The Best White Chocolate Chip Funfetti Cookies

Holy cow, Ka Pai Cooking is officially one year old! I feel like I've been sharing my favorite recipes for much longer than that, but then again, I did start my blog two weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world...

I first started this little food blog on Instagram because people kept asking me about the food I was making when I shared it on my personal account.

At the time, I was neck deep in applying for the Marriott School of Business and incredibly overworked. My husband encouraged me to find a hobby that could alleviate some of my stress and remind me what it was like to be...me.

So I did just that - I started my food account on Instagram in January 2020 to share the healthy recipes I was making at home every week.

Much to my surprise, my humble little account grew to over 500 followers in two short months and I began to see this journey differently.

A year ago today, on April 1st 2020, my website officially launched. I finally had a space built for sharing recipes to the masses and ever since then, thousands of people have discovered my little corner of the internet and enjoyed my recipes in their homes.

Today's brand new recipe was developed just to celebrate KPC's one year anniversary, and let me tell you, you're going to LOVE these cookies.

Why? Because they're White Chocolate Chip Funfetti Cookies! It's like a slice of birthday cake, but make it birthday cake cookies!

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Ingredients for birthday cake cookies

• Butter: room temperature, of course. I absolutely love using this butter because instead of the unhealthy saturated fat that comes from regular butter, this butter is made from olive oil, which contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. If you're going to eat the same number of calories either way, might as well make them a little better for you! If you use regular dairy butter, make sure it's unsalted.
• Stevia: one of my favorite tricks to achieving delicious AND nutritious flavors in all my baking recipes! Stevia is a 1:1 calorie-free substitute for white granulated sugar. If you don't already have some on hand, get some tomorrow. You can't tell the difference!
• Brown sugar: the key to a perfectly chewy cookie. Make sure to pack it down in your measuring cup!
• Large egg: also room temperature. Eggs help create a stable cookie and bind together the wet and dry ingredients.‍
• Almond extract: the secret to that classic "cake batter" or "birthday cake" flavor we all know and love. When I say this ingredient is essential to the recipe, I mean it. Don't go substituting it for vanilla extract! It's worth a trip to the grocery story, I promise. Besides, one bite of these incredible Funfetti Cookies and you won't have a problem finishing the little bottle anyway!‍
• Vanilla protein powder: 100% worth the investment. If you're new here, most of my baking recipes use some protein powder as a flour substitute to boost the nutrition profile. My favorite protein powder is this brand because it's high quality whey protein at the most affordable price. Stock up here and you'll be ready for any of my recipes!‍
• Dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. No surprise here. Feel free to use a gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour if necessary.‍
• Rainbow sprinkles: these ARE Funfetti Cookies, are they not?‍
• White chocolate chips: only the best white chocolate chips for these delicious birthday cake cookies. I always use Lily's chocolate (not sponsored) because their chocolate is naturally sweetened with Stevia.

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How to make white chocolate chip funfetti cookies

Just like every other cookie recipe, start with room temperature butter and eggs. This ensures your batter mixes evenly and the cookies bake evenly.

I'll say it over and over until you believe me!

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. This takes about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides to make sure all the butter has incorporated with the sugars!

Then, add in your egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract, mixing on medium speed until smooth. It'll still be a little wet, but don't worry. The protein powder will fix that!

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In a separate bowl, whisk together the protein powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on low speed until just combined.

Fold in the sprinkles and some of the white chocolate chips. Et voila! Birthday cake cookies!

Use a small cookie scoop to portion out tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough until all the cookie dough is finished (you should have about 18). Then, take one ball of cookie dough in each hand and roll them together to create a bigger cookie.

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Place on a greased baking sheet (or parchment paper) and press slightly to adhere to the pan.

‍Note: on a standard sized baking sheet, you should only bake 5 cookies at a time (spaced like a "5" on a die).

‍Press the remaining chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies.

In total, you should end up with 9 bigger Funfetti Cookies on two pans. Bake for 11-13 minutes until the bottoms are baked, the edges are set, and the middles are slightly doughy.

Bang the pan on the counter two or three times to "deflate" the cookies, then allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

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Why you'll love these healthy funfetti cookies

1. They're bigger: more cookie to enjoy in one sitting! Don't worry, each cookie is only 250 calories, so you can still have more than one!
2. They're perfectly chewy: the combination of baking powder and baking soda, in addition to banging the pan, allows the cookies to bake perfectly so you have crispy edges and a chewy center.
3. They're secretly healthier: moderation in all things, right? There's still sugar and butter in these birthday cake cookies, but the butter is made with olive oil and half the sugar is plant-based. Oh, and there's a serving of protein powder, too. Win-win-win!
4. They're made from scratch: if you searched for "funfetti cookies" or "birthday cake cookies" on Pinterest, most of the top results use boxed cake mix for the cake batter flavor. We're better than that here at Ka Pai Cooking! The almond extract is the key - no skipping!
5. There's NO chill time! That's right, celebrate the fact that you get to bake these delicious funfetti cookies right away!
6. There's NO cake mix or pudding mix: these healthy funfetti cookies are made from scratch.
7. They're perfect for every celebration: whether it's a birthday party, a special occasion, or just because you want delicious funfetti cookies, they're always the right choice!
8. They're easily adaptable: are you gluten-free? Swap the all-purpose flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. Do you like jumbo funfetti cookies? Roll together 3 balls of cookie dough and bake for an additional 1-2 minutes. Would you rather have regular sized cookies? Bake 12 1-tablespoon-sized cookies per sheet pan for exactly 10 minutes and follow cooling instructions.

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If you're excited for these Funfetti Cookies, be sure to check out my Birthday Cake Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches! They take these birthday cake cookies to a whole other level!

After you make these funfetti cookies, be sure to leave a comment and rating below so other readers know that you thought! You can also tag me on Instagram so I know you enjoyed the cookies. Happy baking and happy birthday to Ka Pai Cooking!