These birthday cake-inspired sweet scones are bursting with rainbow sprinkles as well as white and semisweet chocolate chips. Colorful rainbow sprinkle chip scones are buttery and moist with crisp, crumbly edges and soft, flaky centers. Creamy vanilla icing and sprinkles are the perfect finishing touches on these fun coffeehouse treats.
I have a master recipe for scones which serves as the delicious base for several different flavors including strawberry lemon poppy seed scones, my favorite blueberry scones, chocolate chip scones, cinnamon scones, and apple cinnamon scones. Each scone seems better than the last, which brings us to these mouthwatering rainbow sprinkle chip scones. Adults and kids alike will love the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and rainbow sprinkles loaded in each bite. An ode to my popular cake batter chocolate chip cookies, no one will turn down these scrumptious scones!
Tell Me About These Rainbow Sprinkle Scones
- Texture: What you’ll love most about sprinkle scones is the varying texture in each bite. They’re soft and moist on the inside with crumbly corners, crisp edges, and endless layers of flaky goodness. The icing is extra creamy and seeps into every crack and crevice. (Might just be the best part.)
- Flavor: You’ll enjoy the birthday cake-inspired sweet and buttery flavors with pops of melty chocolate (eat while warm!).
- Ease: These scones are pretty simple and most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry. You’ll find a helpful video tutorial below. Although we’re making blueberry scones in the video, the process and base recipe are exactly the same.
- Time: Set aside a little less than an hour to make these sprinkle scones. You can make them before breakfast for fresh warm scones or make them ahead of time (see Note below).
Video Tutorial
If you’re interested, I have a 5 minute video demonstrating the scone recipe. I’m making blueberry scones in this video, but the base recipe and process is exactly the same.
Here are 6 Success Tips
- Use frozen butter. As your sprinkle-loaded scones bake, frozen butter will melt and release steam, which creates all those signature pockets of flakes. Butter that hasn’t been frozen could melt before the batter makes it into the oven and you’ll lose all that flaky texture. Best to start with the coldest butter possible.
- Grate the butter. Fine shreds of cold butter make for an even mix into the dry ingredients (check out my scones page for more detail if you’re interested). If you don’t own a grater, simply use a sharp knife to cut the butter into small pieces.
- Use heavy cream or buttermilk. As you may have caught on by now, scones are all about texture. Either heavy cream or buttermilk work wonderfully in this recipe and promise the richest, flakiest scone. Don’t substitute low fat or thinner milk/cream.
- Don’t over-mix the dough. After you add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix until just combined. Just like pie crust, over-mixing the scone dough results in a tough and uniform texture. (We want varying textures.)
- Big or small. This scone recipe yields 8 large scones or 16 smaller scones. We’re showing small scones in these photos, but the size you make is entirely up to you. Shape the dough into 1 large disc or 2 smaller discs depending on your preferred size. Just remember they puff up in the oven, so leave enough space between each scone.
- Give the scones a brush. Brush the scones with extra heavy cream or buttermilk, then sprinkle with a little coarse sugar before baking. This ensures that sweet, crisp exterior.
Start your day with these scones and end it with confetti cake or confetti sprinkle cheesecake for dessert. Because you can never have too many sprinkles in one day 🙂
More Breakfast or Brunch Recipes
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Rainbow Sprinkle Chip Scones
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 large scones or 16 smaller scones
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Iced, crumbly, and sweet sprinkle chip scones with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and plenty of sprinkles. Top with thick vanilla icing for an extra breakfast treat. Read through the recipe before beginning. You can skip the chilling for 15 minutes prior to baking, but I highly recommend it to prevent the scones from over-spreading.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream (plus 2 Tbsp for brushing)
- 1 large egg
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but tasty!)
- 1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (90g) white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (80g) rainbow sprinkles
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2–3 Tablespoons (30-45ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, if desired
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and sprinkles, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. To make smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 equal wedges.
