How to Make Homemade Sprinkles ~ This is one of those projects you might just want to keep to yourself. At the very least you’ll probably get a quite a few quizzical looks, and some of your friends will actually wonder if all your cylinders are firing.
The credit for this idea goes to Brave Tart. It’s the kind of idea that ignites some people’s imaginations and leaves others dead cold.
This is an easy (if a teeny bit tedious) project. The hardest part is deciding on your colors, and with gel food coloring, you have lots and lots of options. I was envisioning slightly more brilliant shades than I was actually able to achieve. It takes a little practice to control the results, but I had fun along the way.
I’ve simplified the project a little bit to make it easier to take on if, like most of us, you’re not a seasoned pastry chef. I think it would be a great kid-friendly activity if you have any little sprinkle fiends in your life.
I’ve rarely ever had a pastry bag in my hands. I do a lot of cooking, but I’m happy to leave the detailed frosting work to the experts. So I had to go out and buy the supplies for this project, but I’m actually glad I did because you never know when the urge to make sprinkles is going to hit. Now that I’ve mastered the basic rainbow sprinkle I may have to attempt the gourmet flavored sprinkle!
This is a 2 day project. Day 1 will be a little messy, and you won’t have much to show for your efforts except for lots of waxed paper lying around covered with weird colored stripes and an aching arm from all the beating and piping.
But the next morning things will be different. You can line up your weird little stripes of color and start chopping them into wonderful sprinkles. Keep the colors separate or mix them all together. Bag them up and give them away, save them for a special occasion, or sprinkle some right on your morning yogurt.
Ingredients
- several piping bags
- #3 plain piping tip(s) (this is a very common tip)
- couplers and collars for the pastry bags
- confectioner's sugar
- powdered egg whites (I used Just Whites, in the baking aisle)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- gel food coloring (the liquid kind won't work well)
- waxed paper or parchment paper
Instructions
- You will use about 1 cup of confectioner's sugar for each color sprinkle you want to make. You can prepare each color separately or make them all at once if you have multiple bags etc. I did one at a time.
- Sift 1 cup sugar into a small bowl. Sifting is important to avoid lumps that can clog your tip later.
- In a separate little glass, mix 1 tsp of the dried egg whites with 1 Tbsp warm water. Whisk until the egg whites are completely dissolved. Add to the sugar along with the vanilla and mix it together. Add a little bit more warm water until you get a thick but pipeable consistency. It should not be stiff, but it should not be too thin. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
- Add in your gel food coloring. Start with a little for pastel colors, more for intense colors. The colors will dry slightly lighter than they look when wet. Mix the color in completely, no streaks.
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and twist the bag to force the frosting toward the tip.
- Pipe out long lines of frosting onto the waxed paper. Don't let the individual lines touch each other. Keep your tip slightly above the paper as you glide down and pipe your line. Don't worry about keeping the line straight, it doesn't matter, but try to keep an even pressure on the bag. If the tip clogs, use a toothpick to clear it, or remove it and wash it out.
- Do this for all the colors and then let them air dry overnight. Don't try to move the waxed paper, leave them as is.
- The next day when your piped frosting lines are completely dry, cut them into little pieces. The frosting will be very brittle, just nudge the lines together, lining them up as if you were cutting chives, and slice them in small pieces. Don't worry about being too precise.
- Enjoy!
Don’t forget to pin this Homemade Sprinkle Tutorial!
Sprinkles are one of those simple joys I don’t think we ever outgrow.
46 Comments
Lauren
May 26, 2017 at 9:23 pmDo you happen to know how long you can store these before they go stale?
Sue
May 27, 2017 at 6:48 amI’d say several months at least, if not more.
L.B
May 9, 2017 at 9:56 amAfter making these can I put them into homemade cupcake batter and bake for “fun-fetti” look or will they melt into a tye-dye mess?
