling that will take forever to freeze solid, be sure to start with cold cream cheese, and mix all the ingredients together at once, mixing until just combined. The longer you mix, the weepier cream cheese becomes.

A close-up on a broken open funfetti cookie, showing the cheesecake filling inside.

FAQs:

Can I make these cookies ahead?

Yes. Scoop dough into balls and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. When ready to bake, flatten dough balls, one at a time, and add the dollop of frozen cheesecake. Encase the dough around it well and freeze for 5-10 minutes before rolling in sugar and baking as directed.

Can I freeze this cookie dough?

Yes! If freezing, you will need to chill the dough at least 30-60 minutes in the fridge so it’s stiff enough to easily work with. Roll into balls, stuff with the frozen cheesecake dollops, then freeze in an airtight container (or on a baking sheet before transferring to a bag, to avoid the cookies freezing together.) Bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the bake time.

Can I make smaller funfetti cookies?

Yes, but you will need to make smaller cheesecake dollops as well. If you reduce the cookies by 20 grams of dough each, use 2 tsp dollops of filling rather than 1 tbsp (3 tsp). I wouldn’t go much smaller than that, unless you are okay skipping the filling altogether.

Can I halve this recipe?

Yes! I don’t recommend doubling it as the cream cheese filling may get weepy from mixing things in at a higher volume, and a double batch of this cookie dough will be too much for most large mixing bowls.

Why is my cheesecake filling weepy?

You over mixed it. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water. And, cream cheese has a high water content. Basically, this means that the longer and higher you mix these things together, the weepier the mixture will become. This is why we start with cold cream cheese and mix everything in at once, just until combined. You likely can still use the mixture, it will just take a good bit longer to freeze solid. If it’s still the tiniest bit soft after 24 hours in the freezer, use an offset spatula to scoop dollops into your flattened dough balls. I had a batch that was like that and it still worked for me.

Do I have to chill the cookie dough?

Yes you do, or it will spread too much in the oven. The good news is that it turns these into a make-ahead recipe, where the steps can be broken up over a couple of days!

Recipe Variations:

Cheesecake Filling – If you really want to skip the filling, you can. Roll dough into balls the same size as directed in the recipe, and chill the same amount of time. Bake for 9-11 minutes.
Bakery Butter Vanilla Emulsion – If you really don’t want to order this, use vanilla in it’s place, in the same quantity of butter emulsion called for. But, this is one of the few times I’ll tell you it’s worth it to get a special ingredient!

A close-up on a stack of the funfetti cake batter cookies.

Special Tools:

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Baking Sheets – These are my favorite cookie sheets!
Silicone Baking Mat – This is my favorite silicone baking mat. It reduces waste because it’s washable!
Round Cutters – Use round cutters to round out your cookies! Place it around your cookie and swirl the cookie inside it. Don’t actually cut off the edges with it.
Flaky Sea Salt – I love topping my cookies with this flaky sea salt!

A pile of funfetti cookies on a baking tray.

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