These Birthday Cake Cookies feature a soft and chewy sugar cookie base loaded with rainbow sprinkles and crushed Golden Oreos!! Topped with buttery birthday cake crumble and a sweet vanilla glaze, these delicious cookies feature everything you love in a classic funfetti birthday cake but in cookie form!! Made entirely from scratch (no boxed cake mix required), with only a few ingredients, these festive cookies are the perfect addition for all special occasions and celebrations!!

For those days when the birthday cake craving is strong and pulling out those cake pans is the last thing you want to do, do yourself a favor and make these birthday cake cookies instead!!
These delicious cookies are soft and buttery, super chewy, and are packed with festive sprinkles and sweet vanilla notes for that classic yellow cake flavor. To make them even more special, not only are they filled with vanilla infused Golden Oreos, they are topped with a deliciously buttery crisp birthday crumble and drizzled with vanilla glaze!!
Made entirely from scratch with natural flavors and without the addition of box cake mix, these delicious cookies taste just like a thick slice of funfetti birthday cake, making them perfect addition for your next birthday celebration!! Although they require a little work and some chill time (I promise they are worth the wait), the sugar cookie dough base couldn't be easier to whip up. Super fun to make and even more fun to eat, these cookies are sure to have you feeling like a kid all over again!!
For more cookie recipes, try Easy & Chewy Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Cookies, and Soft Oreo Sugar Cookies with White Chocolate Chips.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Recipe Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- Step by Step Instructions - Birthday Cookies
- Step by Step Instructions - Birthday Crumble and Vanilla Glaze
- Expert Baking Tips
- How to Store and Serve Leftover Birthday Crumble
- Top Tips for Bakery Style Cookies
- Recipe FAQs
- Storage, Freezing, & Make Ahead
- More Oreo Dessert Recipes You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- Reviews
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Chewy birthday cake cookies - Similar to my popular strawberry crunch cookies (without cake mix), these funfetti birthday cake cookies bake up buttery and soft with chewy centers and slightly crisp edges.
- Classic birthday cake flavor - These cookies are packed with festive sprinkles, rich vanilla notes, and lots of butter to deliver that nostalgic birthday cake flavor.
- Easy to make - Made entirely from scratch, this easy and simple recipe uses my favorite sugar cookie base!! All you need is your favorite mixer, a few simple ingredients, and 20 minutes to whip up the cookie dough.
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make these chewy birthday cake cookies:
Ingredients for the Birthday Cake Cookies
Ingredients for Birthday Cake Crumble and Vanilla Glaze
Ingredient Notes:
- Rainbow Sprinkles - For the best results, be sure to use rainbow jimmies and not nonpareils (small round sprinkles). Nonpareil sprinkles will bleed into the cookie dough so you won't have that beautiful burst of color as you would with rainbow jimmies.
- Golden Oreos - I love the addition of Golden Oreos to these birthday cookies!! Their vanilla flavor complements the funfetti cookies perfectly and adds an extra special touch.
- Melted Unsalted Butter - I love using melted butter in my cookie recipes. It ensures a soft and chewy cookie every time.
- Vanilla Extract - Although other recipes use clear vanilla extract (imitation vanilla extract) I decided to stick with the classic pure vanilla extract. It provides more than enough vanilla flavor and still gives you that birthday cake taste. Imitation vanilla is more of a sweet vanilla flavoring than an extract. It has an artificial taste reminiscent of cake batter or birthday cake flavoring. Since these cookies are also topped with the birthday cake crumble and vanilla glaze, the addition of the imitation vanilla would make them overly sweet.
- Cornstarch - Using cornstarch helps contribute to the soft and tender texture of the cookies by softening the gluten strands in the flour.
- Cream of Tartar - Cream of tartar may sound like a weird addition but it contributes to the texture, the look, and the taste of these cookies. Due to its high acidity, cream of tartar prevents the sugar in the cookie dough from crystallizing. This not only creates a tender and chewy texture, but also inhibits browning, causing the cookies to bake up lighter in color. It also provides a subtle tang which helps to balance out the sweetness of the dough.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- For more classic birthday cake flavor, replace the pure vanilla extract with clear vanilla extract. Or, try birthday cake extract (cake batter extract) with ¼ teaspoon of almond extract.