Sue
May 9, 2017 at 10:57 amGreat question, I haven’t tried it L.B. sorry ~ but my guess is they will ‘bleed’ less than store bought sprinkles.
Lin
January 16, 2017 at 10:09 am****Hello I’m a cookie obsessed weirdo! I have a question about he egg white, is it the same as “meringue powder” the one I use to make royal icing?
Thank you in advance!
Sue
January 16, 2017 at 10:45 amYes, Lin, they’re the same!
Maria
July 15, 2014 at 3:48 pmHi, amazing sprinkles, I never thought I could make them, I always bought them. I bake a little and use frosting of different kinds, my favored one is chocolate and these would look great on it. I live in Greece and cannot find “powdered egg whites (I used Just Whites, in the baking aisle)”. Is there anything else I can substitute? thanks
Sue
July 15, 2014 at 4:58 pmI’m not sure, Maria. You might substitute a small amount of regular egg white and see if that works.
Lori Gantt
June 12, 2014 at 2:11 amDid you cover them up as they were drying? I have to ask, I live in a rural area and we keep regular “plagues” of varmits and critters on a rotating schedule and there is /no/ leaving anything out uncovered. Not if /you/ want to eat it, anyways. If I made these on waxed paper on a cookie sheet, and slid them into the fridge, would they dry properly?
Sue
June 12, 2014 at 5:48 amHmmm, that’s a tough one. I left them uncovered, and you kind of need to so they dry properly. They need air circulation, and any kind of moisture will slow or prevent them drying. One thing is that they probably wouldn’t attract too much attention from bugs, etc because of their composition. You could certainly try the fridge, but I’m not sure it would work. Possibly a large cardboard box over the tray? Good luck!
Kris Sokolowski
June 12, 2014 at 9:44 amI have dried candies similar to this before and also do not want sugar on my counter for ant reasons. I place the wax paper on cookie sheets and alternately stack them in a COMPLETELY cool oven. No bugs, no critters and lots of hardened perfectly dried confectioner candies!!
Hope this helps.
Sue
June 12, 2014 at 9:47 amGreat idea Kris!
Joyce
May 31, 2014 at 7:52 pmCan I use the recipe to make figures. Beautiful. I am going to try them for my grandkids.
Sue
May 31, 2014 at 8:39 pmYes, I guess you could make all sorts of designs, if you have a steady hand!
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Debby Foodiewife
March 16, 2013 at 3:57 amActually, I think the pastels you made are all beautiful shades. I love piping, though I’m not a pro at it. I don’t consider myself to be artistic, but it is gratifying to pipe some basic stuff on cakes. I doubt I’d have the patience to do that, but you never know. What a fun post! Now, what will you make to show these off?
The Twisted Sister
March 15, 2013 at 5:02 pmI have made these before and they are amazing! I haven’t bought sprinkles in such a long time!
Natalie G
March 15, 2013 at 12:40 amSo colourful I love this! Never though about making my own :P
WhileChasingKids
March 14, 2013 at 11:19 pmHow cool is that! Cannot wait to try the rainbow fun!
Sue/the view from great island
March 15, 2013 at 12:00 amI hope you do, Anastasia…I wish I could have kept going and made 10 more colors, it’s a little bit addictive!
Paula Montenegro
March 14, 2013 at 9:50 pmOMG, this is wonderful! And I don´t particularly like sprinkles…!
Sue/the view from great island
March 15, 2013 at 12:03 amOh I know, I don’t really want to eat them, but I love them. Kind of dysfunctional.
Abbe Odenwalder
March 15, 2013 at 3:40 amI have seen these on Pinterest. But YOURS are way better. One day I’m going to surprise my 22 year old daughter and send her a box in the mail. She will be ecstatic!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
March 14, 2013 at 8:38 pmSue they are FABULOUS!! And I’ve actually seen and studied the Braveheart post but never embarked due to the tedious nature I thought I was in for. Thanks for streamlining it a bit and your efforts paid off in spades…they’re beautiful and adorable and awesome! I would LOVE to have a batch in front of me right now! So fun! Pinning!
