Name That Sprinkle

During the pandemic, millions of people everywhere decided to take up the delicious hobby of baking. The next day, millions of people everywhere discovered they sucked at baking and realized they preferred to eat bread more than make it. But something else happened that people hadn’t realized before: there are some nice sprinkles out there!

If you would have asked me what a jimmie was a year ago, I would have told you it’s the nickname of my friend James. Now, after months and months of research and creating different kinds of sprinkle blends, we’ve become pretty well-versed in sprinkles here at Sprinkle Me This. And of course, someone has to eat all those cakes and cupcakes we use in our promo pictures.

If you’re like a lot of people who started baking in the last couple of years, you may not know your jimmies from your quins or that what we call nonpareils here in the States, our friends overseas call hundreds and thousands. There are also some sprinkles out there that are nice to look at and great for decorating, but you wouldn’t want to serve them to your guests.

Jimmies

Starting with the classic, jimmies are probably one of the most traditional sprinkles out there. Ever notice the rainbow sprinkles on Homer Simpson’s famous donuts? Those are jimmies. 

Jimmies, like all sprinkles, come in various colors, but their shapes can differ a bit. Crunchy jimmies tend to be a bit thinner and have slight snap when you bite into them and some can be a little larger than the average sprinkle. However, many of the jimmies you’ll likely find have rounded edges and almost resemble tiny pills. They will vary in thickness and length and some will be more round than others. 

Regardless of their shape, however, jimmies come in a rainbow of colors and are often literally sold as rainbow colored sprinkles.

Nonpareils

Second to jimmies, nonpareils, or hundreds and thousands for our friends across the pond, are another familiar sprinkle that you probably didn’t know had a special name. Growing up and long before I was ever in the sprinkles, these are generally what I thought of when people referred to as sprinkles. 

Nonpareils are essentially tiny balls made of sugar and starch. It’s likely the reason why the Brits call them hundreds and thousands is because when you use these to decorate things like cupcakes or cookies, they’re small enough that it might look like there are hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top. That might not be true but makes total sense to me. 

While nonpareils will come in various colors, especially in famous rainbow colors, there are only two sizes for these little guys: tiny and jumbo. As the name would suggest, jumbo nonpareils are twice the size of a traditional nonpareil and essentially look like miniature gumballs. 

Though jumbo nonpareils are made from the same ingredients, they will be slightly harder than their regular counterparts and might not be as enjoyable to eat.

Dragees

Think of dragees as the goth cousin to jumbo nonpareils. Dragees, also known as sugar pearls, are physically the same as jumbo nonpareils, but they have a metallic coating that gives them a shiny appearance.

While dragees look amazing, and we’re definitely fans of them, many of them are simply not edible. Make sure if you intend to decorate with them that you don’t intend to let anyone eat something decorated with dragees. Instead, opt for regular nonpareils that have a polished coating that isn’t metallic. 

Sequins

Here at Sprinkle Me This, we refer to sequins as just quins, mostly because we’re too lazy to pronounce it correctly. “Quins,” or sugar quins, are probably the most fun types of sprinkles to use for decorating because they come in a ton of different shapes for the holidays and special occasions. 

One of the downsides of using quins, however, is that they don’t hold up well for baking. Therefore, quins should only be used as a topping, otherwise they will likely melt if they get too warm. 

There is a quin for practically every major holiday, from Easter to Christmas. Valentine’s Day is a popular holiday for quins with red and pink jumbo hearts being everyone’s choice for decorating cakes and cupcakes. When you combine quins with matching nonpareils or jimmies, now you’re on the road to creating your own blends.

Sanding Sugar

Of course, why decorate with things made with sugar when it’s easier to just decorate with sugar?! Sanding sugar is not like the regular sugar you add in your coffee in the morning, but it would still be just as good. Most of the time, you’ll see bakers use either Con A or AA sugar. The difference between the two is Con AA sugar is much more coarse than table sugar and has a distinct appearance when used on desserts. Think of Con AA sugar like the coarse salt you might see on a good pretzel. 

Sanding sugar comes in a wide variety of colors just like sprinkles, and more high sprinkles will use it as part of a blend. If you’re looking to make a showpiece with your cakes or cupcakes, you might want to opt for one of those blends. However, adding colored sanding sugar as a finishing to touch to homemade chocolates can definitely create a professional and artistic look.

Our Sweet Conclusion

Individually, these sprinkles are good. Which you decide to use will be entirely up to you and depends on what you’re using them for. If you’re looking to create an unforgettable looking dessert for a holiday or special occasion, you should go with a premade blend from Sprinkle Me This so you can have a combination of sprinkles that will make your desserts look and taste great.

Always make sure the colors of your sprinkles fit the theme of whatever it is you’re celebrating or whomever you’re baking for. Look for blends that have great color combinations and have different size and type sprinkles to create a fancy finish.

And of course, remember that sprinkles don’t just have to be for cakes and ice cream. You can always let your creative side wander and use colorful sprinkles, especially quins, for various art projects. You’ll find many people using their favorite sprinkles to create earrings, bracelets and pendant necklaces all over the internet. It’s a great way to use up leftover sprinkles after you’re finished with all of your baking.