Learn to make your own sprinkles (or “jimmies” or “hundreds and thousands”) and never run out! Customize the color and sprinkle them over your favorite baked goods.
Every Thursday the local radio station asks people to call in and talk about their simple pleasures. I’ve never called in (as one of my simple pleasures in life is being able to text and actually speak on the phone as little as possible) but it always manages to elevate my mood a notch or two.
I am definitely a person whose day can be made by a simple pleasure, and I do mean simple.
I consider my day made if a squirrel or a chipmunk scurries across my path while I’m walking (fuzzy rodents make my heart melt), or if I find my believed-to-be-lost tube of Carmex in my pocket.
Another simple pleasure? Sprinkles. Lots & lots of them.
Whether it’s ice cream, or cupcakes, or a buttercream lathed cake, sprinkles always make things better (hence why I have so many Funfetti recipes on my blog).
This weekend I needed sprinkles for a recipe I was making, but I very specifically (and for no good reason at all) wanted particular colors that I didn’t have on hand. Fortunately, a quick look at the ingredients on my bin of (so-called “rainbow”) sprinkles made me realize that they’re actually made of some pretty basic ingredients, and I could probably tackle the recipe on my own.
So now, many attempts later, I have a simple, easy sprinkle recipe to share with you.
I took a lot of pictures to walk you through the steps, though they’re not difficult. The hardest part is waiting for the sprinkles to harden (I suggest waiting at least 12 hours, though yours may be done faster, or take longer).
So let’s begin.
The first step is to combine your sugar, corn starch, water, corn syrup, and vanilla extract (or whatever extract you prefer!) in a medium-sized bowl following the recipe at the bottom of the post (don’t put all the sugar in at once, it becomes too difficult to stir). If you want, you can then divide the mixture into separate bowls and color each separately to have several different colors of sprinkles. I found that one batch makes about ½ – ⅔ cup sprinkles, so depending on how many sprinkles you want you may wish to do multiple batches rather than divide the one batch.
Add your food coloring of choice and stir well. I used a gel food coloring which gives a very deep, vibrant color. Just remember, the more food coloring you add, the more you will be able to taste it in the final product, I don’t recommend more than 1 ½ chocolate-chip-sized drops (max!).
Next, transfer your mixture into a piping bag fitted with a #4 Wilton tip. If you don’t have this specific tip, you could also get away with using a similar size, or with cutting a small (sprinkle’s-width) hole in the tip of a ziploc bag and using that. Just be careful using a Ziploc bag, as the sprinkle mixture is thick and may cause the Ziploc bag to burst if squeezed too hard.
Line two cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper and draw long horizontal lines across the paper. As you’re making them, take note that they are the width that you desire. Try to keep your lines as straight as possible, but don’t stress if they’re a little wobbly (like mine are). When you break them up you won’t be able to tell!
Also, as you can see here, I made some of my sprinkles into cute half-spheres by making small dots alongside the lines. I think it added some nice variety to the traditional sprinkle shapes.
Now comes the hard part — waiting. You are going to have to wait at least 12 hours for these to dry and harden completely.
Once they’ve dried, peel off any dots that you’ve made and then use a large knife to cut down your rows to make your sprinkles! You decide how long or short you want them to be. The ends of my rows were a little sloppy, so if yours are too you can cut them off first and discard (or shamelessly eat all of them).
And that’s it! Combine your colors as you please and sprinkle away. These keep well in a sealed airtight container.
More Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Who knew you could make sprinkles from scratch?
Scroll down below the recipe for a sneak peek at my next post where I used these sprinkles to their full advantage.
What’s your simple pleasure?
Make Your Own Sprinkles
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar divided
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ Tbsp water not hot water
- 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (or any flavor you prefer -- vanilla goes with pretty much anything, though)
- Gel food coloring
Instructions
- In medium-sized bowl, stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch, water, corn syrup and vanilla extract until well-combined.1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 ½ Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp light corn syrup, ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Stir in the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar.
- Add food coloring and stir until well-combined and desired color is reached (remember, the more coloring you add the more you will be able to taste it in the final product).Gel food coloring
- Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a #4 Wilton tip*.
- Line two cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper and, using your piping bag, draw long, sprinkle-width horizontal lines across the paper. If desired, also make small dots (about the size of a pencil eraser) along the sides of the wax paper for some variety in shape.
- Allow to set undisturbed for at least 12 hours to dry.
- Once dried, peel off any dots or shapes you have made and then use a knife to cut down your horizontal lines to make sprinkles.
- That's it! Sprinkle over your favorite treats! These keep well in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Sarah
These look like so much fun! Thank you for the recipe. I’m going to try them for sure. 😀 I think I’ll try using beet juice instead of water and see what sort of pink I end up with. I can’t eat much artificial red coloring, so I get super excited when I find anything colored with beet. 🙂
Sam
Hi Sarah! It’s hard to say for certain simply because I’ve never tried it myself that way, but I see no reason why that wouldn’t work! If you do try it out, I’d definitely love to hear how it works for you!! 🙂
Sarah
Hi Sam! My sprinkles came out perfect! 😍 Oh my goodness, I’m so excited. I used some juice from a can of beets instead of water, and it made the most gorgeous rose pink color! I also added a few drops of LorAnn marshmallow flavoring in addition to the vanilla extract and I think that really sent them over the top. They taste fantastic, and they look adorable. Thank you so, so much again for the recipe! I’m definitely going to make more in different colors!