- Brush scones with remaining heavy cream. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini scones, use 2 baking sheets. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
- Bake the larger scones for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. If you made 16 smaller scones, bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes as you prepare the icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. Add little more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more milk/cream to thin out. Taste and add a pinch of salt if desired. Dunk each warm scone in the icing or drizzle on top. You can finish the scones with a few more sprinkles on top, too.
- Leftover iced or un-iced scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, top with lemon icing.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 3. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Bench Scraper | Baking Sheet | Silpat Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush
- Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a rubber spatula.
I made scones a couple years ago and couldn’t develop a taste for them. Last week I made these at my grandson’s request. DELICIOUS! Guess what I am about to take out of the oven now? More of your scones!
I used 400 degrees to bake these and the bottoms burnt immediately. I’m so disappointed!!!
Hi Lauren! So sorry to hear that the bottoms burned, perhaps moving the baking rack to a lower position in your oven would help. We also always recommend using an in-oven thermometer to ensure your oven is the correct temperature (most ovens aren’t) – see #1 on this baking tools list.
This recipe is amazing.. I use every week and make 100’s of them.. here’s my tip, 400 is the perfect temp, I buy dollar store pizza pans, and ordered 9″ round silicone mats to cook them on.. NEVER burns… try it, it’s perfect every time… 400 degrees, 18minutes.. !
I will preface my review by saying I love traditional English scones. And yet, I am obsessed with these sweet non traditional ones. First they are so cute. We made them with Christmas sprinkles and they are very festive. We also used only the white chocolate chips (90 grams) and found that to be sufficient and kept with the color theme for presentation. Highly recommend! Glad we took a chance on this one!
I adore this recipe. It’s cute fun and easy to make especially since i made them for my birthday! However I am having a small bit of trouble. As lovely as this recipe is, it keeps setting off my fire alarm! Is there any way I can fix this without having to resort to scrapping this recipe?
Made these for Canada Day (and am now kicking myself that I didn’t dye the chocate red…but in the future I think I’ll theme the colours) for my 5 and 3 year olds to have something fun. They loved them (of course)! I usually make traditional English scones vs American, so these were much closer to cake than they were expecting when I said I made scones, which made them happy lol I debated leaving the icing off because they’re quite decadent without, but I figured that’s the whole point! Mine did spread a bit, but that was because I had to rush and didn’t let them chill long enough.
The sprinkles available in my local stores are not good- very waxy and no flavor. Do you mind sharing what brand(s) you like?
Hi Gina, see the last section in this Ice Cream Loaf Cake post — we link to some of our favorites there!
Hi Sally!
I have a quick question! Could you add raspberries to the scone so that it would be raspberry funfetti scones? You see, my brother’s birthday is coming up, and he wanted raspberry scones, but then he decided he wanted funfetti scones. So, I thought why not make both in the same batch! And so, of course, I went to your blog to find one of those recipes, because you’re the best, but only found funfetti. Would it still be the same consistency if I just changed it up a bit and added raspberries to the scones?
BTW, LOVE you, and your recipes!
Hi Heather, I do have a raspberry scone recipe! You can take a look at that recipe to see when/how to fold them into the batter.
Thank you for such a quick reply, and a good suggestion. This was very helpful.
If I wanted to use only sprinkles, do I have to alter anything else in the recipe, or the baking time?
Nope! Just leave out the chocolate chips and enjoy!
I would like to make these as a birthday treat for myself but I don’t have a lot of all purpose flour, so I’m hesitant to use the little I do have since it’s hard to find these days when one DOES go to the store. (I usually keep an extra on hand; oops!) I have cake flour and bread flour; would either of those work? I know the first time you make a recipe, it’s best not to substitute, so if I have to, I’ll just pick another birthday treat for which I have the right ingredients. Thanks!
Hi Susan! You can try the bread flour. I’m certain cake flour will be much too light to hold up to the cut butter and ratio of ingredients.
I ended up making these for Mother’s Day instead of my birthday. The 8 scones were a lot bigger than I expected; I’m not sure if they spread (I thought I did everything right…) or if they are supposed to be big and I was just unaware. Regardless, we all enjoyed them! My 5YO was very disappointed when they were all gone and keeps asking for more “nomes.”