- Instead of Golden Oreos, use another crunchy cookie you love. Chocolate Oreos, Birthday Cake Oreos, or Shortbread would all be delicious additions.
- Customize the rainbow sprinkles to fit whatever theme, holiday, or occasion you're celebrating. Pink, red, and white for Valentine's Day, red and green for Christmas, black and orange for Halloween, green for St. Patrick's Day, the options are endless!!
- For frosted cookies, top the cooled baked cookies with a cream cheese frosting or vanilla buttercream frosting and sprinkle the tops with the birthday cake crumble. Or, spread the buttercream frosting between two funfetti cookies for a birthday cookie sandwich!! You can also top them with the cream cheese glaze from my easy red velvet loaf with cream cheese glaze!!
- If ice cream is more your jam, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies for the ultimate celebratory ice cream cookie birthday sandwich.
- Add a little chocolate by either topping the baked cookies with white chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips as soon as they come out of the oven. Or, add them to the cookie dough!!
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you happen to try any from the list above or add your own spin with new ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below.
Step by Step Instructions - Birthday Cookies
Here are the step by step instructions and photos on how to make and bake this birthday cake cookie recipe!! For the full step by step method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, shift together the flour, cornstarch, and baking soda, and cream of tartar. Whisk in the kosher salt.
Step 2: Cream the melted butter and sugars. In the stand mixer bowl with the melted butter (or using a hand mixer), beat the melted butter and both sugars with the paddle attachment on medium high until the mixture is thick and creamy
Step 3: Beat in eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in the eggs one at a time mixing until fully combined. Mix in the vanilla extract with the last egg.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, mixing until just combined.
Step 5: Add the mix-ins. Add in the sprinkles, Oreo crumbs, and crushed Oreos. Using a rubber spatula, fold everything together until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Step 6: Scoop and chill. Using a large cookie scoop, measure out 2.5 oz of dough per cookie. Lightly roll the dough into balls using the palms of your hands. Place the dough balls on a plate lined with wax paper and place in the fridge uncovered to firm up.
Step 7: Bake!! Once chilled, place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet and bake the cookies at 350F for 13 minutes, removing them from the oven halfway through baking to bang and rotate the pan. Top them with the crumble as soon as they come out of the oven.
Step by Step Instructions - Birthday Crumble and Vanilla Glaze
Step 9: Make the crumble: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and using your fingers, work in the butter until it is sandy in texture. Add the sprinkles and vanilla extract and mix with a fork. Crumble is ready when it holds together.
Step 10: Bake the crumble. Spread the crumble onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until light brown. Let the crumble cool completely. Top the cookies with the cooled crumble as soon as they come out of the oven.
Step 11: Make the vanilla glaze. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream until smooth.
Step 12: Glaze the cookies. Drizzle the birthday cookies with vanilla glaze and top with leftover birthday crumble.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a kitchen scale. Measuring your ingredients by weight is the best way to ensure you have the correct amount. If there is too much flour, the cookies will turn out dry and not spread. If you do not have a kitchen scale, use a fork to first fluff the flour, then spoon it into your measuring cup. Level the excess flour in the measuring cup with back of a butter knife.
- Use room temperature eggs. Mixing cold eggs with the melted butter will change the consistency of the butter (the butter will harden) and structure of the dough. This will affect the texture and flavor of the final bake. To bring your eggs to room temperature quickly, place the eggs in a bowl with very warm water. Let the eggs sit in the water for 10 to 15 minutes. After soaking, they should be ready to use!!
- Allow the cookies to cool before glazing. Although it may be tempting to glaze the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven, glazing the cookies before they have had time to cool will cause the glaze to melt.
- Do not over-mix. To retain a tender texture, add the sprinkles, crushed Oreos, and Oreo crumbs when there are still a few streaks of flour. Then, fold everything together and stop mixing when the flour and mix ins are just combined. Over mixing can lead to tough cookies.
