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    Home » Cookies

    St. Patrick's Day Mint Sprinkle Cookies

    Published: Feb 28, 2021 · Modified: Feb 22, 2022 by Jere Cassidy · This post may contain affiliate links. · 31 Comments

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    A wee little leprechaun asked for something sweet on St. Patrick's Day and these Mint Sprinkle Cookies have a surprise green center that makes these tasty sugar cookies extra delicious to eat and perfect a fun and festive celebration.

    Just take a bite to find the surprise inside of these cookies!

    Mint sprinkle cookies with a cup of tea.
    St. Patrick's Day Cookies

    This page may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure for policy details.  I earn commissions if you shop through the links on this page.

    Who doesn't like a cookie covered in sprinkles?  Actually, anything with sprinkles calls my name, donuts, cupcakes, and candies, I always pick the ones with the colorful toppings. These sweet little butter cookies have something besides the sprinkles on top of the cookie, take one bite to find a surprise middle layer of mint green cookie.  Hey, how did that get in there?

    Jump to:
    • ☘️Why we love these cookies
    • Ready, let's bake cookies! 
    • Sprinkles, color and flavorings
    • Let's make cookies
    • Tips for making these mint cookies
    • More favorite cookies
    • Recipe

    ☘️Why we love these cookies

    This recipe is kid-friendly, they like rolling the dough into balls and then rolling them in the sprinkles.

    These cookies make great treats for school.

    The best part about these homemade Sprinkle Cookies is that you can change the colors of the sprinkles on the outside and make the surprise middle layer different colors and flavors. I have a bit of an obsession with these cookies and have made seven different flavors to celebrate the holidays. There are even cookies to celebrate baseball opening day which should be a major holiday in my opinion. 

    Red Velvet Sprinkle Cookies for you Valentine

    Raspberry Sprinkle Cookies that are perfect to put in an Easter basket

    Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles Cookies to eat while watching fireworks

    Orange and  Black Sprinkle Cookies in honor of our beloved San Francisco Giants

    Halloween Sprinkle Cookies for the ghosts and goblins

    Christmas Sprinkle Cookies for Santa.

    In honor of St. Patrick and my husband's family the "Cassidy's" I am baking our favorite cookie that is decked out in the prettiest green and white nonpareil sprinkles.  If you are not familiar with nonpareils they are just little round balls made from sugar and starch.  I find the nonpareils work better than the jimmie type sprinkles, and they keep their color during baking.      

    Ready, let's bake cookies! 

    • Unsalted Butter
    • Shortening
    • Sugar
    • Baking powder
    • Salt
    • Eggs
    • Powdered sugar
    • Vanilla
    • AP Flour
    • Mint flavoring
    • Green food color
    • Green and White nonpareil sprinkles

    Sprinkles, color and flavorings

    For this recipe, you will need to buy green nonpareils and white nonpareils separately and mix them. It is hard to find the white and green together so I mix them.  You need to have enough sprinkles to roll the cookies in, so buying a bottle of each color will be enough.  And, you don't have to mix the colors you can make them all white and all green. 

    Green sprinkles in a bottle
    Green Nonpareils
    White-nonpariels sprinkles
    White Nonpareils

    Let's make cookies

    Step 1. Add the softened butter and shortening to a stand mixer bowl and mix on medium speed to incorporate. then add the sugar, baking, and salt and mix on medium speed. You can also make the dough with a handheld mixer, but you may have to finish the mixing with a wooden spoon. 

    Step 2. Mix in the egg and the egg yolks on medium speed until combined.

    Step 3. Mix in the flour on medium speed until a soft dough forms.

    Step 4. After you make the batter,  measure out ¾ cup of the batter and put it in a small bowl. Add a few drops of green food coloring and the mint flavoring to this dough, Stir well to combine the color and flavor  This dough will be the surprise middle layer.

    How to Roll the Dough Balls

    Step 5. Put the sprinkles in a large bowl that is big enough to roll the cookie dough balls around.

