4th Of July Sugar Cookies

These cookies are not only delicious but also beautifully decorated in vibrant red, white, and blue colors, perfect for any 4th of July gathering. These cookies are truly the perfect dessert all summer long and the best part is that they are SO easy to make!

How To Make 4th Of July Sugar Cookies

1. Prep the Dry Ingredients:
   • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. Cream the Butter and Sugar:
   • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and creamy. This should take about 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix.
3. Add Wet Ingredients:
   • Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Continue to mix and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is combining evenly.
4. Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients:
   • Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until a soft dough forms and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and let the dough mix a few seconds longer to ensure everything is combined evenly.
5. Color the Dough:
   • Divide the dough into three portions: a larger portion for white, and two smaller portions for red and blue. Dye each portion accordingly. Roll out each color separately between parchment paper to about 1/4″ thickness.
6. Chill the Dough:
   • Place the rolled-out dough on a cookie sheet, dividing the colors with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
7. Create the Designs:
   • For the red and white stripes: Remove the red dough from the fridge and slice into thin strips to fit into indents pressed into the white dough. Use a skewer to make the indents. Press the red strips into the white dough, cover with parchment paper, and use a rolling pin to flatten together. Chill for 15 minutes.
   • For the stars: Use a 2″ star cookie cutter to cut out blue stars. Re-roll scraps if needed.
8. Assemble the Cookies:
   • Cut the red and white dough into circles using a 4.5″ – 5″ circle cookie cutter. Use the star cutter to cut out stars in the center of each circle. Replace the cut-out star with a blue star.
9. Bake the Cookies:
   • Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). While the oven preheats, let the assembled cookies chill in the fridge. Bake for 8-9 minutes, making sure not to let them brown too much to keep the colors vibrant. Let cool on a wire rack.

Tips For Making Soft Sugar Cookies

Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter and egg are at room temperature. This helps them mix more evenly with the other ingredients.

Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the dough can result in tough cookies. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.

Chill the Dough: Chilling the dough before baking helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much and ensures a soft, chewy texture.

How To Store Sugar Cookies

Airtight Container: Store cooled sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh for up to a week.

Freezing: You can freeze baked sugar cookies for up to three months. Layer them between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-safe container. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Why Do I Need To Chill Cookie Dough?

Chilling cookie dough is essential for several reasons:

1. Prevents Spreading: Chilled dough is firmer, which helps the cookies maintain their shape and prevents excessive spreading during baking.
2. Enhances Flavor: Allowing the dough to rest and chill enhances the flavors, resulting in tastier cookies.
3. Improves Texture: Chilled dough produces cookies with a better texture—crispy on the edges and soft in the center.

Gel Food Dye V.S Liquid Food Dye

When it comes to coloring your cookies, you have two main options: gel food dye and liquid food dye.

1. Gel Food Dye: Gel dyes are more concentrated than liquid dyes, providing more vibrant colors without adding extra moisture to the dough. This is particularly important for maintaining the right dough consistency.
2. Liquid Food Dye: Liquid dyes are less concentrated and may require more to achieve the desired color. Adding too much liquid dye can alter the dough’s consistency, making it too runny or sticky.

Brand Of Food Dye I Use

I will always recommend Americolor Food Gel. A little bit goes a long way and you are left with beautiful and vibrant colors without the chemical taste that most food dyes leave you with. You can find them on Amazon, here! You can also find the link to the white Americolor Food Gel, here!

Decorating Alternatives

While our red, white, and blue design is stunning, there are plenty of other ways to decorate your 4th of July sugar cookies:

1. Sprinkles: Add some festive flair by decorating your cookies with red, white, and blue sprinkles. You can mix them into the dough or sprinkle them on top before baking.
2. White Chocolate Glaze: Drizzle a white chocolate glaze over the baked cookies for a sweet and elegant touch. To make the glaze, melt white chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies using a spoon or a piping bag.
3. Colored Sugar: Roll the edges of the cookies in red, white, and blue colored sugar before baking to add a glittery and colorful border.
4. Royal Icing: Decorate the cookies with royal icing in patriotic colors. You can pipe stars, stripes, and other 4th of July-themed designs onto the cookies.