How to Store and Serve Leftover Birthday Crumble
If you happen to have any more leftover crumble and do not shamelessly eat it by the handful like I do, you can store it in a ziplock bag or a small glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Side note, this birthday crumble is DELICIOUS sprinkled on top of vanilla ice cream!! AND a divine topping for my vanilla buttermilk pound cake!!
Top Tips for Bakery Style Cookies
Bake the cookies on parchment paper. Baking the cookies on parchment paper prevents them from spreading too much when they are in the oven. I don't recommend using a silicon baking mat or a greased cookie sheet. They will cause the cookies to spread too much while baking.
Stick to the recipe. Changing the amount of an ingredient or switching the ingredients listed in the recipe will affect the overall outcome of the cookies. Also, resist the urge to omit ingredients. Corn starch and cream of tartar play in a significant role in texture and taste of this recipe. If you want chewy and soft birthday cookies, you definitely need this dynamic duo!!
Use a cookie scoop. For perfectly sized and evenly baked cookies, I recommend using a cookie scoop. The OXO Good Grips Classic Ice Cream Scoop is my favorite for making large cookies like these!!
Give your cookies a "scoot". For perfectly round cookies, you need to reshape them as soon as they come out of the oven. This can be done by using a biscuit cutter, cup or bowl. Just make sure whatever you use, its wider than the cookie. As soon as the cookies come from the oven, place your biscuit cutter around the cookie and gently swirl it in a circular motion around the edges of the cookie.
Use the right sprinkles. Although sprinkles are always a fun addition, be sure to use rainbow jimmies and NOT nonpareil sprinkles. Nonpareil sprinkles will bleed into the cookie dough.
Chill the dough. Chilling the dough is a must prior to baking the cookies. This cookie dough is really soft so chilling the dough prior to baking prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Chilling also improves the flavor, texture, and thickens the dough.
Recipe FAQs
Birthday cake flavor is basically butter, sugar, and lots of vanilla.
These cookies should bake up super soft and chewy. If your cookies are dry or tough, they are either over baked or you added too much flour. The cookies should be pale, slightly wet and doughy in the center when they come out of then oven.
There are three main reasons for cookie spread:
1. Using butter that has not cooled down to room temperature when making the dough. Allow the butter to cool for at least 30 minutes prior to making the recipe.
2. The dough is too warm and needs to chill longer. If your cookies are spreading too much while baking, pop them back in fridge for 10 minutes to harden.
3. You do not have enough flour. Measuring your flour by weight is the best way to ensure you have the correct amount.
Although I've never used this recipe to make a cookie cake, you can definitely try!! I recommend using a 10 inch cast iron skillet lightly coated with non stick spray. Bake the cookie cake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown.
No, you do not have to use the birthday crumble or vanilla glaze. These cookies taste just as delicious by themselves. If you do decide to go this route, you can top the cookie dough balls with extra sprinkles right before baking.
Storage, Freezing, & Make Ahead
Storage: Store the cooled cookies at room temperature in an airtight container or ziplock bag for 5 days.
Freezing: To freeze the cookie dough for later, chill the dough for the initial 3 hours or until firm. Then, scoop the dough and lightly roll into balls. Place the rolled cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet or plate and make sure they are not touching.
Cover the baking sheet or plate with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour. After refrigerating for 1 hour, place the cookie dough balls into a freezer friendly container. Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature while you preheat the oven. Add an extra minute or 2 of baking time. I recommend making the crumble when you are ready to bake the cookies. I do not recommend freezing the baked cookies.
Make ahead: You can make, bake, and decorate the cookies the day before and store in an airtight container until ready to enjoy. The birthday crumble will still be crunchy the next day!!
More Oreo Dessert Recipes You'll Love
It brings me so much joy when you make one of my recipes!! If you try this recipe and love it much as I do, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below. And don't forget to tag me to share your creation with me!! You can find me on Instagram @vintage_confections.
