The very best funfetti sugar cookie you’ll ever eat… and it’s the size of a cake! Top with thick vanilla-almond frosting and more sprinkles.
This cake is dangerously easy. Take my frosted sugar cookie bars recipe, add some white chocolate chips, bake it as a cake, and pipe some frosting on top. Soft-baked center, unbelievably chewy edges, sweet creamy frosting, and enough sprinkles to make my entire cookbook jealous.
I’ve told you about the importance of weighing ingredients before. I cannot stress this enough! You can easily over or under-measure a cup, but you cannot miscalculate a weight. Having the correct measurements of your ingredients is imperative to the results of your baked goods. Baking is not as forgiving as cooking; there is hardly any room for error. The reason your cupcakes are too dense? You’re likely over measuring your flour. Do not use the measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the container/bag. You could end up with 150% of the correct measurement doing it this way. Rather, using a large spoon, scoop the flour into the measuring cup without packing it. Then, weigh what you have.
In terms of measuring your ingredients, it pays off to be a perfectionist.
You’ll notice that the recipe calls for 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. Why? I do this with a few of my cookie recipes (like these chocolate chip cookies) because that extra yolk adds so much moisture, tenderness, and chew to the cookie. And it does the same thing to the sugar cookie cake. You’re going to love its rich, tender texture. Each bite will melt in your mouth.
You’ll also notice I add a touch of cornstarch. Trust me on this ingredient! Think about it: often used as a thickening agent, cornstarch gives your gravy, pie fillings, soups, and glazes a more bodied and full texture. The same goes for your cookie dough—cornstarch will help your dough remain soft, thick, and puffy during the baking process. Another imperative cookie ingredient in favorites like chocolate chip cookies and shortbread.
Press into a pie dish or cake pan and bake for only about 25-30 minutes. You want to slightly under-bake the cookie cake to get that incredible soft interior, as well as to avoid the edges from getting too crispy and brown.
Once the cake has cooled, go ahead and frost. I used a simple vanilla frosting here, but I added a touch of almond extract. I feel almond extract is one of the most underrated ingredients in baking. I love it in cookies and cupcakes—and its flavor is easily welcomed in this frosting. Another fun option would be this strawberry buttercream frosting. Pretty in pink!
Almond extract is potent, so you’ll only need a touch of it in today’s frosting. Don’t rush to the store to buy it though, you may leave it out.
This giant sugar cookie cake is the perfect recipe when you’re looking for something a little easier than a towering confetti cake, a little different from birthday cake (confetti sprinkle cheesecake is another unique option!), and more special than a batch of sugar cookies. Soft and thick in the center, chewy on the edges, loaded with white chocolate and sprinkles, and topped with the creamiest frosting that’ll ever touch your lips.
Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: one 9-inch cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The very best funfetti sugar cookie you’ll ever eat… and it’s the size of a cake! Top with thick vanilla-almond frosting and more sprinkles.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2/3 cup (120g) white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (80g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)*
Vanilla Almond Frosting
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or half-and-half*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract*
- salt, to taste
- optional: extra sprinkles for decorating on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9-inch pie dish or 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the cake: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick. Once combined, gently fold in the white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup sprinkles using a rubber spatula (or by mixing on low speed).
- Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. You want the cookie cake to be extra soft in the center, so careful not to overbake. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature before frosting. The center will slightly sink—that’s normal.
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy—about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla and almond extracts with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I usually add anywhere between 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Frost the cake as desired, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to decorate the edges. Using a very sharp knife, cut into slices and serve. This cake goes wonderfully with vanilla ice cream! Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Pie Dish or 9-inch Round Cake Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Eggs: Room temperature egg and egg yolk preferred. To bring the egg to room temperature quickly, place in a warm glass of water for about 10 minutes as you get the other ingredients ready. Or just set out when you set out the butter to soften 1 hour ahead of time.
- Sprinkles: Use regular sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) in the cookie cake base. Nonpareils (the little balls) will bleed their color and turn the sugar cookie dough green/purple/brown. Feel free to decorate the top of the cake/frosting with nonpareils, though. I also sprinkled some nonpareils on top of the pressed-in dough before baking.
- Cream: Cream or half-and-half is preferred for creamiest, fluffiest frosting. Keeping that in mind, milk would be an OK substitute if you do not have either on hand.
- Almond Extract: The almond extract is optional but highly encouraged; I love its flavor combined with the vanilla frosting and buttery sugar cookie cake!
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this today in a nine inch springform pan. It worked perfectly and actually the middle barely fell at all! I took it out and put it on a cake board to decorate it!
Hi! Hope you’re doing well! Can I sub m&ms for the white chocolate, or do you think that they would bleed and mess up the coloring?
You sure can. Enjoy!
If I make a double batch and have leftover dough? Can I make individual cookies as well?
Hi Sean, If you refrigerate the extra dough so that it doesn’t spread it should work.
If I double the recipe, would it fit in a deep dish 9 inch pie pan? It’s 2 inches deep I used it for the Brookie recipe and it worked like a chrm
Hi Katie, I haven’t tested making it that thick but let me know if you try!
I’m going to be making this but I don’t have granulated sugar because they were out at the store. I’m planning on using light brown sugar in place of it. Will this negatively effect the end result?
In a cookie cake that bakes in a cake pan, there won’t be any issue besides a slightly moister/more cakey tasting cookie cake. (Plus the added flavor from brown sugar.)
