Patriotic Sugar Cookies
These Patriotic Sugar cookies are as much adorable as they are delicious! This cookie recipe is made with a simple, tender, sweet sugar cookie and decorated with a classic vanilla buttercream dyed red and blue to create the rustic style, half-round American flag. I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
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How To Make Patriotic Sugar Cookies
- Step 1: Make the Sugar Cookie Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing well and scraping down the sides.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms and begins pulling away from the bowl.
- Flatten the dough into a disc between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it to about ¼” thick.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Step 2: Cut and Bake
- Use a 5” round cutter to cut circles from the chilled dough, then slice each circle in half to create semicircles.
- Arrange cookies on a baking sheet 1½” apart and bake at 350°F for 8–10 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges.
- Let cool completely before decorating.
- Step 3: Make the Vanilla Buttercream
- In a stand mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract, salt, and gradually add heavy cream until the texture is light and pipeable.
- Divide buttercream into three bowls—keep one white, dye one red, and one blue with gel food coloring.
- Transfer each color into a piping bag and cut the tips to a point for detailed ribbon piping.
- Step 4: Decorate the Cookies
- Pipe a ripple ribbon pattern across the cookie using alternating colors in curved stripes: red, white, blue, white, red.
- Add 4–5 white star sprinkles to the blue section and one to the lower red ribbon for a classic patriotic look.
How to Store Patriotic Sugar Cookies
- Room Temperature: Store decorated cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: If you’re in a warm climate, store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
- Freezer: Undecorated cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Freeze buttercream separately and decorate after thawing :)
Decorating Tips
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant, non-runny buttercream colors.
- Cut the piping bag tips at an angle to create a pointed tip for precision piping. You can also use a rose metal piping tip to create this design.
- Practice the ripple ribbon technique on parchment before piping on the cookies.
- Don’t overcrowd with sprinkles—less is more for that clean, festive look.
Recipe Alternatives
- Lemon Sugar Cookies: Add lemon zest to the dough and buttercream for a citrusy twist.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Swap buttercream for cream cheese frosting for a tangier flavor.
- Mini Stars: Use a star-shaped cookie cutter and decorate with just one color for simpler, bite-sized treats.
- Gluten-Free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour for an allergy-friendly option.
Patriotic Sugar Cookies
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Servings
15-20
servingsPrep time
20
minutesCooking time
10
minutes Cook Mode
Keep the screen of your device on.
Ingredients | Sugar Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, plus extra if needed
2-3 drops red food gel
2-3 drops blue food gel
2 Tbsp. white star sprinkles
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, cream together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, and creamy. Abut 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 combining evenly.
- Transfer the dough to parchment paper an flatten it into a disc. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll it rough to about 1/4″ thickness.
- Place the rolled out dough on a cookie sheet and transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hours or over night.
- Once the cookies have chilled, cut out as many 5″ circles using a circles as you can. Cut these circles in half . Place these on a cookie sheet 1 1/2″ apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookie is golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
- Vanilla Buttercream
- To make the buttercream, place the butter and confectioner’s sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until there are no lumps. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is being evenly combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt. Continue to mix while gradually adding the heavy cream. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as you mix. Once everything is evenly combined, separate the buttercream in 3 equal parts. Keep one of the parts white, dye another one red, and another one blue. Stir the food dye in the buttercream until the red and the blue reaches the shade you prefer. Transfer each color to a piping bag.
- Decorating
- Cut the tip of each piping bag to a point. To do this, cut a small side of the tip at an angle and again on the other side so that the tip of the piping bag is at a point.
- Starting with the red buttercream, slowly pipe a ribbon pattern around the outermost edge of the cookie. Next, use the white buttercream to pipe the next row next to the red. Repeat this step with the blue next, then white, then red again. To pipe the ribbon pattern, slowly move the piping bag up and down to create a ripple effect while slowly moving the piping bag in the curved direction of the cookie.
- Repeat this piping step for each cookie. Next, place 4-5 white star sprinkles on the blue ribbon then one on the bottom red part. Repeat this step for each cookie until they’re all adorned with stars.
- Enjoy!
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