Sue/the view from great island
March 15, 2013 at 12:03 amYour kids would love this Averie.
shannon weber
March 14, 2013 at 10:39 pmmy fingers got excited and hit “publish,” whoops. :) to summarize, these sprinkles make me happy, your tips make me happy, and you make me happy. I want to try these even more now, thanks to you.
Sue/the view from great island
March 15, 2013 at 12:02 amYou have to try them, and see what colors you come up with. Actually I think the next frontier is definitely flavor, and I did momentarily consider doing gargantuan sprinkles. So many possibilities…
shannon weber
March 14, 2013 at 10:38 pmi.
have.
been.
obsessed.
with.
these.
FOREVER.
You may have just talked me into doing them myself. I was wondering if they could be done in real life, since Stella from BraveTart is basically superhuman. Your sprinkles are amazingly beautiful; like, so incredible looking. Your colors are perfect, and you totally broke it down in terms of how you did it;
Mary Younkin
March 14, 2013 at 7:48 pmI’m in awe of your perseverance. What a fun rainbow of sprinkles just waiting for an ice cream cone!
Sue/the view from great island
March 15, 2013 at 12:06 amWell, my husband is away for a few days, and I kind of took over the place…I did actually try to photograph an ice cream cone, but, like I said, I’m alone here and do you know how hard it is to photograph an ice cream cone without someone else to hold it? There must be secrets that I’m not aware of. I guess I need to google it !
A Plum By Any Other Name
March 14, 2013 at 6:20 pmThis is SO fun. Makes me want to go get a scoop, asap! Brava, lady.
Sue/the view from great island
March 14, 2013 at 6:26 pmI’m definitely going to get some ice cream later today!
Tricia Buice
March 14, 2013 at 6:06 pmOh Sue you never cease to amaze me! This is quite incredible. They are just beautiful and now I can’t wait to see what you put them on!
Sue/the view from great island
March 14, 2013 at 6:20 pmI was so tired after doing it all that I didn’t have the energy to photograph any more—I so wanted to do a vanilla ice cream cone dipped into them…maybe tomorrow after I rest up my piping arm!
Cathy
March 14, 2013 at 5:52 pmForgot to tell you, Sue, that I posted your Irish Stew Recipe for St. Patrick’s Day. It was DELICIOUS!
Sue/the view from great island
March 14, 2013 at 6:27 pmI’m so glad you made the stew, I need to get something Irish going, I’m way behind.
Cathy
March 14, 2013 at 5:50 pmThis is one of the most fun things I’ve seen in a long time. Gonna have to try this for sure. I’ll start this when I have a whole day to devote to it. There is big potential here for making a giant mess in my kitchen…lol.
Sue/the view from great island
March 14, 2013 at 6:22 pmYou are a kindred spirit Cathy, I was expecting some snarky comments today ;) And by the way, I’d devote two days to it, and one for clean up!
hobby baker
March 14, 2013 at 5:17 pmLOVE how the rainbow mix looks! I’ve had versions of these pinned for a month or so because DD can’t have the cornstarch in store bought. Will have to try out before birthday season.
Sue/the view from great island
March 14, 2013 at 6:28 pmThat’s great that you actually have a valid reason for this madness! I can’t wait to see what you come up with…
flutefish
March 14, 2013 at 5:06 pmYou can also use a zip lock bag instead of a pastry bag. You will still need the tips. Just cut a bottom corner off your ziplock bag, just large enough to hold the tip, insert the tip, add your mix, and pipe away. When you are done, remove the tip and throw away the ziplock bag. Makes cleanup MUCH easier!
Sue/the view from great island
March 14, 2013 at 6:29 pmYeah, I think I will try that next time, I was washing out my bag after each batch— Thanks for the tip!