Fun Tie Dye Cookies: Red, White, Blue Sugar Cookies

Whether it’s for a Memorial Day cookout, or 4th of July BBQ, these red, white, and blue sugar cookies are the perfect patriotic treat. These tie dye cookies are fun and easy to make. A great dessert to make for a summer get together.

Red, White and Blue Cookies

I love making these tie dye cookies. I mean when is it not fun to get your hands dirty and actually play with your food? I guess that’s why my kids like making these cookies. Even if your kids are too young to do a lot of the work, they can at least enjoy rolling the cookie dough balls in sugar before baking.

Tie dye cookies can be made using any colors you’d like, but I like to make them for the Patriotic summer holidays. From a Memorial Day cookout, to a 4th of July party, these red, white, and blue cookies are a great way to celebrate the holiday.

Tips for Success

These tie dye cookies are easy to make, but I do have a few tips for getting the best results.

1. Start with softened butter. This makes it easier to cream together with the granulated sugar. But be careful. If you’re making these in the summer and your kitchen is super hot, the butter will soften quite quickly when left out on your counter. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pulled butter out of the refrigerator and then not ended up making the cookies for hours. By then the butter is way too soft. To prevent this, pull the butter out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before mixing. Or, soften the butter in the microwave in 5-10 second intervals. This is what I do.
2. I recommend using gel food coloring. It mixes into the cookie dough really well, and I find the colors are more vibrant. I like to wear gloves to mix in the color. This of course is more hygienic, but it also keeps my hands from getting discolored.
3. Don’t overmix the cookie dough. You want to make sure that the color gets distributed, but you also want to make sure that you don’t over-work the dough. And when you combine the red, white, and blue doughs be sure that you don’t combine them too much or you’ll lose the tie dye effect.
4. Do not overbake the cookies. Pull them out just when the edges are turning golden, but the center will still be soft.

How to Make Tie Dye Cookies

Aside from the food coloring, all of the other ingredients are staples for baking. This makes these tie dye cookies an easy, go-to recipe when you need a dessert to bring to a party.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside until needed. Add 1 cup softened butter and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream the butter and sugar together until creamy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix together until smooth, and then scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

Add 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking power, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the dough comes together. If you find that the dough is too crumbly, add a tablespoon or melted better to the mixture.

Divide the cookie dough into 3 portions. Keep one portion as is, and the other two portions will be colored. Add some blue gel food coloring to one, and red coloring to the other cookie dough. Wearing gloves, gently mix the blue coloring into the cookie dough until you have a uniform color. Repeat the process with the red food coloring.

Take about 1 Tablespoon of dough from each portion. Then press the dough together to give it a tie-dye look. Tie dye cookies aren’t meant to look exactly alike, so don’t worry about making it perfect. Just combine the 3 colors in a fun way and roll into a ball.

Once the cookie dough balls are shaped, dip each one in a bowl of granulated sugar. Then place each ball on the parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes. It may take a couple more minutes to bake, depending upon the size of the cookies that you make. However, start checking on the cookies at 10 minutes so that you can pull them out of the oven right when the edges turn golden brown.

I hope you enjoy making these tie dye cookies. They are a fun and festive way to celebrate any patriotic holiday. So while I think that they are perfect for a Memorial Day, or 4th of July cookout, they would also make great gifts to give on Veteran’s Day. Whatever the occasion, these colorful sugar cookies are sure to be a hit!

If you want another easy dessert idea for a 4th of July, or Memorial Day cookout, then try these fruit kebabs. A no-bake dessert that’s light and refreshing.

If you tried this 4th of July Tie Dye Cookies recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and tell me how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting and happy baking!

4th Of July Tie-Dye Cookies

Red, white, and blue sugar cookies. These tie dye cookies are perfect for 4th of July, and Memorial Day BBQs.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 29 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 44 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 cookies

Equipment

• Baking Sheet
• Electric mixer hand or stand mixer
• Parchment Paper
• Measuring Spoons
• Measuring Cups

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1¼ cups granulated sugar plus extra for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• Blue food coloring
• Red food coloring

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until smooth.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until a dough forms. If the dough is too crumbly, add 1 tablespoon of melted butter to help bring it together.
• Divide the dough evenly into three portions. Leave one plain, and tint the others with red and blue food coloring, mixing each until the color is fully incorporated.
• Take about 1 tablespoon of dough from each color and gently roll them together to form a tie-dye effect.
• Roll each cookie ball in granulated sugar, then place them on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. The centers should be soft.
• Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes

• To intensify the color, use gel food coloring.
• To preserve the tie-dye pattern, avoid overmixing after combining the colors.

Keyword Red, white and blue tie dye cookies for 4th of July

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