Easy Patriotic Sugar Cookies perfect for celebrating Memorial Day, 4th of July or just because. These soft sugar cookies are decorated with red, white and blue chocolate drizzles for a quick and easy patriotic dessert everyone will love.
You are going to love how easy these cookies are to make. Decorated with already colored candy melts (white chocolate) these cookies can be decorated in just 10 minutes. Once decorated, they only take 10-15 minutes to set and are ready to serve. Talk about easy!
This sugar cookie recipe has been a favorite of mine for years. The sugar cookie dough recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion Cookbook. If you love baking cookies, I cannot recommend this cookbook enough!
Key Ingredients
With just a few basic pantry staples, these sugar cookies come together in no time.
- Butter - Unsalted butter for a rich, tender cookie dough.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar for sweetness and structure.
- Egg - Room temperature egg helps with better incorporation.
- Flour - Plain all-purpose flour is needed for the perfect texture.
- Vanilla Extract - Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Almond Extract - Optional but recommended for extra depth of flavor.
- Candy Melts - Red, white, and blue candy melts for decorating the cookies.
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How To Make Patriotic Sugar Cookies
The full recipe is in the recipe card below.
The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the sugar cookie dough to chill before you can roll it out. Which only takes about 1 hour. These cookies are really easy to make and even easier to decorate.
STEP 1
Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and extracts. Once light and fluffy, add in the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
STEP 2
Now add in half of the heavy cream, all of the cornstarch and half of the flour. Mix until combined. Now add in the remaining heavy cream and flour. Mix until combined. Be careful to not overmix the cookie dough.
STEP 3
Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, flatten out each portion into a disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Can Sugar Cookie Dough Be Made In Advance
Yes, sugar cookie dough can be made in advance. You can make the dough and refrigerate it overnight. Then roll it out, cut into shapes and bake the next day.
STEP 4
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thick. Using cookie cutters cut out the shapes, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in a 350°F and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before decorating.
STEP 5
Drizzle melted candy melts over the cookies. Cool for 10-15 minutes or until chocolate is set. Enjoy!
MORE WAYS TO DECORATE
Some of the cookies I decorated by dipping them in one of the colors to fully cover their tops before drizzling the other two colors over the cookies. This looks really good with white dipped stars drizzled with the red and blue.
Another way to decorate the cookies is to add sprinkles after decorating with the chocolate.
Storage Tip
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
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Tried This Recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Patriotic Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 12 oz bag red candy melts
- 1 12 oz bag white candy melts
- 1 12 oz bag blue candy melts
Instructions
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and both extracts. Once light and fluffy, add in the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
- Now add in half of the heavy cream, all of the cornstarch and half of the flour. Mix until combined. Now add in the remaining heavy cream and flour. Mix until just combined. Be careful to not overmix the cookie dough.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, flatten out each portion into a disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat an oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working with one portion of the dough, lightly flour your work surface and roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thick. Using cookie cutters cut out the shapes, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies should not be browned but set. Cool completely before decorating.
- In three separate bowls melt the candy melts, following the directions on the packages. Pour the melted chocolate into piping bags, snip the ends to make a small whole and drizzle each color over the cookies. Allow to set before serving. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
So easy to make!