Whether you're going for Mardi Gras purple, gold and green or you want to use the entire rainbow, these Tie-Dye Sugar Cookies are a fun and delicious way to let your colors shine!
Tomorrow’s Mardi Gras, guys! YES! I feel like Mardi Gras, the start of Lent, the last day of the Carnival season, is the beginning of the end of Winter. I say that whilst looking out the window at mounds of snow which have been fully exhausted by my kids. We have impressive icicles dripping from every slanted surface on the house, and I’ve just learned of more snow to come later this week… sigh… even my kids are tired of the snow. It’s at the point where it’s just hard ice, and I got three eye-rolls at the suggestion of an ice sculpture competition. But Spring is on the horizon, friends! Not long now until the snowdrops and crocuses peek through the ground and the sun shows its warmer side again.
Snow aside, I am having a ball in my kitchen making these Tie-Dye Sugar Cookies. I’ve been seeing these all over the gram for a while now, and Mardi Gras, with its royal hues of purple, green and gold, was the perfect time for me to try these out. I took a basic sugar cookie recipe and instead of rolling it out and cookie-cutting it, I sliced and baked it. The tie dye is easily created by stacking different colored logs, and you are free to go as minimalistic, or full on Picasso as you like. Have fun with it! Enjoy, friends, and hang in there! xoxo Kirsty
Ingredients for 36 cookies:
3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (240g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 oz. (56g) cream cheese (from a block, not the spreadable kind in the tub), at room temperature
1 cup (190g) sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Purple, yellow and green food coloring. I used plant based colors (available at Whole Foods or online) for more muted tones.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Make sure your butter and cream cheese are at room temperature. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes, until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat another minute until combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beat again scraping down the sides as needed, until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, fold them together with a spatula and then mix on low speed until combined. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Put each piece in a glass bowl.
Add your choice of food coloring to each bowl and fold it in with your hands. Use food-grade gloves if you want to stop your hands from looking patchy for the rest of the day! Fold the color into the dough with your hands until the color is evenly distributed.
Next, roll out each color into a long sausage, about 18 inches long (45cm). I did this on parchment paper in case it stained my counters. Stack each sausage on top of each other so that you end up with one log made up of three horizontal stripes. If you want to leave it as a chunky tie dye, simply roll the log back and forth until it is nicely rounded, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for up to an hour. If you want to make it a little more intricate, cut the log in half, and stack one half on top of the other, rolling it again until you have an 18” (45cm) long log. You can store it in the fridge, wrapped in cling film at this point, or you can cut, stack, and roll until you’re satisfied with the amount of tie dying that is going on in your cookie! Refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 2 days.
When you’re ready to bake, remove the cookie dough logs from the fridge, and preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Use a sharp knife with a long blade to slice the cookies in 1/2-inch (1.2cm) slices, and place them on the parchment paper. Space them out as they will spread. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.
Remove the trays from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before gently transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Beware of eager little hands which may interfere in this last step! These will keep well for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.
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