    Step 6.  Measure out 1 tablespoon of the plain dough and roll into balls. You should get 25. Then measure out the mint dough with a teaspoon to get 25 balls.

    Cookie dough balls rolled in sprinkles.
    Rolling in sprinkles

    Step 7. Flatten a large ball in your hand then put the green/mint ball inside the flattened dough and then fold up the dough and roll back into a ball.  Here is an important part of making these cookies.  You have to roll that just-made ball into the sprinkles immediately while the butter in the dough is a bit soft, this way the sprinkles will stick to the cookie dough ball.  Make sense?

    Forming two cookies into one ball.
    Roll the cookies into balls

    Step 8. It's now time to bake the cookies. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. and bake for 10 minutes.

    Sprinkled cookies on a baking sheet.
    Sprinkled cookies ready to bake
    Sprinkle cookies with tea.
    Tea, cookies and a poem

    Just checking, but do you have sprinkles all over your floor and countertop?  There is just no stopping these little round balls from going everywhere.

    Tips for making these mint cookies

    • Have plenty of sprinkles to roll the dough balls in.
    • Roll the dough balls in the palm of your hands to warm the dough, this way the sprinkles will stick better.
    • If the dough is to soft to roll you can add just a bit more flour, like a ⅛ cup. Or you can chill the dough for 10 to 15 minutes just to firm it up before rolling it into balls. I rarely have too soft of dough except when it's blazing hot here.
    • These cookies freeze well. After the cookies are baked and cooled place them in a freezer contain for one month.
    Will sprinkles melt in the oven>

    It depends on the type of sprinkles you use. Mostly nonpareils and jimmies are the sprinkles used in baking. Nonpareil sprinkles don't melt when baked, but sometimes their colors bleed a little. Jimmies, melt slightly but will retain their shapes once cooled.

    Why won't the sprinkles stick to my cookies?

    For sprinkles to stick to a cookie before baking the cookie dough has to be sticky. Make sure to add the sprinkles to the cookie as soon as you roll it, cut it out. or form it into a ball. When the butter or shortening in the dough is still tacky helps the sprinkles stick.

    If the dough is covered in a lot of flour, this can also cause the sprinkle not to stick.

    More favorite cookies

    • 4th of July Sugar Cookie Bars
    • Chewy Lemon Iced Cookies Recipe
    • How Far in Advance Can You Bake Christmas Cookies?
    • Decadent Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

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    Recipe

    St. Patricks' Day Mint Cookies.
    Print Pin
    5 from 24 votes

    Mint Surprise Inside Cookies

    These Mint Surprise Inside Cookies are a simple butter cookie wrapped around a minty middle layer cookie covered in green and white nonpareil sprinkles. 
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course Cookies
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Servings 25 cookies
    Calories 179kcal
    Author Jere' Cassidy

    As an Amazon Associate I earn income from qualifying purchases.

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    Equipment

    • Cookie Sheets
    • Parchment Paper
    • Kitchen Aid Mixer

    Ingredients

    Cookie Ingredients

    • ½ cup unsalted butter
    • ¼ cup solid vegetable shortening
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • ½ tsp. baking powder
    • ¼ tsp. salt
    • 1 egg
    • 2 egg, yolks
    • 2 tsp. vanilla
    • 2 ½ cups AP flour
    • 1 tsp. Mint extract
    • Green food coloring
    • 4 oz. Green nonpareil Sprinkles
    • 4 oz. White nonpariel sprinkles

    Instructions

    Making and Rolling the Cookies

    • In a large bowl mix the butter and shortening until fluffy. Then add the sugar, baking powder and salt; mix until combined
    • Mix in the egg, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined, scraping sides of the bowl.
    • Mix in the flour until combined, forming a soft dough.
    • Remove ¾ cup of the dough to a small bowl and add the mint flavoring and the green food color.  Note:  I just add a few drops of food color until I get the right color.  Mix well to combine

    Rolling the dough balls

    • Measure out 1 tablespoon of the plain dough and roll into 25 balls. Then measure out 1 teaspoon of the mint flavor dough and roll into the same amount of balls as the plain dough.
    • Flatten the plain dough ball and place a mint flavored dough ball in the center and mold the dough around it to make a round ball.
    • Immediately roll each ball roll in the nonpareil sprinkles and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat rolling and molding each ball.
    • Bake for 10 - 11 minutes at 375 degrees.
    • Store these cookies in an airtight container for up to five days.

