Soft Batch Funfetti Cookies

I normally try to post a good variety of recipes. Brownies one time, cookies the next. A fruity flavor, then something with chocolate.

But my friends: any sort of content calendar-ing goes out the window when you move across the country. And yes: that’s what I’ve been doing lately. Since my last post, almost three months ago, I decide to move, packed up my stuff and headed right on across the country to the grand old land of NYC.

I haven’t gotten to bake anything new in a while, as my stuff is still in storage and I’m currently without an oven. Howevvver, I had always meant to blog about these delicious Soft Batch Funfetti Cookies eventually. And so, why not today?

These are the funfetti cookies of your dreams. Slightly chewy edges, very soft inside. They have a perfect ratio of sprinkles and a lovely almond flavor. I had planned to pass them out to friends but admittedly, ate most for myself. They’re easy to make, freeze well, and generally brighten up your day.

This was one of the last things I baked in San Francisco as I scrambled to use up all my flour, chocolate, sprinkles and such. Once I settle in here I’ll get back to trying new recipes and playing around in the kitchen. Until then: let’s all raise a funfetti cookie and toast to new chapters, ok?

Original recipe: Averie Cooks. I’ve rewritten things a bit and added commentary.

Yield: 16 cookies

Suggested equipment: Mixer

Total Time: ~2.5 hours, with chill time

Cook Time: ~8 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tsp vanilla or imitation vanilla extract
• 1.5 tsp almond extract
• 1.5 cups flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup sprinkles

Instructions

Make your dough

1. Use your mixer to cream the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Use the medium-high speed and beat until it’s light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes.
2. Scrape your bowl, then add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined.
3. Add the sprinkles, and fold them in with a wooden spoon.
4. Scoop the dough into large, two tablespoon mounds. Flatten each mound slightly, then cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can leave it in the fridge a few days if needed.

Bake your cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until edges look firm and tops are just beginning to set. They might look a bit undercooked or pale in the center—that’s fine! They will continue to firm up as they cool. Let cool completely, then enjoy!
3. These cookies store really well at room temp or in the freezer.

Funfetti Cake Balls

In the world of baking blogs, cake balls are not news. They were hot off the baking presses back in 2008, when Bakerella started wow-ing the world with her creative cake pop creations. I don’t think Bakerella invented the idea of cake balls, but she sure made them famous. She has since created an impressive assortment of creative, beautiful cake pops, both on her blog and in cookbooks.

I’m not here today to show you a stunningly creative cake pop – that’s far beyond my personal artistic scope. Instead: I’m going to teach you to make the cake balls themselves.

I first made cake balls in 2010 for a friend’s birthday. It was like paying the cake forward, because a good friend had recently made them for MY birthday. They were a hit, and I thought about them a lot… but never made them again. I even bought ingredients for them a couple years ago – and then failed to ever make the cake balls happen. When you have a recipe list that’s nearing 400 recipes, sometimes things just don’t happen, no matter how much you scheme. For my birthday this year, I decided to finally revisit these delicious bites.

These Funfetti Cake Balls aren’t fancy – but they’re easy to make, easy to serve, and a true crowd favorite. I use Funfetti because it is just so, well, fun, but you could swap in any other flavor of cake and frosting. This is the perfect time to use mixes and canned frostings, by the way. You could definitely make your own if you wanted to, but the pre-made stuff is a nice shortcut for a recipe like this. Especially since you’re going to smash your cake into smithereens* to make the balls. This recipe is super easy, but do make sure to set aside time since there are a few different phases: make the cake, make the balls, chill the balls, dip the balls.

*Fun fact: Wikipedia’s description of cake balls is “reconstituted cake crumbs.” Technically correct, but what a funny way to describe it!

Original recipe: Bakerella (a.k.a. the Queen of Cake Balls and Pops). I’ve rewritten things a bit and added commentary. 

Yield: 48 cake balls 

Suggested equipment: I used a mixer for my cake but you definitely don’t need to 

Total Time: 3 hours, including all the steps/wait times 

Cook Time: Depends on your base cake; my mix baked for 40 minutes 

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix (I like using Pilsbury’s Funfetti since it has sprinkles mixed into the batter). You’ll also need to gather whatever your cake mix requires to bake the cake. For mine, that meant water, oil and eggs.
• 1 container ready-made frosting (I used Funfetti frosting, and love that it comes with sprinkles for decoration, though it wasn’t enough for all of my balls)
• 48 oz chocolate candy coating (I used Candiquik)
• Sprinkles to decorate the balls

Step by Step Directions

Bake your cake 

Obviously this step varies depending on which cake mix you buy! I like using a 9×13 pan since it’s the easiest to deal with, and you’re just going to crumble the cake, anyway. Make sure your cake is done by testing the center with a toothpick – it should come out batter-free. Once the cake is done, let it cool completely before proceeding. I actually baked my cake on a Saturday and finished up the balls on Sunday since it fit better into my schedule.

Make your cake balls 

1. Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. Your pieces should be pretty small – check out the picture below to get a better sense of size
2. Add frosting to the bowl until the crumbs are moist, but not totally wet. The wetter the cake crumbles, the harder it is to make the balls (I know, sort of counterintuitive). I used about 2/3 of the frosting can. You can throw the remaining frosting in the fridge after that because you won’t need it again
3. Use a spoon to combine the frosting and cake crumbs together. I used a wooden spoon; the original recipe suggests using the back of a large metal spoon. You’ll want to mix until the frosting and cake bits are totally combined
4. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper before you start making the balls
5. Roll your cake mixture into cake balls about 1.5 inches big. They should be as round and smooth as you can make them – the prettier now, the prettier your final balls will be. I didn’t worry about making mine perfect since I knew the chocolate coating would hide some of the imperfections, but if you’re more aesthetically inclined, you should definitely invest time at this step
6. Place your cake balls on the cookie sheets and let them sit for about 20 minutes.
7. Then, cover the sheets with plastic wrap, and throw them into the fridge or freezer. If you choose fridge, they should chill for several hours. If you choose freezer, they should chill for about 15 minutes
8. Once the balls are firm, you’re ready to dip! Be careful not to let the balls freeze entirely

Dip and decorate 

1. Put your candy coating in a microwave safe bowl. Technically you can melt most coatings in the tray they come in – but it’s a lot easier to dip the balls if you put the coating in a bowl first since you have more depth to roll
2. Take out a few balls at a time to dip, and leave the rest in the fridge so they stay firm
3. Dip each ball in the chocolate, one by one. You can sort of just twist the ball around in the chocolate to get it covered. You’ll start to get the hang of the coating after a few tries. You should find the coating simple to use, so if you’re fighting the coating to stay put or it’s getting lumpy, use a bit of vegetable oil to thin it out. Mine started to clump up once I got through half my balls, so it did need thinning
4. If you’re going to add sprinkles, do it immediately after dipping each individual ball. The coating dries super fast, so you’ll miss the opportunity to decorate if you wait to dip all the balls first before adding sprinkles, etc.

These went fast at my birthday, but there were a couple left the next day. They tasted just as good on Day 2 – just make sure to keep them in an airtight container. And remember, this is just the tip of the cake ball iceberg. For lots of fun decorative ideas, check out Bakerella’s slew of tutorials

Making my cake

Cake cooling off

This is what your cake crumbles should look like

Time to add in frosting!

Almost there

Rolled into balls

Dipped and decorated