Sam
Oh yay! I’m so glad that they turned out, the addition of the marshmallow flavoring is absolutely genius, I want to try that myself now!
Thank YOU so much for coming back and letting me know how these turned out for you, I appreciate it so much! 🙂
erin
What is the shelf life for these sprinkles. I want to made large batches for my sprinkle junkies as myself. How long will these keep. Can you please email me back.
Thank you Erin
Sam
Hi Erin! I’m honestly not an authority on shelf life, but I think these would last quite a while. I personally have kept and used them up to 2 months after making. I would store in an airtight container at room temperature (not in the refrigerator) so that they don’t dry out. Considering the ingredients and the fact that they are primarily sugar, I don’t think they’re likely to go bad quickly, but I’m sorry I can’t give you a more exact timeframe! I am going to ask around and see if I can get a more definitive answer.
Liz Ellyn
Fantastic Post! Very creative and helpful. Thanks! I can’t wait to try making my own sprinkles.
kristen
I followed the recipe and found this very difficult to pipe from a number 4 tip any advice on consistency? it was so difficult it hurt my hand. I’m wondering if I should have added more water?
Sam
Hi Kristen! Yes, it is very difficult to pipe and a bit of a hand workout. If you add more water, do so VERY sparingly, you don’t want the lines to spread and it will likely take even longer to harden.
I mostly would recommend not filling the piping bags too full and maybe taking a break every few lines.
Carol
Thanks for sharing I have two younger granddaughters who love sprinkles now I don’t mind them eating them because I know what they are made of sense I will be making them.
Sam
Thank you for commenting, Carol! I hope you and your granddaughters love them! 🙂
Liz
hi Sam,
do you think Glocuse syrup would work instead of Corn syrup?
i can’t wait to make my own sprinkles <3
Liz
Sam
Hi Liz!
So, I’ve never used glucose syrup before but after doing some research about it I think this would be fine. The mixture is very thick, but if the consistency seems off you can always add a touch more powdered sugar or droplets of water, as needed. I hope you love them, and I’d love to hear how they turn out with glucose syrup if you do get a chance to make them! 🙂
Edward Kowalski
I saw your recipe first and I think that I like it best. You use corn starch and corn syrup but I’ve seen other recipes that use egg whites (raw) and also recipes using royal icing (which may be a tie for your idea). What are your thoughts on these different recipes for the same end product? Does yours end up hard and crunchy or soft in the middle?
Sam
Hi Edward! I’ve never tried making these with egg whites or royal icing. The reason for this is because I felt like royal icing is too brittle and crumbly and a little too crunchy. Mine aren’t identical to store bought sprinkles, but they are softer and more like them than I imagine Royal icing ones would be. On the downside, I believe mine need to set longer to harden than other versions do, but I think it’s worth it in the end! If you try the recipe out I’d love to know how you like it!
Tina
I have made the royal icing version and while they are crunchy they weren’t crumbly. I was able to break them up pretty easily without them turning to powder and was doing it rather hard.. They also taste way better than the store-bought kind!
agnes
i was wondering if instead of corn syrup i could use honey or some other substitute??
Sam
Hi Agnes,
I am honestly not sure, but I would be afraid that the honey wouldn’t harden the same way as the corn syrup. This recipe is pretty easy to make in small portions, though, if maybe you would like to try making a small sample with honey and seeing how that turns out. If you do try it, would you please comment back and let me know how it works, in case there are others who would like to try the same thing? Thanks so much!
Julia
Try glucose if you have some, 1:1 ratio, take out a wee bit of water, and that should work as well.
Sam
Thanks Julia!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
I loved making my own sprinkles, it was one of my favorite posts ever — who knew?
Sam
They’re so much fun to make! 🙂
Katie
Can you make them and then freeze it then chop them? Or put in fridge then chop
Sam
I haven’t tried but I think that may help speed up the process.
Mary P
Wow this is great because sometimes you can’t find sprinkles in the color you want
Sam
And it’s so easy, too! 🙂
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
Wow how cool!! I never knew sprinkles could be made like that at home – so simple! Love your choice in colors and shapes! <3
Puja Darshan
Wow, what a great idea of making sprinkles at home. thanks for sharing!!!
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction
You sound like me with the simple pleasures in life! I can’t believe I can make my own sprinkles, too! This recipe’s a keeper!
Sam
Thanks, Marsha!! 🙂
Amanda
I never would have thought of making my own sprinkles, but these are so cute! What a great idea.
Sam
Thank you, Amanda! They were fun to make, too 🙂
Summer
This looks so fun ♥
summerdaisy.net
Sam
Thanks, Summer!