Cupcake cookies are just plain fun—when you want a soft buttery cookie AND fluffy chocolate cupcake frosting. We love these easy-to-make show-stopping cookies and don’t forget the sprinkles!
You might also like our cupcakes in a jar, our soft funfetti sprinkle cookies, or our popular sugar cookie bars.
Watch our step by step videos!
My daughter needed a batch of cookies for a youth activity and I knew exactly which ones I was going to make. Cupcake cookies. I know, I know, that sounds ridiculous, but that’s what I call them and they are so fun.
Cupcake Cookies
They start with a soft buttery cookie base and are topped with rich, chocolate buttercream frosting and rainbow sprinkles. I like them better than cupcakes, but that’s just because I like cookies better than cake—unless it’s Texas sheet cake. A sweet yellow vanilla cookie with chocolate frosting and sprinkles—you can see why I think of these as the cookie version of a cupcake, right?
What makes these cupcake cookies so amazing?
- No chill: I love no-chill recipes and this one comes together FAST.
- Basic ingredients: no heavy cream, chocolate baking bars, or other ingredients that you might not have on hand in your pantry or refrigerator. The frosting is made with butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and cocoa powder and is GOOD. Rich, chocolatey, and smooth.
- Feeds a crowd: one batch makes a little over 3 dozen cookies! Need cookies for a bake sale, potluck, or birthday party? Look no further.
Cupcake Cookie Ingredients
Basic cookie ingredients: butter, white sugar, powdered sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Yes, this recipe calls for butter (for flavor and texture) AND oil (for a soft texture). Trust me, it’s a good combination!
Basic frosting ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, baking cocoa, vanilla, and milk.
Note: if you want to take your cookies up a notch (and already have this on hand) you can add a teaspoon of cake batter flavoring in place of one of the teaspoons of vanilla.
How To Make Soft Cookies with Chocolate Buttercream
The cookie dough couldn’t be easier to whip up. Beat butter until fluffy then add sugars and mix. Add eggs, vanilla, and oil. Combined dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
No chilling is required! Scoop cookies using a medium (2 Tbsp.) cookie scoop onto ungreased baking sheets (or parchment-lined sheets) and bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes.
Once the cookies are cool, beat the butter for the frosting until fluffy then beat in the other ingredients. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
You can spread the frosting over the cookies with a butterknife or pipe with a frosting tip. I think piping the frosting is faster and love how easy it is to add rosettes with a 2D tip.
To pipe a rosette simply start in the middle of the cookie with a star then continue to pipe, going in a circle until the cookie is covered. For a better visual, watch my video!
Sprinkle rainbow sprinkles over the cookies and store them in an airtight container. The frosting will set up slightly as the cookies stand, enough to stack 2 cookies tall after a few hours.
Tips for Making The Best Cookies
- Use room temperature ingredients. Butter can be slightly chilled, but should be soft when your thumb is pressed into it.
- Use an electric mixer. A stand mixer or electric hand mixer works great. You can make cookies by hand, but an electric mixer is best for creaming the butter and sugar together.
- Bake on light cookie sheets. All of my recipes are aimed at baking with light metal cookie sheets. That’s all I bake with. If you use dark sheets you’ll need to keep an eye on the cookies and adjust the baking times, if necessary.
Cupcake Cookies With Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Soft Cupcake Cookies With Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter softened
- 6-7 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup baking cocoa
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5-6 Tablespoons milk
- rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Beat butter until nice and fluffy, continue to beat (lowering speed) and add in sugars.
- Stop mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, 1 at a time, followed by vanilla and almond extract, then oil. Add baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
- Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly.
- Roll dough into walnut-sized balls (or drop onto baking sheets using a cookie scoop 2-Tbsp.) and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 minutes.
- Cool cookies 3-5 minutes on the pan then transfer to a rack.
- Beat butter with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and milk*. Beat on low speed until ingredients come together then mix on high speed for 3 minutes, occasionally scraping the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until fluffy. *If more milk is needed, add it 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Fit a piping bag or large plastic storage bag with a 2D frosting tip.
- Frost-cooled cookies with chocolate rosettes. (Watch my video to see how I do this)Add sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
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