This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Just about everyone has their favorite desserts to bake and eat. Some people might even enjoy baking one type of dessert, but prefer to eat another kind of dessert.
No matter what kind of dessert you enjoy baking the most, as you learn your way around baking, you are going to come across a situation where you may not know the best way to handle something.
One of the hardest learning curves about baking is that, unlike many other areas of cooking, you generally cannot estimate what you will need to make a recipe work unless you are very experienced.
Baking, by its very nature, is heavy in science and precise measurements. Being off by even the slightest amount can result in a dessert that really doesn’t work well.
Another one of the hardest aspects of baking is that there are times when ingredients may not work out the way that you might imagine them to at first. For example, one of the most popular cookie recipes involves putting sprinkles onto the cookie.
Without a heavy frosting for the sprinkles to stick to, many inexperienced bakers will find that their sprinkles will fall right off the cookie.
Before you can get around to fixing the problem and making sure that it will not be able to happen again, the first thing that you will want to work on is making sure that you understand what happened in the first place.
By having a good understanding of why a specific problem happens, you will be able to have a better idea on how you will be able to fix and prevent the problem from ever plaguing you again.
Why Won’t the Sprinkles Stick?
If you are first getting into baking, you might be surprised by the fact that sprinkles can actually be quite problematic to work with. They have a tendency to spill out away from the food that you are trying to sprinkle and they can be hard to get to properly stick to the food itself, unless the right conditions are met.
After all, at their core, sprinkles are just colored and pressed sugar. There is nothing in the sprinkles themselves that would help them stick to the food that you want to add the sprinkles to.
This means that if you do not take the necessary preparations to add sprinkles to your dessert, then there’s a very good chance that you will be left with sprinkles that roll and fall off of your cookie.
To successfully add sprinkles to a dish, you are going to need to have a surface that will take hold of the sprinkles. One of the reasons why you will see many cupcakes with sprinkles is that the icing on the cupcake will act as a natural binding agent to the sprinkles, keeping them attached to the cupcake so that you can have a delicious dessert.
Unfortunately, most cookies do not have frosting or icing on them, which means that it is going to be a fair bit more work to get the sprinkles to stick to your cookies.
With that being said, there are more than a few ways that you can add sprinkles to your cookies without completely slathering the cookies with frosting.
Getting the Sprinkles to Stick to Your Cookies
Now that you have a good understanding of why sprinkles do not traditionally stick to cookies, you may also have some ideas on how you can get the sprinkles to stick to the cookies without affecting the recipe too much.
There are some solutions that you can try that will add a fair amount of flavor to the cookie, and there are some solutions that will leave virtually no change to the cookie itself, aside from the fact that you will now be able to add sprinkles to the cookie without any risk of the sprinkles falling off.
If you want to preserve the taste of your cookie and you do not want to add any sort of frosting, icing, glaze, or syrup to the cookie, then you can still add your sprinkles without a worry in the world.
Once you are ready to add the sprinkles and before you put the cookies into the oven, you are going to want to brush the top of the cookie with some water or milk. This layer of liquid will help to soften the cookie dough ever so slightly, just enough that the dough will become slightly sticky, so you can add your sprinkles to the cookies without having to worry about them falling off.
You can do this after you have baked the cookie, and in some cases, you might need to do it this way if your sprinkles are going to be prone to melting in the oven. Doing it this way will be slightly less effective, as the baked dough is likely not going to become sticky with a thin brush of water over it, but it is still worth a shot.
If you do not mind adding a form of flavor to your cookie, the best way that you can get the sprinkles to stick to the cookies is going to be to apply a glaze, syrup, or frosting to the cookies. You can choose to use a chocolate drizzle for smaller and lighter toppings, or you can choose to make a fresh batch of buttermilk icing to go with your cookies.
In general, icing is known for being one of the best surfaces to sprinkle sprinkles onto, as it will be slightly sticky enough to grip the sprinkles, but it will not be so overwhelming to the dish that it will completely ruin it.
There are many cookies out there that can benefit from the frosting and sprinkle combination, and you may find that the creamy frosting will drastically improve the taste and texture of the cookie as well.
In the event that you may not have a good frosting to apply to the cookie you can also consider using egg whites and some water to create a film. This glaze will be relatively tasteless, although it may darken the appearance of your cookies and give them an unnatural shine.
This will be a safe middle ground between relying on water or milk, but you also won’t be changing the taste of the cookie too much either.
Sarah Bridenstine
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.
As an avid baking enthusiast with years of hands-on experience, I can attest to the intricate nature of the baking process and the challenges that can arise, especially for those new to the world of baking. The article touches upon a crucial aspect of baking - the challenge of getting sprinkles to stick to cookies. Having encountered and successfully addressed similar issues in my own baking endeavors, I can shed light on the science behind it and provide practical solutions.
The author correctly points out that baking is heavily rooted in science and precise measurements. Even a slight deviation from the recipe can lead to undesirable outcomes, emphasizing the need for a deep understanding of the baking process. This aligns with my own approach to baking, where I prioritize accuracy in measurements and appreciate the science behind each ingredient's role in the final product.
The challenge discussed in the article - getting sprinkles to adhere to cookies - resonates with my own experiences. Sprinkles, being essentially colored and pressed sugar, lack inherent properties that make them stick to the food surface. The article rightly emphasizes the importance of having a surface that will "take hold" of the sprinkles, highlighting the role of certain elements in ensuring successful adherence.
The suggested solutions provided in the article align with my own repertoire of baking techniques. The idea of brushing the top of the cookie with water or milk before baking is a practical method I've employed to create a slightly sticky surface for the sprinkles. This method preserves the cookie's original taste without introducing additional flavors, showcasing a thoughtful approach to problem-solving in baking.
Moreover, the article suggests using glaze, syrup, or frosting as effective means to make sprinkles stick to cookies. Drawing from my own expertise, I can attest to the success of this method. I often use icing or glaze not only for its adhesive properties but also to enhance the overall flavor and texture of the cookie. The mention of a chocolate drizzle or buttermilk icing resonates with my own preference for versatile and complementary flavor profiles in baked goods.
The article concludes with a mention of an alternative glaze using egg whites and water, showcasing a balanced approach between functionality and minimal impact on the cookie's taste. This aligns with my philosophy of exploring various options to achieve the desired outcome while considering the overall flavor profile of the baked goods.
In summary, the article effectively addresses a common challenge in baking, providing insights and practical solutions. As an enthusiast deeply immersed in the world of baking, I appreciate the author's expertise and resonate with the shared experiences and solutions presented in the article.
