I just got done making these cookies for the first time! My friend Marissa, over at AMBUSHEEDWIHBOYS, shared this recipe and I had to try it. I make sugar cookies, but not fancy ones. And I usually only make them around Christmas time. I am so happy I stepped out of my baking box. These really are just as easy. And now I also have cookies to make around Labor Day!

Just a few things before you get started.

It is recommended to sift your powdered sugar, the reason being that your frosting/glaze is smooth and has chance of having bubbles in it. Little extra work, but the outcome is worth it!
It is also recommended to use a gel food coloring. I have a couple different brands, like Duff, Wilton and Country Kitchen. You shouldn’t use liquid food coloring. (You can get from a local cake shop, Michaels or off Amazon. I’ll link below)
Sprinkles- of course these are optional. But, they do add a little something extra to the cookie. I didn’t take the time to buy the ones that are on the original recipe, so I just used some red, white and blue sprinkles I had. I sprinkled some and not the others. Still came out cute. But the star sprinkles and luster add a very pretty presentation.
Before you start Glazing, lay down wax paper to protect your countertops from dripping food coloring. It stains!!
And lots of toothpicks

Alright, once you make sure you have all your ingredients, you’re ready to start baking.

Here is a list of what you will need:

Sam, over at Sugar Spun Run is the original author, of these fantastic cookies. Here is her How to Glaze video, if you want to check it out.

Let me know if you guys make these! Take pics and tag me in them!! They will be photo worthy!

Enjoy and Happy Baking!!

~Jeanne

Star-Spangled Cookies

These beautifully marbled red, white and blue star-spangled cookies are perfect for the 4th of July! And super easy to make!

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Prep Time: 1 hour

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 4th of July cookies, best cookies, Cookies, decorated cookies, sugar cookies

Servings: cookies (may vary depending on size of cookie cutter)

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Marble Icing Glaze

3 cups powdered sugar sifted
3 tbsp light corn syrup
3-4 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond (or other preferred extract) extract optional
gel food coloring
sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat your butter until well-creamed.
Add sugar to the mixing bowl and beat with the butter until well combined (about 30 seconds)
Stir in the vanilla extract and salt, stirring until well-combined, and scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula to ensure ingredients are well-incorporated.
Add egg yolk and beat until combined.
With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add flour until well-incorporated (you will definitely need to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl several times for this, as the mixture is fairly dry and crumbs tend to settle at the bottom of the bowl).
Transfer dough to clean surface and use your hands to for it into a cohesive ball.
Flatten into a disk (about 1 inch thick), cover with clear wrap, and chill for 15 minutes.
Once the dough has chilled, transfer it t a clean, lightly floured surface and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Lightly flour your cookie cutters and cut out your shapes, transferring them to un-greased cookie sheet.
Once you have cut out all of the shapes that you can, be sure to re-combine the scraps and roll out and cut out again to get the maximum number of cookies from your dough.
Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes. More or less, depending on the size of your cutter. They are done right before they start to brown.
Allow cookies to cool completely before dipping.

Marble Icing Glaze

In a large bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp milk, and light corn syrup. Whisk until smooth. If mixture is too dry, add additional milk, one teaspoon at a time until mixture can be stirred.
Stir in extracts.
Glaze should be thick, to test that is its the right consistency drop a few droplets on top of a test cookie. If the glaze remains stiff, it needs to be thinned. If it runs off the cookie, it is too thin and needs more powdered sugar. If it settles down smoothly, it is just right.
Divide glaze into four small bowls.
Working with one bowl at a time, use a toothpick (a different toothpick for each color) and dip it into the food coloring bottle and then into the glaze. You want a small dot of food coloring. (see video up in post)
Drag a toothpick through the food coloring and glaze until it is prettily swirled/marbled.
Holding your cookie at the base, dip the surface of each cookie into the glaze (take a look at your first cookie --- are you satisfied with the pattern? Adjust whorls with additional food coloring as needed.
If you are going to add sprinkles, add them right after glazing to ensure they sticks to the glaze before it dries.
Once the first bowl runs out or the colors become too muddled together from dipping, moe onto your next bowl of food coloring (you will probably need to stir first before adding your coloring, as the surface may have begun to harden).
Repeat steps of adding coloring with toothpicks to glaze in bowl until all cookies have been dipped. Allow them to harden at least 30 minutes (may take longer) for glaze to set. Enjoy!
Keep uneaten cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.