Cottage Cheese Muffins
March 20, 2026
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Sprinkles (jimmies, nonpareils, sanding sugar) are the colored sugar-and-cornstarch decorations that turn ordinary baked goods into birthday cakes and themed desserts. Different shapes and sizes have specific uses, long jimmies for cake tops, round nonpareils for ice cream, sanding sugar for cookies. Reader favorites built on it include The Best Sugar Cookies and How To Make Halloween Reeses Cookies where sprinkles finish the cookies for birthday and themed-holiday presentation.
Long jimmies (rod-shaped sprinkles), round nonpareils (tiny ball-shaped sprinkles), and sanding sugar (large crystal sugar with color) have different best uses. Jimmies hold their shape and color when baked into a batter (funfetti applications). Nonpareils bleed color when baked but work well as a topping. Sanding sugar adds sparkle and crunch to cookie tops and rim glasses. For most American birthday cakes, jimmies are the right choice.
For funfetti applications, the technique is to fold long jimmies into the batter at the very end, after the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Mixing too long causes the colors to bleed into the batter and produce a generally muddy color rather than distinct sprinkle pockets. The standard batter ratio is 3/4 cup jimmies per standard 9×13 cake. Pair with vanilla extract for the classic funfetti flavor.
For sugar cookies and sandwich cookies, sanding sugar on the surface adds crunch and visual appeal. Press the cookie tops gently into a small dish of sanding sugar before baking, the sugar adheres without butter or egg wash since the dough surface is already slightly sticky. Colored sanding sugar lets you match holidays: green for St. Patrick’s, red and green for Christmas, pastels for Easter.
For sundae and ice cream toppings, nonpareils work better than jimmies because the small ball shape doesn’t get stuck in teeth and the color holds against the cold ice cream. The classic sundae shop combination is chocolate sauce, whipped cream, nonpareils, and a maraschino cherry. chocolate chips alongside nonpareils provide larger chunks of flavor against the visual sparkle. For storage, sprinkles keep 1-2 years in airtight containers at room temperature. Other reader picks that build on sprinkles include Perfect Unicorn Cakes and Rainbow Buttercream Frosting. Browse chocolate chips, coconut sugar, and salt for closely related cooking applications.
To make sprinkles at home, mix powdered sugar with egg white or corn syrup, add food coloring, pipe thin lines onto a baking sheet, and bake briefly. Once dry, cut into small sprinkle-sized pieces.
The main ingredient in sprinkles is usually sugar. Some recipes also include cornstarch, corn syrup, food coloring, and flavorings to create different colors, textures, and tastes.
Sprinkles can be used on cookies, cupcakes, cakes, ice cream, chocolate bark, donut glazes, and homemade candies. They add color, texture, and a festive touch to sweet treats.
To make sprinkles with royal icing, mix icing with food coloring, pipe thin lines or shapes on parchment paper, let them dry completely, and then break them into small pieces for decorating desserts.
For more decorative sugar and color options, see our turbinado sugar and food coloring recipes.