Christmas baking doesn’t have to mean spending hours rolling, cutting and decorating cookies. These Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookie Cups start with refrigerated sugar cookie dough, so they’re incredibly easy while still looking festive enough for a holiday cookie tray.

Colorful Christmas sprinkles are mixed right into the sugar cookie dough, then each little cup is filled with a tall swirl of vanilla buttercream and even more sprinkles. They’re cute, simple and perfect for Christmas parties, cookie exchanges or an easy afternoon of holiday baking.

Servings: 24 cookie cups
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 10–13 minutes
Total Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie Cups

1 (16–16.5 oz) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
3 tablespoons Christmas jimmies sprinkles
Nonstick cooking spray
Additional Christmas sprinkles, for decorating

Vanilla Buttercream

½ cup unsalted butter, softened but not warm
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more only if needed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the refrigerated sugar cookie dough in a medium bowl. Gently mix in 3 tablespoons Christmas sprinkles, being careful not to overmix.

Divide the dough evenly into 24 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place one ball into each mini muffin cup and gently press it into the bottom.

Bake for 10–13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are just set.

Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, use the rounded end of a wooden spoon or the back of a small measuring spoon to gently press an indentation into the center of each warm cookie.

Allow the cookie cups to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove them and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt.

Add 1 tablespoon heavy cream and beat for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. The frosting should be thick enough to hold a piped swirl. If it is too stiff to pipe, add additional heavy cream ½ teaspoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.

Pipe a tall swirl of buttercream into the center of each completely cooled cookie cup. Finish with additional Christmas sprinkles.

Tips

Use jimmies-style sprinkles in the cookie dough instead of nonpareils. They’re less likely to bleed their color into the dough.

Make sure the cookie cups are completely cool before frosting. Even slightly warm cookies can soften the buttercream and cause the swirls to lose their shape.

For the prettiest bakery-style swirl, use a large open-star piping tip.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.

Estimated Nutrition (Per Cookie Cup)

Calories: ~145
Protein: ~1g
Net Carbs: ~20g
Fat: ~7g
Fiber: ~0g