Description

These Birthday Cake Cookies are soft, buttery sugar cookies flavored with vanilla and decorated with creamy cream cheese frosting and colorful confetti crumbs. Perfect for celebrations, they capture the nostalgic taste of birthday cake in cookie form, with an easy-to-follow recipe that includes chilling the dough for optimal texture and piping the frosting with a festive touch.

Ingredients

Scale

For Cookies

1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups (375 g) cake flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon table salt

For Frosting

4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter softened
4 oz (113 g) cream cheese softened
2 ½ cups (315 g) powdered sugar
½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 batch confetti crumbs

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Prepare Cookie Dough: Combine softened butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Stir in the egg, egg white, and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
Combine Mixtures: Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet mixture in 4 parts, mixing on low speed until just combined each time to form a dough.
Chill Dough: Shape dough into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up.
Preheat Oven: Set oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or ungreased surface.
Roll and Cut Dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough to between ¼ and ½ inch thickness. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut cookies closely together and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake Cookies: Bake cookies for 9 minutes until edges are set but centers remain soft. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make Frosting: Beat softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth and lump-free. Gradually add powdered sugar and mix well. Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
Decorate Cookies: Pipe or spread frosting over cooled cookies using a ½-inch open tip if piping. Immediately sprinkle with confetti crumbs or sprinkles for a festive finish.

Notes

Clear vanilla extract is imitation vanilla and imparts a birthday cake-like flavor, but you can use regular vanilla extract if preferred.
If dough is sticky when rolling, chill longer or dust with flour to manage stickiness. If cracking, allow dough to warm slightly before rolling.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze well wrapped for several months.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 210 kcal
Sugar: 16 g
Sodium: 120 mg
Fat: 12 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 2 g
Cholesterol: 35 mg