Rainbow Sugar Cookies

Take your sugar cookies up a notch the Baked by Melissa way—by making them in rainbow colors! Follow Melissa Ben-Ishay’s steps for easy rainbow sugar cookies.

Learn How to Make These Easy Rainbow Sugar Cookies

My daughter only liked chocolate cookies...until we introduced this sugar cookie recipe into our rotation at home! Shoutout to Sally’s Baking Addiction for this recipe, which I mostly follow to the letter. (Sally, you’re my hero!)

In my house, we made these cookies 10 times last December alone. We’ve also used this sugar cookie dough to make gingerbread houses. It’s that versatile.

These rainbow sugar cookies are easy, quick, and pair perfectly with royal icing for decorating. (I stick with the NYT Cooking Royal Icing recipe. It's super reliable.) You can make these for the holidays, but why limit yourself to having sugar cookies only during certain times of the year? I promise the kids will love making these with you anytime. Watch me make the cookies here!

Let’s get started.

Pro tip: Always start with room temperature ingredients, especially when it comes to eggs and butter.

Ingredients for Sugar Cookies

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you love almond extract like I do, add that into the mix too!)

How to Make Your Sugar Cookies

Using your stand mixer (or by hand...takes way longer!), whip butter and granulated sugar for 2 minutes on high speed. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute.
Add your flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
Split the dough into two balls. Roll out the dough, then put in the fridge for a little bit.
To make them rainbow tie-dye, split into four balls (or one for each color in your rainbow). Make a tiny well with your finger, and drop in a few droplets of your food coloring into the well. Knead until the color has permeated the entire ball. Repeat for the rest of your colors.
Roll each color out into snakes. Place the coils side-by-side and combine to make a swirl of your entire rainbow.
Break out your cookie cutters and set the shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350°F for 7-9 minutes, watching them closely. You don’t want the edges to get brown and too crispy.
Let cool completely before you decorate.

What You'll Need:

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Ingredients for Royal Icing

3 ¾ cups confectioner’s sugar
3 large egg whites
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
Optional: fun food coloring

How to Make Your Royal Icing

Whip confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in your mixer until stiff peaks appear.
Add small amounts of water to the icing until it reaches your desired consistency for decorating. Thinner icing is better for piping; it becomes spreadable and glossy.

When it comes to decorating your rainbow sugar cookies, you can really go nuts with it. Break out the sprinkles or melt chocolate into a drizzle. Fill a piping bag with royal icing for decorating, or use a bowl of royal icing and a toothpick or skewer to spread the icing.

Royal icing takes a while to harden completely, so be sure to leave your cookies out for a few hours (or overnight). Don’t stack or refrigerate your cookies till the icing is set; you’ll mess up your beautiful designs.

Making these rainbow sugar cookies at home? Show me what you’ve got. Tag us on Instagram @bakedbymelissa and #cakesbymelissa to show us your baking masterpieces!