These 4th of July Sugar Cookies are the easiest, no-mixer, no-chill cookie wrapped in festive sprinkles and topped with a smooth, 3-ingredient buttercream. They are quick to whip up, so delicious, and festive as ever!
4th of July is genuinely one of my favorite holidays because of the food, family, weather (and tan), and colors! I have a whole 4th of July section on the bloggy, and I'm a huge fan of this Tie Dye Bundt Cake and these Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies!
Looking for other sugar cookie recipes? Check out these Mini Sugar Cookies and these Hershey Kiss Sugar Cookies.
Why You'll LOVE This Recipe
Taste and Texture: With a rich, buttery base and sweetness, these cookies are just DELISH and have the best soft centers and slightly crispy edges!
Gorgeous: The colorful sprinkles in shades of red, white, and blue create a vibrant and eye-catching appearance that is sure to impress your guests or add to the festivity of your celebration!
Easy: These sugar cookies are made with simple ingredients, do not require any chilling time, and are ready in 30 minutes! They're accessible to both novice and experienced bakers!
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: You’ll melt your butter for flavor and moisture in every bite! Using melted butter also makes this a no-mixer recipe!
- Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar adds to flavor, moisture, and structure.
- Egg: An egg at room temperature adds structure and chewiness.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract rounds out the flavor of these cookies.
- All Purpose Flour: All purpose flour, measured properly, creates soft and chewy cookies.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Together, both of these leavening agents give these cookies their rise and create gorgeous, thick domes!
- Salt: Salt enhances the flavor and brings out sweetness.
- Sprinkles: I like using jimmies, but you can use nonpareils, sanding sugar, or another sprinkle that will hold up when baked!
Step by Step Process
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, line baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies come off of the pans cleanly after baking.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, use a whisk to mix melted unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, room temperature egg, and vanilla extract together.
STEP 3: Add all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt to the dough. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients into the dough until smooth.
STEP 4: Roll each dough ball into 1-tablespoon dough balls (20-25g of batter). Then, roll the cookies in festive sprinkles.
STEP 5: Bake the cookies for 5-8 minutes or until the edges are golden in color, the tops are light pale, and the center is just slightly soft.
Buttercream Frosting
STEP 1: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
STEP 2: Then, pour heavy cream into the bowl and mix on high speed for at least 3 minutes to create a light, velvety frosting. Add food dye as desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
Though I use festive jimmies, you can use regular jimmies, chocolate jimmies, nonpareils, sanding sugar, or colored granulated sugar! You can also skip the sprinkles and leave the cookies plain.
You will roll the dough in the sprinkles prior to baking. The sprinkles will not stick to the cookie if you wait until after the cookies have baked.
Yes! You can use chocolate frosting, cream cheese frosting, a fruit-flavored froting, store-bought frosting, or you can skip the frosting altogether!
You can absolutely double, triple, quadruple the recipe... whatever your heart desires and whatever you need for your crowd!
Expert Tips
- Prepare your pans: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan!
- Don't overbake: Keep a close eye on the cookies while they're in the oven. Sugar cookies are best when they're just set in the center and slightly golden around the edges. Overbaking can lead to dry and crispy cookies.
- Cooling: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes after removing them from the oven before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not decorate the cookies until they are fully cool.
How to Store
You can prepare the dough ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. You'll want to leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling and baking as directed. You can also freeze the decorated dough balls in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Simply bake the cookies for an extra couple of minutes directly from the freezer!
After the cookies have been frosted, store them tightly covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze unfrosted cookies in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. Freeze frosted cookies by placing them in the freezer for 30 minutes before covering and storing for up to 3 months.
Other 4th of July Recipes
Print
4th of July Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies, Sugar Cookies, 4th of July
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup (110g) unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup (140g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (50g), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100g) festive sprinkles
For the Frosting
- 1 cup (220g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (300g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30g) heavy cream
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies come off of the pan cleanly after baking.
- In a large bowl, use a whisk to stir slightly cooled melted butter, granulated sugar, room temperature egg, and vanilla extract together until smooth and fully combined.
- Pour all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the dough. Use a rubber spatula to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until all flour pieces disappear into the batter.
- Roll the dough into about 1-tablespoon (20-25g) sized balls. Roll the dough balls in sprinkles or sanding sugar as desired.
- Bake the cookies for 5-8 minutes or until the edges look light golden brown and the tops look pale and are beginning to crack.
For the Frosting
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. This should be about 2 minutes of mixing.
- Add heavy cream and beat on high speed for about 3-5 minutes. This will create air in the frosting, resulting in a smooth, bright, white, and fluffy frosting. Transfer it to a piping bag or zippable plastic bag with the corner snipped off for greater control if desired.
- Frost the cooled cookies as desired and top with decorations of choice.
- Store the ccookies tightly covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
Measuring Flour: Measure flour correctly by using a kitchen scale to measure 210g exactly. If you don’t have a scale, spoon the flour into your measuring cups before using a knife to level off the top. Overmeasuring flour will lead to dry cookies.
Sprinkles: You can use festive jimmies, regular jimmies, nonpareils, or sanding sugar/ colored granulated sugar!
Don't overbake: Keep a close eye on the cookies while they are in the oven. They should be slightly puffed and set around the edges but still slightly soft in the centers. Overbaking can result in dry and crispy cookies, so it's best to underbake slightly.
Keywords: 4th of July Sugar Cookies, 4th of July Cookies
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