Red, White, and Blue Star Cookies
It’s that time of year for red, white, and blue. And flags, stars, and all things patriotic. Including cookies.
The cookies are soft, chewy, made in one bowl, and you don’t have to roll out dough. Love that.
I used my trusty blondie base, baked the dough off in a pan, and then used star-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies before frosting and decorating them.
The cookies are buttery with vanilla notes that shine through thanks to the McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract I used.
It’s a total staple in my kitchen. You can never go wrong with it.
Rather than making scratch frosting, I took a shortcut and used white store-bought and stirred in McCormick Red Food Color.
If you want to make scratch frosting, there’s one listed in the recipe section.
There are red, white, and blue sprinkles baked into the cookies and on top. The more the merrier.
The star-shaped cookies are perfect for Fourth of July get-togethers, parties, potlucks, and your friends and family will thank you as they’re nibbling away. Don’t tell them about all the edges and odds-and-ends pieces you nibbled when you were cutting out the stars. I swear those are the best parts.
Remember to save the recipe for Labor Day and Memorial Day, too.
Looking for other 4th of July desserts? McCormick has you covered with Firework Poke Cake or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stars.
Red, White, and Blue Star Cookies
The cookies are soft, chewy, made in one bowl, and you don’t have to roll out dough. I used my trusty blondie base, baked the dough off in a pan, and then used star-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies before frosting and decorating them. The cookies are buttery with vanilla notes that shine through thanks to the McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract. White storebought frosting with McCormick Red Food Color stirred makes the frosting a breeze. The star-shaped cookies are perfect for Fourth of July get-togethers, parties, potlucks, Labor Day, and Memorial Day.
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 cup red, white, and blue sprinkles
Frosting
- about half of one 14-ounce container store-bought whipped fluffy white frosting
- OR
- 1/4 cup (half of 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- about 2 to 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 to 3 teaspoons cream or milk
- one 1-ounce bottle McCormick Red Food Color, as necessary
- red, white, and blue sprinkles, as desired for decorating
Directions:
- Cookies – Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large, microwave-safe bowl add the butter and heat to melt, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Add the sprinkles and stir to incorporate.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula as necessary. Bake for about 20 to 24 minutes, or until top is set in center and done; don’t overbake. Blondies firm up as they cool. A toothpick should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Place pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 90 minutes before cutting and frosting.
- Cut with star-shaped cookie cutters or simply frost the entire pan if desired.
- Frosting – Use store-bought frosting (and skip to step 11) OR to a large bowl (or to the bowl of a stand mixer) add the butter and beat until light and creamy.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and beat with an electric mixer (or use the paddle attachment of a stand mixer) to incorporate.
- Add the cream slowly in the amount necessary to achieve desired frosting consistency.
- Add the red food color as necessary until desired color is achieved; stir after every 10 drops or 15 drops.
- Spread frosting over cookies. Note – You may have frosting left over if you don’t like an overly thick amount of frosting on your cookies. If you leave the 8×8 pan intact and don’t cut into cookies, it should be approximately the right amount. Extra frosting will keep airtight in the fridge for at least 2 weeks.
- Add sprinkles as desired for decorating.
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temp for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. I’m comfortable storing frosted items at room temp, but if you’re not store in the fridge noting cookies will be more prone to drying out in the fridge.
Adapted from Soft-Frosted Valentine Heart Cookies
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Post is brought to you by McCormick. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own.
Very festive! Cutting out shapes after baking solves the issue of working with a raw and more delicate dough. I would usually have a few that would develop unsightly bends, tears or lumps as I was getting them onto the baking sheet. And those leftover bits? I agree–the best!!
The leftover bits are always so good and delicate dough and me aren’t friends which is why this is so much easier!
Yum!! These look amazing! