Party guests will love these red, white, and blue sugar cookies as dessert at any party or picnic. They make the perfect 4th of July dessert and will liven up your Memorial Day picnic. The pinwheel design is easy to make and looks so cute!
Sugar cookies are one of my favorite cookies. They pair great with ice cream or coffee and can easily be sweetened up with some sprinkles or a light glaze.
I grew up hanging out at a Veteran’s of Foreign War club with my grandparents so I love patriotic holidays. The 4th of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, are all fun days of celebration.
I also love baking, and themed desserts like these cookies are fun to make and even more fun to eat. These pinwheel cookies look fancy but are surprisingly easy to make.
Ingredients for these red, white, and blue cookies
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, room temp (1 stick)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red gel food coloring
- Blue gel food coloring
- Saran Wrap
- Wax Paper
Prep work for the sugar cookies
1 – Use a small bowl to mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
2 – In a large bowl, cream your butter. Then add the sugar and beat for about 3 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
3 – Add the egg and vanilla and mix.
4 – Add the dry ingredients in parts and mix until just combined.
5 – Separate the dough into 3 equal sized pieces.
6 – Add red to one piece, blue to one piece, and leave the other white. Mix well until the dough is evenly colored.
To better color the dough you’ll want to use gel food coloring. Make it a little darker than you want as it will lighten somewhat upon baking.
7 – Form each piece of dough into a rectangle (about 4×2 inches, wrap in saran wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8 – Remove the red rectangle and place between two large pieces of wax paper. Roll into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick
9 – Repeat for the white and blue dough.
10 – Remove the wax paper and stack the layers on top of each other, red, then white, then blue. Very lightly roll the layers together.
11 – Trim the edges to make a rectangle.
12 – Starting at the shorter end of the rectangle roll the dough tightly into a log. Wrap in wax paper or saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Tip: Store the rolled dough upright in a jar while refrigerating so that it doesn’t get flat on one side.
Baking your pinwheel cookies
13 – When you’re ready to bake them preheat the oven to 350.
14 – Take the log out of the fridge and slice into 1/4 inch thick circles. Place them about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or one of these cool baking mats.
15 – Bake them for 9-11 minutes until pale golden. Don’t over bake them or they won’t look as pretty!
16 – Allow to cool a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
17 – Add a glaze and sprinkles if you want to add some extra sweetness and pizzaz!
Enjoy your party and picnic! Be sure to give these cookies a 5 star rating and pin them for later.
Check our dessert page for more delicious recipes.
Red, White, and Blue Pinwheel Sugar Cookies
Beautiful red, white, and blue pinwheel cookies. The perfect patriotic dessert for any party.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, room temp (1 stick)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red food coloring
- Blue food coloring
- Saran Wrap
- Wax Paper
Instructions
- Use a small bowl to mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream your butter. Then add the sugar and beat for about 3 minutes until it's light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix.
- Add the dry ingredients in parts and mix until just combined.
- Separate the dough into 3 equal sized pieces.
- Add red to one piece, blue to one piece, and leave the other white. Mix well until the dough is evenly colored.
- Form each piece of dough into a rectangle (about 4x2 inches, wrap in saran wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Remove the red rectangle and place between two large pieces of wax paper. Roll into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick
- Repeat for the white and blue dough.
- Remove the wax paper and stack the layers on top of each other, red, then white, then blue. Very lightly roll the layers together.
- Trim the edges to make a rectangle.
- Starting at the shorter end of the rectangle roll the dough tightly into a log. Wrap in wax paper or saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- When you're ready to bake them preheat the oven to 350.
- Take the log out of the fridge and slice into 1/4 inch thick circles. Place them about 2 inches apart on a lined cookie sheet.
- Bake them for 9-11 minutes until pale golden.
- Allow to cool a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Add a glaze and sprinkles if you want to add some extra sweetness.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 87Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 18mgSodium 61mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 0gSugar 6gProtein 1g