📖 Recipe
Best Birthday Cake Cookies (From Scratch)
Ingredients
For the Birthday Cake Cookies
- 2 ¾ (344 g) cup All purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Cream of tartar
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 (227 g) cup Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 (200 g) cup Granulated sugar
- ½ (110 g) cup Light brown sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 8 Golden Oreos crushed, about 8 cookies
- ¼ cup Golden Oreo crumbs 3 cookies
- ⅔ cup All natural rainbow jimmies sprinkles
For the Birthday Cake Crumble
- 1 /2 (79 g) cup plus 2 tablespoons All purpose flour
- ⅓ (67 g) cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 (57g or ¼ cup) tablespoons Cold unsalted butter diced into small pieces
- ¾ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons All natural rainbow jimmies sprinkles
For the Vanilla Glaze
- ½ (60 g) cup Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 3 (45 g) tablespoons Heavy cream
Instructions
For the Birthday Cake Cookies
- Cut butter into 1 inch slices and melt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the butter to cool (for 30 minutes) while you prepare the dry ingredients. Alternatively, you can melt the butter in the microwave in 30 second intervals.1 (227 g) cup Unsalted butter
- In a medium bowl, shift together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and cream of tartar. Whisk in the kosher salt.2 ¾ (344 g) cup All purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Cornstarch, ½ teaspoon Cream of tartar, ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- In the stand mixer bowl with the melted butter, beat the melted butter and both sugars with the paddle attachment on medium high until the mixture is thick, creamy, and resembles a paste like consistency. About 2 minutes. Stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after 1 minute.1 (200 g) cup Granulated sugar, ½ (110 g) cup Light brown sugar
- With the mixer on medium speed, add in the eggs one at a time mixing until fully combined. Add in the vanilla extract with the last egg.2 large Eggs, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing until just combined. After adding the last of the flour mixture, mix until you only see a few streaks. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer and add in the crushed Oreos, Oreo crumbs, and sprinkles. Using a rubber spatula, fold everything together until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. (While the cookies chill in the refrigerator, make the birthday cake crumble.) RECIPE BELOW8 Golden Oreos, ¼ cup Golden Oreo crumbs, ⅔ cup All natural rainbow jimmies sprinkles
- Line a plate with wax paper and set aside. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and using a large cookie scoop, measure out 2.5 oz of dough per cookie. Lightly roll the dough into balls using the palms of your hands, they do not have to be perfect. Smooth out any cracks. Place the dough balls on the wax paper lined plate and place in the fridge uncovered to firm up, about 20 while the oven preheats.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 5 balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about two inches apart. Leave the remaining dough balls in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Bake the cookies for 12 – 14 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven halfway through baking and firmly tap the baking sheet on a heatproof surface to deflate the cookies. Rotate the baking sheet and return cookies to the oven and continue to bake.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and using a small bowl or biscuit cutter, scoot the cookies in a circular motion until perfectly round. Top the cookies with birthday cake crumble, pressing down lightly so the topping adheres to the cookies. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, make the vanilla glaze .
For the Birthday Cake Crumble
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.1 /2 (79 g) cup plus 2 tablespoons All purpose flour, ⅓ (67 g) cup Granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt, 4 (57g or ¼ cup) tablespoons Cold unsalted butter, ¾ teaspoon Vanilla extract, 4 tablespoons All natural rainbow jimmies sprinkles
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cubed butter and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work in the butter until it resembles wet sand. Add in the sprinkles and vanilla extract and using a fork, mix the mixture together until combined. With your fingers, pinch together the dough creating clumps or clusters. I like to make larger clumps then break them apart once the crumble is baked. The dough should hold together when pinched. (This is the same process used when making streusel. You should have small and medium sized clumps that you can break into smaller pieces if needed when topping the cookies.)
- Spread the dough evenly onto the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly golden browned. The crumbs will be soft after removing from the oven but will harden as it cools. Allow the crumble to cool completely on the baking sheet before topping the cookies.
For the Vanilla Glaze
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream until smooth.½ (60 g) cup Powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, 3 (45 g) tablespoons Heavy cream
- Drizzle the cooled cookies with the vanilla glaze in a zigzag motion. Sprinkle a little of the leftover birthday cake crumble on top of the glaze. Allow the glaze to set then enjoy!!
Jenny
Soft and chewy birthday BLISS - loved these!
Lauren
Thank you so much Jenny!! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!!