My daughter and I made these over the weekend for her girls tea party and WOW they were a hit!! Never made a scone before and these were so easy and Delicious! They spread out more that we wanted, so just trimmed them up and drizzled with icing and couldn’t have been happier with them. THANK YOU again for a wonderful recipe!
Can I skip brushing the scones before baking? I really don’t want scones that are too crispy. I would like tender and some softness to the scones.
Please let me know.
Yes, you can skip brushing the scones before baking.
My kids love this recipe. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I wonder if it’s possible to add some rolled oats into the recipe? If we do that, do we have to increase the cream?
Hi Olivia! You could add oats, yes. If you do, I would slightly increase the cream. Use 1/2 cup, then add more until the dough is completely moistened.
Thank you so much! I will try this next time 🙂 Baked this again last night for my kids’ first day of school. It was (as always) a hit with the kids (and the husband).
I made these today for my cousins birthday, and they were so festive and delicious! Love this recipe! The only thing I will say, is they didn’t need to bake as long as the recipe suggested. I made the mini version, and they only baked 13-14 minutes or so.
Hi Sally! I’ve spent years searching for my go to scone recipe. I just couldn’t get them to turn as I liked.
Until I found yours.
I love plain or lemon scones for tea or brakfast. The basic dough (flour, salt, sugar, butter, egg, cream) is amazing as is. I usually add some chips to make my daughter happy. She is a chocolate fan.
Thank you for all the perfect recipes.
I love this recipe! People that don’t like scones, love the scones I make. My most popular is the bacon scones with salted maple glaze. Very close second are the blueberry lemon.
Thanks so much for this recipe. I earned the nickname Sconia.
Haha – love the nickname! Bacon maple scones sound amazing!!
Your scones recipe is now my go-to recipe. Grating the butter makes so much difference (especially since I live in Southeast Asia, which means super humid and hot) 🙂 Thank you for the tips!
Sally,
I wondered if you had tested putting a handful of white chips in flour/butter mixture (chopped up fine and incorporated with the butter) and did yours bake flat? Or melt out?
So I use a processor, always do, I blitzed the chips with the frozen butter pieces and then added my wet. Everything was ice cold. But when they baked not only did they melt out but it browned quicker than any other scone recipe I’ve made of yours.
I was wondering if you had tested out this way before landing on your final product?
Valerie, I haven’t tested that method out. In that instance, the white chocolate pieces become the base of the recipe along with the chipped butter. They’re full of sugar, so the scones will brown quicker. Regardless of how cold everything is, the white chocolate pieces are more likely to melt which results in over-spread. Anyway, I recommend treating the white chocolate as an add-in and just folding into the scone dough.
My friends call me the master-scone baker now. I have baked almost all of your scone recipes over and over again. My 8 and 9 year old boys love the ones with chocolate and my husband and in-laws gobble up the fruit ones. I love your recipes so much that I had to find some small way to repay you, so I went out and bought two of your cookbooks. Thanks for the amazing recipes. warmest regards, Stephanie Dodaro
Stephanie, I’m absolutely thrilled to hear how much your family loves the recipes! Thank you so much for supporting SBA and I hope you love the cookbooks 🙂
I tried this recipe last week, and these scones were amazing! I made the mini versions so that my husband and I could have a morning breakfast treat with our tea at our jobs. The scones stayed moist all week! Such a lovely way to start a work morning!!! Thank you! I will be making these again soon!
Your scones recipe is the only one I ever use. Truly the best! I can’t wait to try this one!
These were a hit with my six and three year daughters. I don’t know why I never thought about making 16 small scones vs. 8 large scones. Brilliant idea and a much better size for all of us! Thank you for another great recipe Sally. 🙂
These were the first scones I’ve ever tried to make. Aside from cutting a few minutes from the bake time, I followed this recipe exactly and they turned out perfect! My oven is probably just a little hotter because I only cooked my scones for 20 minutes and probably could have even taken them out at 18. Anyway, great recipe! Grating the butter makes this a lot easier.
Love the tip for frozen grated butter!