Sprinkles 101: Know Your Sprinkles – know your sprinkles with this baking basics guide to six types of sprinkles.
Who doesn’t LOVE sprinkles? Nobody. Everyone LOVES sprinkles! 😉
Sprinkles are fun, colorful, and not just for kids! They’re an excellent way to add color and texture to your desserts.
Have you ever been unsure what you’re going to get when you order sprinkles? Or what exactly you are suppose to add when a recipe calls for jimmies or nonpareils?
Well, now you don’t have to wonder anymore with this baking basics guide to six types of sprinkles!
Know Your Sprinkles – The Six Types of Sprinkles
Jimmies
Jimmies are tiny sugar strands of confectionery, typically in a rod shape, used to decorate desserts. They come in multi-colors or chocolate and are usually what people refer to when they say “sprinkles”.
I love to use Jimmies to decorate and give my desserts an added pop of color.
Two of my favorite uses of Jimmies are Patriotic White Chocolate Pretzels and Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles. You can even make your own Jimmies, Homemade Sprinkles.
Nonpareils
Nonpareils are very tiny multi-colored balls made up of sugar and starch. They’re also known as Hundreds and Thousands, and of course are used as a decorative confectonery for desserts.
Nonpareils are one of my favorite types of sprinkles, but man do these buggers make a mess; they roll all over the place.
A couple of my favorite desserts using Nonpareils include Football Game Day Sugar Cookies and Strawberry Lemonade Oreo Truffle Pops.
The term Nonpareils is also used to describe flat discs of chocolate covered in Nonpareils, Homemade Chocolate Nonpareils.
Quins
Quins are super fun sprinkles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. They’re also known as Sequins or Sugar Shapes and are used to decorate baked goods. They don’t work so well to bake with, nor would you want to, you’d lose their fun shapes.
I am a BIG user of Heart Quins, so much so that I have no shortage of desserts on SBS that utilize it. You can see it in action with Love Bug Oreo Cookies, Grinch Pretzel Bites, and Red Velvet Oreo Truffles, to name a few.
Dragees
Dragees, pronounced Drazh-AY, and also known as Sugar Pearls, are a confectionery with a hard outer shell. Dragees are like a very large nonpareil, that has a metallic coating or resembles a pearl. Dragees are for decorating purposes, with some, particularly the metallic versions being unedible.
I don’t use metallic Dragees since they are not edible. I really try to only use edible decorations on my baked goodes (this means I also stay away from cupcake picks). #justsaying
I have on occasion used the pearl version of Dragees, but don’t use them too often because they seem like they could break a tooth. #alsojustsaying
If you would like to see Dragees in action, Little Mermaid Cakes & Cupcakes.
Sanding Sugar
Sanding Sugar is clear crystal sugar that is larger than refined white sugar. It’s clear-crystals will make your baked goods sparkle! The larger granules of Sanding Sugar will not melt in the oven. It also comes in oh-so-many colors. It’s a win-win-win for decorating, especially decorated cookies.
I have a crap ton of Sanding Sugar. It’s one of those things that grabs my eye when I am shopping for just about anything else in the baking realm.
Sanding Sugar is used in both these Valentine Peanut Butter Blossoms and Peanut Butter Candy Pumpkin Blossoms.
Coarse Sugar
Coarse Sugar, which is also known as Pearl Sugar and Sugar Crystals, is larger than refined white sugar AND sanding sugar. It’s like the salt they put on soft pretzels, except its sugar.
Coarse Sugar also holds its shape when exposed to the oven, and comes in multiple colors.
Coarse Sugar is not something I personally use very often. I of course have some though, you know, pretty colors and obsessed with baking and all.
Know Your Sprinkles: Recap
There are six types of sprinkles: jimmies, nonpareils, quins, dragees, sanding sugar, and course sugar.
Sprinkles are the BEST!!
Which sprinkles do you enjoy baking with the most? What do you use them for/on?
Thank you for clarifying Sprinkles. I found it very interesting and helpful.
Hi Risa. No problem! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
Thank you so much for sharing this information! I found it very helpful. Can you tell me if it is okay to mix nonpareil sprinkles throughout cookie dough instead of just on top of cookies before baking them?
Thanks, Susie! I am happy you found it helpful. No, I wouldn’t recommend putting nonpariels into your cookie dough. They will bleed like crazy when you mix into the dough and even more when you bake them. I hope that helps. Happy Baking!!
Sarah, thank you!! I’m so happy you have helped answer my question as I have been looking all over online for an answer with no luck. I’m planning to make cookies tomorrow so I truly appreciate your quick response. You are wonderful!!! Again, thanks so much!
You’re welcome! 🙂
I ended up here in looking for sprinkles. I haaaaaate those pearl “sprinkles” and I absolutely fear tooth breakage! Every cute mix I can find online has those dumb pearls in them and I refuse to use them and I definitely refuse to pick them out of a sprinkle mix…
Oh my gosh, me too! I have beautiful teeth breaking sprinkles I want to use, but… I was looking for ways to soften them. Maybe baking on my cookies, rather than adding to baked cookie?