These Easy Patriotic Cookies are perfect for any holiday! Delicious red white and blue Fourth of July Cookies that are so easy to make!
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If you're looking for a fun Fourth of July dessert, try these Patriotic Cookies!
These chewy, dense sugar cookies are so easy to make and even more fun to decorate! They're covered with red, white, and blue frosting and spangled with patriotic sprinkles.
Whip up a batch of these delightful cookies to bring to your next holiday potluck or serve under the sparkle of fireworks. (You can bring this Patriotic Smore's Dip too! Perfect for Memorial Day or Labor Day!)
The best part? These cookies can be made in less than 30 minutes with ingredients you likely already have in your pantry and fridge!
Why we love these Patriotic Cookies:
What's not to love about cookies? These are one of our favorite treats because:
- Easy to Make: These cookies are done in under an hour!
- Fun to decorate: In addition to being easy to make, these cookies are so fun to decorate!
- Made with basic ingredients: You probably have everything you need to make these cookies!
Ingredients for Fourth of July Sugar Cookies
You only need a few ingredients to make these delicious patriotic cookies!
- All-purpose flour—because these cookies are such a flour-heavy treat, I recommend using a white, all-purpose flour. If you need to use a gluten-free flour, be sure to avoid dry, crumbly cookies by measuring slightly under.
- Granulated Sugar—Granular white sugar sweetens and adds a chewy texture to these fourth of July sugar cookies.
- Unsalted butter—Unsalted butter is used to enhance the sweet, rich flavors of these sugar cookies. If you don’t have any unsalted butter, you can use salted butter and omit the additional salt.
- An egg—A single egg is used to add stability to your cookie dough and chew to your finished sugar cookies.
- Milk—A bit of milk is used to add tenderness and moisture to your finished cookies. It might sound a bit odd to add milk to your cookie dough, but don’t skip out on this ingredient! It truly enhances the overall flavor and texture of these sugar cookies.
- Vanilla—I love adding a splash of Mexican vanilla to these cookies, but any vanilla will do!
- Baking powder—baking powder is used to add a slight lift to your cookies. Don’t use too much or they’ll spread!
- Salt—add a pinch of salt to your sugar cookie dough to balance out the other sweet, rich flavors.
- Food Coloring- You can dye the cookies or use red white and blue sprinkles for decorating
How to Make Patriotic Cookies
Making Patriotic Cookies is so easy!
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients.
- Add the milk.
- Dye and shape your cookie dough.
- Bake your cookies on a lined cookie sheet and at 400°F for 9-11 minutes.
- Decorate your cookies.
How to Store Red White and Blue Cookies:
Storing: You can store these red white and blue cookies for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freezing: You can freeze patriotic cookies recipe. You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw completely before enjoying.
Freezing Cookie Dough: You can freeze this cookie dough. Scoop into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or use these cookie dough freezing trays.
Check out this post for How to Freeze Cookie Dough for tips on saving cookie dough for later.
Fourth of July Sugar Cookies Variations:
Can I make Fourth of July Sugar Cookies for other holidays? Of course! By simply swapping out food coloring colors and decorations, you can make these sugar cookies suitable for any occasion. Use pinks, reds, and purples for valentine’s day, pastels for Easter, red and green for Christmas, or even university colors for a graduation!
Food Coloring: You can use any color food coloring you'd like!
How to Decorate 4th of July Cookies
Below is a list of cookie-decorating tips and tricks to help your next frosting session go a bit smoother!
Skip the frosting and use melted white chocolate instead.
- Simply melt some white chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth.
- Dip half of each of your cookies into the melted white chocolate for a chic (but super simple) cookie look.
- If you like more over-the-top cookie decorations, you don’t have to stop there, you can dip your chocolate-dipped cookie into some sprinkles for a fun crunch!
Don’t hassle with the homemade frosting, buy store-bought instead. This tip really applies if you’re choosing to let little ones decorate these sugar cookies. Instead of dealing with messy homemade frosting on every surface, opt for the premade frostings that come in the pouches; they’re fun, easy to use, and even easier to clean up!
Fourth of July Cookie Decorations
Here are some of our favorite things to decroate these cookies:
Do I need cookie cutters to make these sugar cookies?
No! If you don’t have cookie cutters (or the patience to use cookie cutters) you can still make these delicious cookies. Simply use a cookie scooper or your hands to shape the dough into 1” balls. Place your cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet and bake as normal. If you choose to shape your sugar cookies this way, they’ll be on the thicker and gooier side.
Can I air fry these sugar cookies?
Absolutely! It takes a bit more effort, but I actually prefer these cookies when they’ve been baked in the air fryer. Simply shape your cookies as desired before placing them into your preheated and well-greased air fryer basket. Fry your cookies at 350°F for 7 minutes to get a crispier, melt-in your mouth sugar cookie. Check out this Air Fryer Sugar Cookies Recipe!
More Easy Cookie Recipes You'll Love
- Easter Sugar Cookies
- Edible Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe
- Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Patriotic Cookies for Fourth of July
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup milk
- Food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F
- Using a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, cream together your softened butter and sugar until thoroughly combined
- Add the egg and vanilla and continue beating until smooth.
- Add your flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until a stiff dough forms.
- Add your milk and mix once more until thoroughly combined.
- Divide your dough into three sections. Leave one as is, dye one blue, and dye one red.
- Roll each of your three cookie dough sections into a ½” thick sheet and cut out the shapes of your choosing. Alternatively, you can use a cookie scoop or some spoons to create tablespoon-sized balls of dough and place them onto a lined baking sheet.
- Bake your cookies in your 400°F oven for 9 minutes or until the edges of each cookie barely begin to brown.
- Let your cookies cool for a couple minutes, decorate with the toppings of your choice, and enjoy!
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