How Far In Advance Can You Make Sugar Cookies For An Event?

Planning ahead is key to any successful event, and making sugar cookies in advance can save you time and stress on the big day. Here are some guidelines to help you determine how far in advance you can make your sugar cookies while ensuring they stay fresh and delicious.

1. Baking in Advance

• Unfrosted Cookies: You can bake unfrosted sugar cookies up to a week in advance. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. This will keep them fresh and ready for decorating closer to your event.
• Frosted Cookies: If you’ve already decorated your cookies with royal icing or another type of frosting, you can still make them a few days in advance. Once the icing has completely dried, store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container to prevent the icing from smudging.

2. Freezing Sugar Cookies

• Baked Cookies: You can freeze baked, unfrosted sugar cookies for up to three months. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze initially. Once frozen, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe bag or container, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Thaw at room temperature before decorating.
• Dough: You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to three months. Roll out the dough and cut it into shapes, then freeze the shapes on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the cookie shapes to a freezer-safe bag. Bake from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.

3. Storing Decorated Cookies

• Short-Term Storage: For decorated cookies, ensure the icing is fully set before stacking them in an airtight container. Place sheets of parchment paper between the layers to prevent them from sticking together. Store at room temperature for up to a week.
• Long-Term Storage: Decorated cookies can also be frozen. Once the icing is completely dry, wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature.

4. Transporting Cookies

If you need to transport your cookies to the event, consider using a sturdy container with a lid. Place parchment paper between layers to prevent them from sticking or breaking. For extra protection, especially for intricately decorated cookies, use bubble wrap or tissue paper.

4th Of July Cookies

Recipe by Maddison Koutrouba – thesqueakymixer.com

4.8 from 6 votes

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Servings

10-12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

8

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg, room temperature

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• red, white, and blue food gel

Directions

• In a medium sized bow, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, or in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, and creamy. About 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix.
• Add in the egg and vanilla. Continue to mix and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is combining evenly.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until a nice, soft dough forms and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and let the dough mix a few seconds longer to ensure that everything has been combined evenly.
• Remove about 1/4 cup of the dough and dye it blue. Remove another 1/4 cup of the dough and dye it red. Dye the remaining larger amount of dough white (this is optional). Separately, between parchment paper, roll out each color to about 1/4″ or a tad thinner.
• Place all of the rolled dough on a cookie sheet divided with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking. Use a skewer to press straight, evenly spaced lines indented along the white dough. Transfer all colors of rolled-out dough to the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Remove the red dough from the fridge and use a sharp knife to slice strips of dough thin enough to fit in the indents made with the skewer in the white dough. You can use a ruler to help guide you in making straight lines. This will create the stripes. One at a time, place a red strip of dough in the indents of the white dough doing your best to keep the lines straight.
• Once all of the red stripes have been placed, cover the red and white striped dough with parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough together. Place this back in the fridge for about 15 minutes. In the meantime use a 2″ star cookie cutter to cut out as many blue stars as you can. You can re-roll the scraps to get more blue stars if needed. Place the blue stars in the fridge in the meantime.
• Remove the red and white striped dough from the fridge and use a 4.5″ – 5″ circle cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet fit with parchment paper about 1.5″ apart. Use the same star cutter you used for the blue dough and cut out a star in the center of the red and white striped dough. Save the red and white striped stars and bake them separately for about 6 minutes so nothing goes to waste! Place a blue star in place of the hole you cut out of the striped dough to fill it in. Repeat this step for each cookie.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and let the cookies chill in the fridge while the oven preheats.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes. We don’t want the cookies to brown too much so that the white stays vibrant. The cookies will continue to be baked on the hot cookie sheet for a few minutes after being removed from the oven. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
• Enjoy!

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