There’s something about rainbow sprinkles and a hint of almond extract that just screams “celebration”—even if it’s just a random Tuesday. This birthday cake edible cookie dough is one of my favorite no bake desserts to make when I want something festive, fast, and totally irresistible. It has that classic boxed cake mix flavor we all know and love, but in a soft, scoopable cookie dough form that you can eat straight from the bowl.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make edible cookie dough that tastes like birthday cake, this recipe is for you! It’s the ultimate easy dessert and a total crowd-pleaser. Plus, it only takes a few minutes and uses easy ingredients you probably already have at home.
Ingredients for Birthday Cake Edible Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1–2 tablespoons milk (adjust for texture)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (heat-treated if desired)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles (jimmies or sequins work best)
- Optional: 1–2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
How to Make Birthday Cake Edible Cookie Dough
Heat-treat the flour: Microwave the flour in a bowl for about 1 minute, stirring every 15 seconds to ensure it reaches 165°F throughout. Let it cool before using. You can also spread it on a baking sheet and bake it at 350°F for 5 minutes.
Cream the butter and sugars: In a mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the extracts and milk: Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts, plus 1 tablespoon of milk. Add more milk if the dough feels too dry at the end.
Mix in dry ingredients: Add the flour and salt and stir until fully combined and smooth. Add a bit more milk to adjust for texture if necessary.
Fold in sprinkles: Gently stir in the rainbow sprinkles (and white chocolate chips, if using) until evenly distributed.
Scoop and Chill: Using a cookie scoop (or just a spoon), scoop out your cookie dough and store in mini cupcake liners (or on a flat plate.) Chill in the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving for best results.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Pro Tips
- Use jimmies-style or sequin sprinkles, not nonpareils—they hold their color better and won’t bleed into the dough. You can easily find either of those at the grocery store. I used sequins, which are little round ones that have a bold pop of color, but I have made these with jimmies before and I know they work great, too.
- Sift your flour. Hot flour tends to clump together in the microwave when you’re heat treating it. Definitely don’t skip stirring the flour while heat treating it, but if it still clumps up on you, you can always push it through a strainer to kind of break it up. Otherwise, you might end up with lumps of flour in your cookie dough balls at the end.
- A little almond extract goes a long way—if you’re not a fan you can reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon or omit it completely. However, I really like the tiny kick of flavor the almond extract adds to these, which makes them a different flavor than regular chocolate chip cookies.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze for up to 2 months.
FAQs
Can I use boxed cake mix instead of flour?
If you want to use a boxed cake mix, I wouldn’t recommend it for this kind of recipe. I do love me a boxed cake mix! However, for edible cookie dough, it’s going to be tricky and probably give you an undesirable texture and flavor. Cake mixes have extra things rather than just flour in them. They already have sweeteners and leavening agents (like baking powder and baking soda), which means that you would have to adjust this recipe a lot for flavor.
Is this really safe to eat raw?
Yes! This is an egg-free recipe, and the flour can be heat-treated for food safety. It’s one of my favorite easy desserts with few ingredients that’s totally safe to enjoy without baking.
Can I make it dairy-free?
Yes—use vegan butter and plant-based milk for a dairy-free version. Please note that using vegan ingredients will affect your flavor profile, but the texture should be the same.
How can I serve these for a party?
Try scooping the dough into mini cupcake liners and topping with extra sprinkles for a fun party treat!
Birthday Cake Edible Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1-2 Tbsp milk adjust for texture
- 1 cup flour heat-treated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles jimmies or sequins work best
- 1-2 Tbsp white chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Microwave the flour in a bowl for about 1 minute, stirring every 15 seconds to ensure it reaches 165°F throughout. Let it cool before using. (You can also spread it on a baking sheet and bake it at 350°F for 5 minutes.)
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts, plus 1 tablespoon of milk. Add more milk if the dough feels too dry at the end.
- Add the flour (It helps to sift the flour after heat-treating it so it doesn't clump up) and salt and stir until fully combined and smooth
- Gently stir in the rainbow sprinkles (and white chocolate chips, if using) until evenly distributed.
- Using a cookie scoop (or just a spoon), scoop out your cookie dough and store in mini cupcake liners (or on a flat plate.)
- Chill in the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving for best results
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
