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These EASY homemade sprinkles are fun to make, only need a few ingredients, and are guaranteed to be the best tasting sprinkles you’ve ever had. Use them to decorate your favorite cakes, cupcakes, and other baked goods.
Sprinkles are so fun to make and they last a LONG time. You can make them long, short, bright or muted and add an easy but very festive and personal flourish to any dessert.
I have tested these in multiple different colors and with different flavorings. I’ve kept a bag of homemade sprinkles in my pantry for several months without any color fade, too!
“Brilliant! Not only do I get custom sprinkles but I train my piping skills – which are virtually non-existent! Thanks you for great inspiration John!”
Stuart
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
Vanilla: this is totally optional, so feel free to use more water if you’d like to skip or add another flavor like almond extract, peppermint extract, or lemon extract to complement the flavor of whatever cake or cookies your are decorating.
Food Coloring: I used gel food coloring but any kind will work. See below for a list of natural colors to use. When I tested with liquid food coloring, I needed a few drops more, but it was easy to account for the extra liquid by reducing the amount of water added by 1/4 teaspoon. Keep that in mind if you don’t have gel colors.
How To Make Homemade Sprinkles
1. Sift 1 cup of the powdered sugar into a large bowl. It’s important to sift so no small clumps clog your piping tip later on.
2. Add the light corn syrup, vanilla if using, and 1.5 tbsp water.
3. Beat until smooth. You can add more water a 1/4 teaspoon at a time if needed. Once smooth add the remaining powdered sugar and mix. The final consistency should be thick but smooth and flowing. You can do this by hand with a whisk, but in testing, I found a mixer to be easier since the icing is very thick.
4. Separate the icing into however many batches you’d like then mix food coloring in until the desired color is reached. The sprinkles will fade a bit as they dry so go ahead and add a bit more color than you might otherwise.
5. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a #3, 4, or 5 round tip and then pipe straight lines onto a piece of parchment paper. Don’t worry if they’re crooked or wavy because you’ll be breaking them up anyways. You can also pipe small dots for confetti sprinkles if desired. Allow them to dry out overnight.
6. Once your sprinkles are dry you can chop them with a knife or break them apart with your hands. Since they’re homemade you can cut them to any length you like. I actually love the look of really long ones sprinkled on top of a cake but any size will look nice.
Pro Tips For This Recipe
To pipe straight lines, keep the tip half an inch above the paper; squeeze and pull forward.
Add a bit more food coloring than you think you need. The sprinkles will fade a bit as they dry.
No piping tip? No Problem! Just snip the tip off of a piping bag, plastic sandwich bag, or roll a piece of parchment paper into a piping bag. Keep the opening small to pipe a thin line.
This is a great activity to do with kids! If little ones are helping you in the kitchen just have them break the sprinkles with their hands instead of using a knife. It’s more fun and safer.
You can easily double this recipe for a larger batch. The sprinkles keep for quite a while so it’s nice to have some on hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are plenty of natural spices, juices, powders, or freeze-dried fruits that add color and flavor:
Yellow: Turmeric
Pink: Raspberry juice or powder.
Green: Matcha Powder
Blue: Blue spirulina
You don’t need a piping tip. I made a batch by snipping the tip off of a piping bag and it works just fine. You can also use a sealable plastic storage bag instead or even roll a piece or parchment paper into a piping bag.
Your sprinkles will last about a year before they start to fade or develop a stale flavor. Make sure to keep them in an airtight container so they are protected from humidity.
Homemade Sprinkles
Equipment
- Piping bag and tip or plastic sandwich bag
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar divided (180g)
- 2 tablespoons cool water divided
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- Gel food coloring optional
Instructions
- Sift 1 cup (120g) of the powdered sugar into a large bowl then add the corn syrup, vanilla if using, then add 1 1/2 tablespoons of water and beat until smooth. You can add more water a teaspoon at a time if needed.
- Once smooth sift in the remaining 1/2 cup (60g) of powdered sugar and mix until combined. The final consistency should be very thick but pipeable.
- Divide the icing into batches if you're making different colored sprinkles then mix in food coloring until the desired color is reached.
- Transfer to piping bags either fitted with #3, 4, or 5 tips, or with the tip snipped off, then pipe thin lines onto a sheet of parchment paper and set aside to dry out overnight, about 12 hours.
- Once dry, you can cut the sprinkles into pieces and store them in an airtight container until ready to use.
Notes
- To pipe straight lines keep the tip half an inch above the paper; squeeze and pull forward.
- Add a bit more food coloring than you think you need. The sprinkles will fade a bit as they dry.
- No piping tip? No Problem! Just snip the tip off of a plastic sandwich bag or roll a piece of parchment paper into a piping bag.
- This is a great activity to do with kids. If little ones are helping you in the kitchen just have them break the sprinkles with their hands instead of using a knife. It’s more fun and safer.
- You can easily double this recipe for a larger batch. The sprinkles keep for quite a while so it’s nice to have some on hand.
- Pipe lots of small dots for confetti sprinkles.
Nutrition
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More Recipes To Try
Use these sprinkles to decorate one of these dessert recipes:
- Funfetti Cupcakes: use the sprinkles in the cake batter and to decorate the top of the frosted cupcakes.
- Vanilla Cake: two layers of fluffy sponge cake with a vanilla American buttercream that’s perfect for any holiday or celebration.
- Cake Pops: coat these bite-sized cake balls, then decorate with your custom homemade sprinkles to match a holiday or party theme.
- Lofthouse Cookies: these soft sugar cookies are coated with a fluffy buttercream and sprinkles give them their iconic look.
- Funfetti Cookies: chewy sugar cookie dough studded with rainbow sprinkles stay soft thanks to the addition of cornstarch.
If you’ve tried this Homemade Sprinkles recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
