Birthday Cake Cookies – Eating Bird Food

Birthday cake cookies made with cashew butter, a combo of almond flour and oat flour and maple syrup. They’re soft, gluten-free and absolutely delicious when topped with vanilla frosting.

In honor of my birthday this week I thought it would be fun to share a festive birthday-themed recipe. Cue these birthday cake cookies!

They’re soft, chewy and have all the flavors of my healthy birthday cake, but in cookie form! And when topped with frosting and sprinkles they’re basically like single-serving birthday cakes. They look like funfetti cookies! They’re seriously so good. I can’t wait for you to try them!

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

• So easy to whip up! You only need 1 bowl and they bake up in under 10 minutes.
• They’re perfectly soft and chewy!
• They taste like you’re eating a slice of birthday cake, but in cookie form.
• Gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free.
• Made with 10 simple healthy, wholesome ingredients… not including the frosting and sprinkles 😉

Ingredients Needed

• egg – provides the structure for the cookies. Make sure your egg is at room temperature before baking otherwise the coconut oil might harden when combined.
• maple syrup – the perfect natural sweetener for these cookies. Make sure you’re using pure maple syrup and not pancake syrup, which is loaded with artificial ingredients and corn syrup.
• cashew butter – the perfect mild nut butter for these cookies that adds some protein and “birthday cake” flavor.
• coconut oil – make sure your coconut oil is in the liquid state. You can heat on the stovetop or microwave for a few seconds until melted if necessary.
• vanilla extract and almond extract – delicious flavor enhancers that adds that true birthday cake flavor.
• butter extract – this is optional, but it does help with the cake flavor!
• almond flour – I recommend using blanched almond flour because the skins have been removed so you’re left with a fine-textured, light-colored flour that works perfectly for baked goods.
• oat flour – you can make your own oat flour by grinding rolled oats in a food processor or you can buy oat flour from the store.
• baking powder – to help the cookies rise.
• salt – brings all the flavors together.
• rainbow sprinkles – I like supernatural rainbow sprinkles as they’re free of artificial dyes, gluten-free and vegan, but your any type of sprinkles will work.
• vanilla frosting – I used Simple Mills vanilla frosting, which is my favorite healthier store-bought frosting, but feel free to use your favorite flavor and brand of frosting. You could also try my healthy cream cheese frosting or healthy chocolate frosting if you want to make homemade frosting!

How to Make

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Whisk egg, maple syrup, cashew butter, coconut oil, almond extract, vanilla extract and butter extract (if using) together in a large bowl.

Add dry ingredients (almond flour, oat flour, baking powder and salt) to bowl with wet ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in sprinkles. Using a medium cookie scoop scoop batter onto the prepared baking tray. Press cookies down slightly to form into cookie shape.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Cool for 1-2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost and top with additional sprinkles. Enjoy!

pro tip!
The dough is sticky so I recommend wetting your fingers before pressing the dough down into a cookie shape.

Substitutions & Notes

• Flour: I haven’t tried these cookies with all-purpose flour or a different flour substitution so I’m not sure how they would turn out. I recommend using almond flour and oat flour for the best results.
• Egg: I haven’t tried these cookies with an egg substitute so I’m not sure how they’ll turn out, but I bet they’d work with a flax egg. Let me know if you try it in the comments below!
• Nut butter: I recommend using cashew butter for the best birthday cake flavor, but you can swap it for a different nut butter like almond butter or peanut butter if that’s what you have on hand. Just a note that if you use another nut butter it will add a stronger flavor and darker color to these cookies.
• Sweetener: I think maple syrup adds the best flavor, but you can swap it with honey, agave or another liquid sweetener if you prefer.
• Coconut oil: Feel free to swap the coconut oil with melted butter or another neutral oil like avocado or olive oil.
• Frosting: Classic vanilla or buttercream frosting would be my top choices for these cookies, but feel free to use your favorite homemade or store-bought frosting.
• Sprinkles: The sprinkles add that true birthday cake element, but feel free to swap them with another mix-in of choice like dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or chopped nuts.

Tips For Success

• Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature – For the best results, make sure your egg, maple syrup and cashew butter are at room temperature! If your ingredients are super cold it could change the structure or texture of your cookies and cause the coconut oil to solidify when combined.
• Wet fingers when pressing dough down – The dough is sticky so I recommend wetting your fingers before pressing the dough down into a cookie shape.
• Transfer cookies to a wire rack – Let the cookies cool for just a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Don’t leave the cookies on the baking sheet for too long because they’ll continue to bake and could dry out!
• Underbake your cookies – The key to soft and chewy cookies is to underbake them! Set your timer for the low end of the suggested bake time (8 minutes). They’ll continue to bake as they cool and stay soft for days!
• Let cool before frosting – Let the cookies cool completely before frosting otherwise the frosting could melt into the cookies.

Can I Make These Cookies Ahead of Time?

Yes! These cookies can be made 1-2 days in advance. To make ahead of time, let the cookies cool completely and store them in at room temperature or in the fridge, covered until you’re ready to frost and serve. Alternatively, you can frost and decorate the cookies and store them covered until ready to serve!

How to Store Leftovers

Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can store these cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you’re storing them in the freezer I would recommend storing the cookies unfrosted. When you’re ready to enjoy, let them thaw in the fridge or at room temperature then frost and decorate as desired!

More Cookie Recipes to Try

More Healthy Desserts to Try

Be sure to check out all of the cookie recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes here on EBF!