Patriotic Frosted Sugar Cookies
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These Independence day frosted sugar cookies are a quick and cute holiday treat. The sprinkles add a fun and festive pop of color and these are so tasty, they usually don’t last long when I’m hosting. This recipe is also so versatile for different holidays! Add some rainbow sprinkles for birthdays, some red and green sprinkles for a quick Christmas cookie (if you’re not too busy chowing down some salted caramel turtle cookies,) or skip the sprinkles and add in some food dye for an even bolder pop of color. The possibilities are almost endless, so have some fun with this one!
🍴 12 Cookies │⏱ Prep Time: 20 Minutes │⏱ Bake Time: 10 Minutes│⏱ Post Bake Time: 15 Minutes│⏱ Total Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients
Cookies
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sprinkles
Frosting
1 stick butter, unsalted, softened
4 oz. (half a block) cream cheese, full fat (cold)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Equipment
mixing bowl or stand mixer
whisk or stand mixer
measuring cups
cookie tray
cookie scoop
cooling rack
spatula
foil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a small mixing bowl or stand mixer, whisk together 1/3 cup sugar and 2 egg yolks
Add in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup softened butter and mix
Add in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and mix
Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto a foiled baking sheet
Bake for 10 minutes
Remove from oven
Tap the cookie tray onto the counter to deflate the cookies
Transfer to a cooling rack or plate
In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together 1 stick unsalted butter, softened and 1 teaspoon vanilla
Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar, one at a time, mixing constantly
Cut your 4 ounces of cream cheese into cubes, add to the mixture, and mix until incorporated but do not over-mix
Frost the cooled cookies with cream cheese frosting and top with sprinkles
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Tapping your cookie tray on the counter isn't required, but deflating the cookies gives them a nice wrinkly texture and helps keep them moist!
You may need to alter your bake time depending on your oven; when I moved into my house and started using a gas oven for the first time, I had to re-work all of my recipes! Don’t get discouraged.
Over-mixing this frosting will create a sloppy consistency not great for piping.
This cream cheese frosting will last as long as the ingredients don’t expire; I make a large double batch and store in the fridge to use on all kinds of baked goodies. It’s absolutely delicious on a fresh lemon cake, or homemade cinnamon rolls. I tend to keep my baked goods in the fridge once I’ve frosted them and don’t leave them out for more than a couple of hours due to the cream cheese and butter. These cookies have never lasted that long!
If pulling from the fridge allow the frosting to come back up in temp. It doesn’t need to be room temp, but it can be a bit difficult to work with fresh out of the fridge.
