These Cotton Candy Cupcakes are so stinkin’ cute and perfect for any party! They are fluffy, pink, and blue like cotton candy, and the best part is that they actually taste like cotton candy too! This is the perfect copycat for the cookies at a large cookie chain.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- These Cotton Candy Cookies are fluffy and have a great cotton candy flavor.
- And, they're perfect for any party or get-together.
- They are also easy to make and don't require any special ingredients.
🔪 Ingredients
- unsalted butter, room temperature
- canola oil
- granulated white sugar
- confectioners sugar
- large egg
- heavy whipping cream
- cotton candy extract
- all-purpose flour
- corn starch
- Kosher salt
- baking powder
Cotton Candy Frosting
- unsalted butter, softened
- confectioners sugar
- heavy whipping cream
- cotton candy extract
- pink gel food coloring
- sky blue gel food coloring
- pink nerd candy
- purple nerd candy
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🍲 Equipment
- Disposable Piping Bags
- large round decorating tip
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
- silicone baking mat
- Cookie Scoops
- food scale, optional
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the recipe. The full instructions are below in the recipe card.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats.
- Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and beat the butter, oil, sugar, and confectioners sugar until combined.
- Beat in the egg, cotton candy extract, and heavy whipping cream until combined
- Mix dry ingredients; in a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
- Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet and continue beating until a dough forms.
- Using a medium cookie scoop and food scale (optional)scoop out a small amount of dough and weigh it. You want your dough to be 2.2oz or close to make 12 equal size cookies.
- Roll the cookie dough into a ball and place it on the cookie sheet, pressing into a thick disk.
- Repeat steps until you have 6 even-size cookie dough disks on your cookie trays Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire cooling wrack while you make the frosting.
Cotton Candy Frosting
- Use a standing mixer with beaters attached, beat the butter, confectioners sugar, heavy whipping cream, and cotton candy extract until creamy.
- Split the frosting between two small bowls.
- Mix in 3 drops of the pink gel food coloring into 1 bowl of frosting,
- Mix in 3 drops of the sky blue gel food coloring into the second bowl of frosting.
- Scoop the pink frosting onto 1 side of the piping bag and the blue frosting onto the other side of the piping bag.
- Then pipe swirls around each cookie and sprinkles some pink and purple nerd candies on top.
- Cookies are ready to serve.
⭐ Storage
Store these in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze these cookies. I like to freeze them without the frosting, and then thaw and add the frosting when I’m ready to serve them.
To Freeze: place cookies on a cookie sheet in the freezer for 1 hour. Then place them in a freezer bag and store them for up to 3 months.
Thawing: Place frozen cookies on the counter for 30 minutes, then add the frosting.
💭 Expert Tips
Expert Tip:If your frosting is too thick, you can add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
- If your frosting is too thin, you can add more confectioners' sugar ¼ cup at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- I use a small cookie scoop to get evenly-sized cookies. If you don't have one, you can use a tablespoon or your hands to roll the dough into balls.
- For perfectly even cookies, you can weigh the cookie dough with a cookie scale so that it is all the same size.
📋 Frequently Asked Questions
These cookies have a light and fluffy texture with a sweet vanilla flavor. The cotton candy frosting is slightly tangy and has a strong cotton candy flavor.
No, you don't need to use a cookie scoop, but it does make the cookies more uniform in size.
I get a lot of questions about what brand of cotton candy extract I use, and the answer is Lorann Oils. It’s a concentrated oil, so a little goes a long way. You can find it on Amazon or at your local craft store.
📖 Variations
- If you want to change up the flavor of these cookies, you can use any extract that you like in the frosting.
- You could also change the food coloring to the frosting to make it any color that you want.
- If you want to make these cookies without the frosting, you can just leave it off. They will still be delicious!
- For a fun twist, you could add sprinkles to the dough before baking.
🥗 Serving Suggestions
- Linguine with White Clam Sauce is a perfect meal for any weeknight and so easy for a dinner party. This is a special meal that you can serve before you enjoy these flavorful cookies.
- This Simple Arugula Salad is a peppery and crunchy salad with sweet corn and juicy tomatoes, sprinkled with bold blue cheese. It is always my go-to side dish when I need something delicious but simple.
- Are you looking for a flavorful drink that is both sweet and refreshing? Look no further than this Strawberry Iced Tea recipe. It's a light fruity drink that the whole family will love.
🍽 Similar recipes
- These Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies are fabulous peanut butter base cookies with a decadent chocolate kiss center. You will love this classic cookie recipe.
- These Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies are so simple to make you only need a few ingredients, and they bake in just 10 minutes.
- Crumbl Heath Bar Cookies are soft, chewy, and full of Heath toffee bits. They are the perfect cookie for any occasion!
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Thank you for your continued support. I am forever grateful.
Eileen xo
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cotton Candy Cookies
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
Equipment Needed:
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
- large round decorating tip
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon cotton candy extract
- 2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
Cotton Candy Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 teaspoon cotton candy extract
- pink gel food coloring
- sky blue gel food coloring
- pink nerd candy
- purple nerd candy
Save the Recipe?
Enter your email below and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox to view anytime. Plus the bonus of regular recipes to you for inspiration!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats.
- Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, sugar, and confectioners sugar until combined.
- Beat in the egg, cotton candy extract, and heavy whipping cream until combined
- Mix dry ingredients; in a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, salt, and baking powder.
- Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet and continue beating until a dough forms.
- Using a medium cookie scoop and food scale (optional)scoop out a small amount of dough and weigh it. You want your dough to be 2.2oz or close to make 12 equal size cookies.
- Roll the cookie dough into a ball and place it on the cookie sheet, pressing into a thick disk.
- Repeat steps until you have 6 even-size cookie dough disks on your cookie trays Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire cooling wrack while you make the frosting.
Cotton Candy Frosting
- Use a standing mixer with beaters attached, beat the butter, confectioners sugar, heavy whipping cream, and cotton candy extract until creamy.
- Split the frosting between two small bowls.
- Mix in 3 drops of the pink gel food coloring into 1 bowl of frosting,
- Mix in 3 drops of the sky blue gel food coloring into the second bowl of frosting.
- Scoop the pink frosting onto 1 side of the piping bag and the blue frosting onto the other side of the piping bag.
- Pipe swirls around each cookie and sprinkle some pink and purple nerd candies on top.
- Cookies are ready to serve.
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