I hope you’re doing well, Sally! I’m wondering if you think this would bake okay in an 8” springform pan? Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with us. Wishing you and your loved ones health and safety during this crazy time.
That should be ok, Aimee. Your cookie cake will be a little bit thicker and may take an extra minute or two to bake through so just keep your eye on it. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, can i make these into 4 inch, i have 4 inch tart pans, how long would i bake them for and about how much dough would i put in the pan?
Hi Sarah! I’m sure you could, but I don’t know the exact bake time. Fill each halfway with dough. You will have dough leftover.
My daughter is extremely hard to please, but she loved this cookie cake. She doesn’t like cake at all so we usually buy a store cookie cake with chocolate chips. I wanted to do something different this year. It was a hit. I’ll be keeping this recipe for her next birthday. Thanks!!
Sally, what is your opinion about baking with disposable aluminium pans that are sold in supermarkets? I would like to ship this cake to my nephew, but I would then need to use disposable pie pan. In your experience, do these impact the quality of the baked goods? Thanks in advance!
Hi Marilou, I haven’t tried baking on them but they should work just fine for this. If it seems very flimsy you can always place it on top of a real baking sheet in the oven. Let me know if it works!
Hello, My son loves making cookie cakes. When he tries to take it out of the pan, it usually breaks. Any suggestions on getting it out of the baking pan in one piece.
By the way, he uses a non-stick cake pan and spray.
Hi Sherry! Is the cookie cake too hard and crumbly? If so, it might be over-baked and not coming out easily. You could also try lining the dish with parchment paper. This will help release the cake a little better.
Made this tonight for my birthday week. It was delicious and very pretty. Looked just like the picture!!!
How long do you let it cool before taking it out of the pan? Have you ever served it the day after baking?
Hi Brooke! I usually let it cool completely in the pan, but it can be removed after about 20-30 minutes of cooling. Cover it tightly and keep at room temperature overnight if planning to serve the next day.
I’ve made this before and it was amazing ! I want to add a twist to make this for Valentine’s Day and make it in the shape of a heart . Any ideas if this would work? I’m thinking of just forming it to heart shape on a greased cookie sheat or on parchment paper .
Yes, try just forming a heart on parchment paper or a silicon baking mat (not a greased cookie sheet)! You can always trim the edges when it comes out of the oven if it loses it’s shape!
My sister in law made this recently and my kids loved it. Now one of my kids wants a strawberry version for her birthday this week. Any ideas??
(Squirt in some strawberry syrup? Add a package of strawberry jello powder? Not sure what these things would do to the consistency?)
Hi Beth! Without testing, I’m unsure of the BEST way to add strawberry flavor to the cookie cake itself. Strawberry extract comes to mind first. You can always frost with strawberry frosting!
Can I make it without the white chocolate chips and sprinkles. Will leaving these out change the batter too much?
You can leave them out!
When it’s best to be served and dig in? When it’s out of the oven, while still warm? Or is it ok to make it a day befor and to serve it cold? Will it still be soft enogh to scop in? Thank you
I prefer waiting until it has cooled to room temperature and then slice and serve.
I’ve made this several times and it’s always a win. I cook it in a pizza pan for 20 minutes, though. I usually add food coloring to the frosting, too! Thanks so much for this fun recipe!
I just made this recipe for a baby shower I am going to tomorrow. I can’t wait to try it! I really was craving golden Oreos so I took the idea of the Oreo funfetti cookies you make and crushed up Oreos in this cookie cake This buttercream is amazing by the way. It’s my new go to! I dyed it light blue for the Abby boy shower. I wish you could see it. It’s a beautiful cookie cake! It made more frosting than I needed, but I don’t want to waste it. Does this frosting freeze well?
Thanks for another tasty recipe! Excuse me while I go run this off. Haha
LOVE funfetti!!!! Just saw this recipe and would love to make it today for a picnic we are going to. Unfortunately, I do not have white chocolate chips. Do I need to put them in or can I substitute something else? 🙂
You can simply leave them out if you don’t have any!
I made this for my son’s 18th birthday and it was delicious! I’m not a fan of white chocolate but this was amazing!
This is seriously the BEST cake ever! I’d totally recommend it to a friend!
I made this and it was super runny in the middle. I followed it step-by-step with my 5 year old and 3 year old. TOTAL disappointment for them and me.
Can I make the frosting while the cake is baking and then refrigerate the frosting and wait to frost the cake until the next day?
Definitely! That’s a great way to save time the day of.
Doubled the recipe and used a 9×13 pan; baked for 25 minutes and it’s PERFECT! My niece turns seven tomorrow and doesn’t like cake, so this is getting some fun people frosting and lots of sprinkles to celebrate her big day. Got it pinned because I have a feeling it’s going to be requested again!
I’d like to layer this by making 3 cookie cakes and frosting in between,any suggestions? Would it be sweetness overload? Any recommendations to make it less sweet? Ie does almond extract help?
OMG that sounds amazing! I just made a 9×13 but if I had enough ingredients left I’d sooooo make one of those too!
I’m a chocolate fan-but this. Was. AWESOME. I ended up making three in one week…and it was the first this to disappear from all three dessert tables. Husband says this is the best dessert I’ve ever made, and I’ve been baking nearly every weekend for the past 6 years. Without a doubt, I’ve had more success with the recipes on this site than any other.