4th Of July Sugar Cookies
These 4th Of July Sugar Cookies are the perfect way to celebrate Independence Day! The red, white, and blue cookies are iced with polka dot, zig zag and fireworks decorations.
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Servings: 24
Calories: 168kcal
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Sheet
- Wire rack
- Cookie Cutters
- Icing bottles
- Icing tips
- Toothpick
Ingredients
For the sugar cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the royal icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 12 tablespoons water at room temperature
- Red and blue gel food coloring
Instructions
Sugar cookie dough
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth (about 4 minutes). Then beat in the egg and vanilla for another 2 minutes.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl, then, a little at a time, beat it into the wet ingredients until it forms a thick dough.
- Wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or overnight).
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thick. Cut out cookie shapes (I used a rectangle cookie cutter). Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
For the royal icing:
- Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder to a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl with an electric mixer), and whisk to combine.
- Add 8 tablespoons of the room temperature water, and beat with the whisk attachment on low for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining water, a tablespoon at a time (you may not need to use all of it), and continue beating. They royal icing is ready when the icing slowly drizzles from the whisk when lifted, in ribbon-like strands.
- If the icing is too stiff, add more water one drop at a time. If it’s too runny, beat in more icing sugar one teaspoon at a time.
- Separate the icing into small mixing bowls and add desired food coloring, then mix well. Spoon the icing into piping bags or icing bottles.
To decorate
- Line around the edge of the cookies with icing and fill the middle. Use a toothpick to poke bubbles or direct icing into holes. Before the flooded area dries add the decorations as below, before allowing the Fourth of July sugar cookies to dry completely at room temperature.
- Zig zags: Before the flooded area dries, add stripes of different colored icing and then drag a toothpick through the stripes in alternating directions.
- Fireworks: Before the flooded area dries, drop one large drop of different colored icing, use a toothpick to drag icing from the dot outwards into the flooded area in a firework pattern. Drop a smaller dot of a different color into the centre of the firework and use a toothpick to draw the icing into the flooded area.
- Polka Dots: Before the flooded area dries, add dots of different colored icing.
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Nutrition
Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 58mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.4mg
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.