    Notes

    For the food coloring, start by adding a drop, then add more as needed.
    Measure out all the dough balls to make sure you have 25 of each.  If you have too many or not enough of one just pinch some dough off another dough ball to make 25 of each.
    After you roll the two dough balls together, roll the ball in you have several times to warm up the dough to get a bit sticky and immediately roll in the nonpareils.  
    If you let the dough balls sit and then roll in the nonpareils the dough won't be sticky enough.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.2g | Fat: 8.4g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 30mg
    Tried this recipe? Pin it today!Mention @onehotoven or tag #onehotoven!

    A delicious cookie for an Irish Afternoon Tea

    The tea is ready and the cookies are baked for our afternoon tea and perfect for a St. Patrick's Day dessert.

    Mint Surprise Inside Cookies with a cup of tea

    I will leave you with one of my favorite blessing ~

    Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog.  Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? My contact information is on my about page, 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 both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.

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    Comments

    1. Amy Liu Dong

      March 05, 2022 at 8:45 pm

      5 stars
      Sounds like a perfect treat to make for the kids on this St. Patricks's Day.
      So delicious!

      Reply
    2. Kristina

      March 03, 2022 at 10:24 am

      5 stars
      These look and sound delicious for St. Patrick's Day and I'd like to make them for my kids. But I am curious- can I use something in place of the solid vegetable shortening? Thanks!

      Reply
    3. Rob

      March 01, 2022 at 6:47 pm

      5 stars
      These cookies were fun to make, delicious to eat, and a total show stopper! The center mint portion was a fun surprise both in color and flavor.

      Reply
    4. Jan

      March 01, 2022 at 5:29 pm

      5 stars
      These were so much fun to make and a really good talking point at the party I took these too. Thanks

      Reply
    5. Lathiya

      March 16, 2021 at 4:36 am

      5 stars
      This is such a cute idea to make cookies with hidden color. Sure the kids will love it.

      Reply
    6. Anindya Sundar Basu

      March 03, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      We all love cookies and especially the kids. This one will be so exciting for the kids. Thanks for the recipe

      Reply
    7. Jacqueline Debono

      March 03, 2021 at 6:57 am

      5 stars
      What great cookies for St Patrick's day. Love the mint flavoured filling and all the green sprinkles!

      Reply
      • Jere Cassidy

        March 03, 2021 at 5:16 pm

        Thanks, I love the sprinkles too!

        Reply
    8. Beth

      March 02, 2021 at 6:55 pm

      5 stars
      The recipe for these cookies is really quite simple, but you have made such a beautiful presentation with one color of dough inside the other and the festive sprinkles.

      Reply
      • Jere Cassidy

        March 03, 2021 at 5:17 pm

        This really is a simple recipe, just one dough and two colors.

        Reply
    9. Deborah

      March 02, 2021 at 12:03 pm

      5 stars
      What a sweet idea for Saint Patrick's Day. I love the mint surprise in the middle. I'm sure children would love this! And it's pretty for a tea party, too.

      Reply
    10. Angela

      March 02, 2021 at 7:04 am

      5 stars
      Perfect cookie for St Patty's Day. I will remember these for Christmas too

      Reply
    11. Nisha

      March 01, 2021 at 4:31 pm

      5 stars
      Such a fun idea to make these mint surprise cookies rolled in sprinkles. I am sure it tastes as awesome as it looks.

      Reply
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    Jere Cassidy owner of One Hot Oven

    Welcome, I am Jerè. I love sharing recipes both sweet and savory that inspire you to bake at home. Food has a way of bringing us all together, from a simple batch of cookies to a three-tier cake.

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