Pudding Cookies with Sprinkles
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Christmas sprinkle pudding cookies are soft, chewy, and easy to make in under 30 minutes with no chill time. A tasty and easy Christmas sprinkle cookie recipe for your Christmas party.
The instant vanilla pudding mix in the cookie dough gives these Christmas cookies a rich vanilla flavor and incredible softness that will make them the hit of any cookie exchange.
This recipe will make about 60 cookies, making it perfect for a crowd.
However, if you prefer a variety of cookies you can use this same pudding cookie dough to make 4 different varieties of Christmas cookies: jam thumbprint cookies, soft frosted Christmas cookies, hidden kiss cookies, and these yummy sprinkle cookies.
Ingredients
This section includes ingredient notes and substitution options. Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
You will need:
- Butter & shortening – I like to use a combo of unsalted butter and shortening for this recipe.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract – Use 100% pure vanilla extract for best taste.
- All-purpose flour
- Vanilla pudding mix – A 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding mix. Make sure you don’t grab cook & serve pudding my mistake, it is not the same and won’t work for this recipe.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Christmas sprinkles – We used a red, green, and white sprinkle mix like this one, but you can use any color that you prefer.
How to Make
This section shows you how to make the recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions. For the full printable recipe, see the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set them aside.
Step 2: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer and large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).
Step 3: Beat in eggs, vanilla, and instant pudding mix.
Step 4: In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture, a little at a time, mixing between additions.
Step 5: Place sprinkles in a small, shallow bowl. Using a cookie scoop or a heaping Tablespoon, scoop cookie dough out and roll in your hands to form a ball. Place the dough ball in the bowl of sprinkles and roll to coat in sprinkles. Place onto prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
Step 6: Bake for 12-15 minutes or until set and lightly golden brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Storage
Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can freeze the cookies for up to 3 months.
FAQ
I prefer to use a combination of butter and shortening for these pudding cookies. The shortening helps prevent the cookies from overspreading in the oven while the butter gives the cookies that real butter flavor. That said, you can use 1 cup of butter and skip the shortening, but the cookies will spread more and come out flatter. They will still taste yummy though!
Yes, to freeze the pudding cookie dough wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then place it in a freezer baggie. IT will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Unfortunately, these cookies would not hold their shape well enough to be good cut-out cookies. You would need a recipe with a sturdy dough like these cut-out sugar cookies or shortbread cookies.
More Christmas Cookie Favorites
- Christmas Cookie Bars with M&Ms
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Classic No Bake Cookies
- Christmas Snowballs with M&Ms
- Peppermint Pinwheels
- Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies
Christmas Sprinkle Pudding Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix one box
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer and large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).
- Beat in eggs, vanilla, and instant pudding mix.
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture, a little at a time, mixing between additions.
- Place sprinkles in a small, shallow bowl. Using a cookie scoop or a heaping Tablespoon, scoop cookie dough out and roll in your hands to form a ball. Place the dough ball in the bowl of sprinkles and roll to coat in sprinkles. Place onto prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until set and lightly golden brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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What an absolute disaster these turned out to be! What a waste of ingredients and time. Do not make these.
I am sorry that you had trouble with this cookie recipe, but a lot of people have made it with success as you can see from the hundreds of 5-star reviews. I would be happy to help you troubleshoot what may have gone wrong if you can provide more information as to what the issue was and whether you made any substitutions to the recipe provided.
These cookies have become a staple on our Christmas cookie tray every year! I’ve also made them for baby showers and birthdays with different colored sprinkles. I’ve made this recipe, exactly as written, dozens of times now and they turn out perfect each time!
Hi Stephanie, thank you for your comment- it makes me so happy to hear that you and your family enjoy my sprinkle cookie recipe!
These cookies were absolutely amazing! My daughter and I made a batch this past weekend and we’ll be making more tomorrow for her class. So cute and taste wonderful!
So happy to hear that! I’m thrilled you and your daughter enjoyed the recipe!
Oh my!!!! Jaclyn, these are FABULOUS! I love baking cookies but have found some that I would not try again. But I am printing this recipe off and will use it forever! Thank you for sharing!!!
Merry Christmas,
Dana
So glad the cookies were a hit! Thanks for letting me know. Merry Christmas!
I bought the wrong size pudding i got the 5.1 ounce can i still use it and how much.
The best option would be to weight out 3.4 ounces of the mix with a kitchen scale. Otherwise, I would try to estimate using 2/3 of the mix (2/3 of the 5.1 oz box would be 3.4 oz). Good luck!
Does this recipe use liquid shortening or crisco shortening?
I used Crisco vegetable shortening.
Can I use chocolate pudding instead of vanilla?
Yes, that shouldn’t be an issue at all.
I was looking for a new cookie to add to my cookie tray this year. Thought I would give these a try. Very easy and fast to make. They are delicious! So pretty too!
I read the recipe wrong and saw 13.4oz of instant vanilla pudding instead of 1 3.4oz of instant vanilla pudding so my cookies came out terrible. Will give this recipe another try 😂
Oh no! I am going to edit the recipe to make it clearer that the recipe calls for one box of instant vanilla pudding mix so hopefully no one else makes the same mistake. I am glad that you are giving the recipe another try!
Instead of rolling the dough into balls, can I flatten them so I can frost after baking? Thanks!
They will flatten out enough in the oven. Enjoy!