Christmas Cookies with Sprinkles {and a surprise inside}

Everyone loves a surprise, I know I do, and that is what you get with these Christmas Cookies with Sprinkles that have a surprise fudge middle layer. Rolled in red, green, and white sprinkles, these are the ultimate Christmas cookies with serious cookie cuteness.

tis the season for cookie baking

Today, I turned on my favorite Christmas songs to get me in the holiday spirit and started my Christmas baking; it’s the season for delicious and colorful homemade cookies.

Don’t you love all the holiday colors? That’s one reason these stuffed cookies covered in Christmas sprinkles are irresistible.  These tender chocolate-filled cookies are like two cookies in one with the soft sugar cookie on the outside.

These cookies have been a favorite holiday tradition for us; we make them every year for our Christmas party and give them as gifts.

Cookie ingredients

The best sprinkles for these cookies are called nonpareils. They are the little round balls that roll everywhere. Personally, I love using nonpareils instead of the jimmies for cookies since they keep their color when baked.

The holiday nonpareils are carried in craft stores but they are sometimes hard to find the exact colors you want for the specific holiday. So plan early. And, for these cookies, I would suggest getting two bottles or this larger bag, so you have plenty of sprinkles for rolling the cookies in.

Let’s make some cookies

We will be rolling dough today, not with a rolling pin but with our hands to make lots of dough balls.

Prepare – Line baking sheets with parchment paper, heat your oven to 375 degrees F, and pour the sprinkles into a big bowl.

Step 1. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until it is fluffy.

Step 2. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt, then mix to combine, scraping the bowl.

Step 3. Add the egg, egg yolks, and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Step 4. With the mixer at medium speed, beat the flour to form a soft dough.

Step 5. Remove 3/4 cup of the dough and put it into a small separate bowl, then add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and melted butter. Mix all together with a spoon until well combined.

Step 6. Add the almond extract to the plain dough.

Step 7.  With a tablespoon, scoop out 30 pieces of plain dough and roll them into balls, and with a teaspoon, measure out 30 pieces of the chocolate dough and roll them into balls.  (I normally get between 28 – 30 balls of each dough.)

Step 8.

How to form the cookie balls

1. Flatten the plain almond-flavored dough into a round disk in the palm of your hand.
2. Place the chocolate dough ball on top of the flat disk.
3. Wrap the dough around the chocolate dough ball.
4. Roll the one big dough ball around in your hand until it is smooth and slightly tacky. For the best results, immediately roll the dough ball into the nonpareil sprinkles and place it on the cookie sheet.

Sprinkle tip ~It is important you roll the dough ball immediately in the sprinkles while it is warm from your hands.

Steps to shape these cookies

Note:  This first picture below is what happens when you don’t roll the dough ball immediately in the sprinkles; they just won’t stick, no matter what!

Step 9. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely, then store them in an airtight container.

This is the perfect cookie recipe to get the kids involved in decorating Christmas cookies. They can roll the dough into the balls and the sprinkles, and then prepare yourself for lots of joy and laughter.

I promise everyone will love these deliciously festive cookies, especially Santa.

What’s the Surprise?

Just take one bite of this cookie to find a fudgy chocolate center inside each cookie.

Cookie questions?

Bake more sprinkle cookies

These cookies are perfect not only for Christmas but also all year through.  It’s so easy to roll the dough in different colors of nonpareils for different holidays, or maybe sports team colors, and just for fun. Sometimes, I change the middle filling color and flavor. There are so many options with sugar cookies.

• Make these Red Velvet Sugar Cookies for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day.
• To celebrate all things Irish, try these cookies for St. Patrick’s Day. They are covered in festive green and white sprinkles, and there is even a surprise inside the cookies.
• Fill Easter baskets with these pastel Raspberry Filled Cookies.
• Let’s get patriotic with Fourth of July Cookies that are covered in very festive red, white and blue sprinkles.
• Show your team colors like these Orange and Black Surprise Inside Cookies, these are for our San Francisco Giants. What’s fun is you can make these for any sport, and they are always a hit for game day.
• The Christmas Sugar Wafer Cookies are tasty no-bake cookies that the kids love to decorate with colorful candies and sprinkles.

Pin to your cookie boards on Pinterest

More favorite cookies

First published Feb. 13, 2018, updated Dec. 20, 2024, for better readability.

Remember, cookies are for sharing, which means you can eat all the cookies except one!

Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog.  Please leave a comment to say hello or tell me what you are baking; I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Do you have any questions or want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my About page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!

About Jere’                             

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending.  Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.