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These funfetti cookies taste just like cake batter but aren’t make with cake mix. They are made with pudding mix, so they stay soft for days! These are the easiest pudding cookies with the best cake batter flavor and are always a hit when I make them.

Tall stack of cake batter cookies with sprinkles around them


Birthday Cake Cookies

When you need a smile, make something with sprinkles! These Funfetti Cookies are so fun and pretty – and they’re easy enough a kid can make them. I know this for sure because this was one of Jordan’s recipes when she was younger, and she could handle 90% of the work to make them.

These are the simplest cookies that you mix, drop on a baking sheet, and bake. No chilling and no fussy steps! These taste like cake mix cookies but do not use funfetti cake mix or any kind of mix at all!

These are like soft and chewy sugar cookies but made with pudding mix and sprinkles and cake batter extract – they have the perfect funfetti cookie texture and flavor and everyone who tastes them will love them!

ingredients in funfetti cookies laid out on a white marble counter.

Ingredients Needed

  • Softened butter: I always use unsalted butter, if using salted then omit the salt in the recipe. Make sure it’s softened (room temperature).
  • Granulated sugar: no brown sugar in these: The granulated sugar keeps them sweet but the pudding mix keeps them soft.
  • Extract: McCormick (and other brands) now make Cake Batter Extract!
  • Pudding Mix: These are pudding cookies so I add instant vanilla pudding mix to the mixture.
  • Rainbow Jimmies: Use any colors! I don’t like adding nonpareils to batter – they often dissolve.

Variations

  • Turn them into chocolate chip cookies by adding one cup of chocolate chips to the dough.
  • Customize them for holidays by switching the sprinkles – like red and white for Valentine’s day, red and green for Christmas, or pastels for Easter. I’ve made this cake batter cookie recipe so many times over the years. It’s perfect for baby showers, birthdays, potlucks, and holidays.
  • You can use any flavor pudding mix, but use vanilla or cheesecake for the best cake flavor.

How to Make Funfetti Cookies

  • Cream butter and sugar until nice and fluffy. Mix in egg, extract, baking soda, salt, pudding mix, and all-purpose flour.
  • Stir in the sprinkles.
  • Use a cookie scoop to drop cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat. You can add extra sprinkles on top if you feel they need more. Bake the cookies until light golden brown around the edges.
Tall stack of cake batter cookies with sprinkles around them

Tip From Dorothy

Expert Tips

  • If you want to make bigger cookies, scoop two tablespoons of dough to make each cookie. They will need extra bake time if they are larger.
  • McCormick now has a new cake batter flavored extract, which you can use to give these pudding cookies an even stronger cake flavor.
  • For the pudding, be sure to use an instant pudding mix. Also, you don’t need to prepare the pudding – you just add the powdered mix right into the cookie dough.

Storage

Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days, or freeze them for several months. These cookies stay soft for a long time because of the pudding mix! You can also freeze the cookie dough balls before baking, just let them thaw before popping in the oven.

FAQs

Can you make cookies that taste like cake without cake mix?

It’s so simple now that McCormick (and other brands) make cake batter extract – just add that to your batter and you have cake flavored cookies without a mix.

Tall stack of cake batter cookies with sprinkles around them

Funfetti Cookies Recipe

4.67 from 6 votes
These are the BEST Cake Batter Cookies! They're Funfetti Pudding Cookies so they have tons of cake batter flavor and stay soft for days. These are a hit every time I make them!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Yield 36 cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter , softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon cake batter extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup rainbow sprinkles (jimmies are best for baking)
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.
  • Beat butter and sugar in a stand mixer until fluffy, just a few minutes. Beat in egg and extract. Beat in salt, baking soda, and pudding mix. Add flour and mix slowly until completely combined. Stir in sprinkles.
  • Drop cookies onto prepared cookies sheets. I used a 1 tablespoon sized cookie scoop for small cookies (they are bite sized). Bake for 7-8 minutes, until they just start to get a teeny bit golden around the edges. Cool before removing from cookie sheets.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

If you can’t find cake batter flavoring (check amazon too) you can use a combination of 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp butter extract.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for several months.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 8mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Favorite Funfetti Recipes



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

4.67 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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