Funfetti-fied! Funfetti Sugar Cookie House

Oh yes we did. It’s a funfetti sugar cookie house you guys!!!! Just like the gingerbread houses you made as a kid but WAY better because we teamed up with McCormick again to use their vanilla sugar cookie recipe for this guy! We wanted those sprinkles to be seen loud and clear! I’m so obsessed with how it turned out, and it’s the perfect colorful twist on a holiday classic. Now, if only I could live in it…

To make our house, we used three recipes: McCormick’s Vanilla Sugar Cookie recipe, vanilla buttercream recipe and a royal icing recipe. And you guys, the studio smelled AH-mazing when we were making this! I don’t know about you, but anything that smells like vanilla always reminds me of home and making Christmas cookies with my mom. This cookie recipe is a great base for funfetti-fying, but it also happens to be the perfect holiday sugar cookie! We even used vanilla buttercream to decorate the windows because it’s easier to see sprinkles through the (yummy!) fluffy consistency of buttercream.

For the cookies:

2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. McCormick® Cream of Tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
1/3 cup sprinkles

For the buttercream:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 tsp. McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1/4 cup sprinkles

For the royal icing:

2 egg whites
1 pound of sugar
1 tsp. McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

1. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Set aside. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.
2. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or until firm.
3. Roll out dough to about 1/4 thick then chill for two hours.
4. Cut out your house pieces (we drew a template before starting, but you can find pre-made templates online!) and then chill the pieces again for about one hour.
5. Place pieces on parchment lined baking sheet and bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully trim the edges. Then put back in the oven and bake for an addition 5 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute. Move to wire racks; cool completely.
6. For the buttercream: Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar, beating until well blended after each addition, frequently scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Add milk; beat until light and fluffy. If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk. Lastly, fold in sprinkles.
7. For the royal icing: Place confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and egg whites in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer on high speed 5 to 7 minutes until stiff peaks form and icing is fluffy and glossy.

To assemble:

1. You’ll want to use the BACK side of the cookie house pieces as the outside of the house, so you can see the funfetti better. Put royal icing in a piping bag and use it as your glue to put the house together. Start by “gluing” (with the icing) the four pieces to the bottom of the tray and to each other and end by adding the roof.
2. Then it’s time to decorate!!! We used royal icing to attach most of our decorations, and then used the buttercream to frost the “snowy” windows! We used the top of a colorful candy cane for our door and sprinkles for the “grass” surrounding the house!

Photos by Jeff Mindell | Recipe by Theresa Rountree | Styling + Creative Direction by Kelly Mindell

I’m just OBSESSED with it!! The most colorful and delicious sugar cookie house you ever did see! Is it tradition for you to make a house with your family? Time to shake it up this year with some funfetti, I think!!!

Save your holiday for boring food. Check out McCormick for more of American Homemade recipes and flavors!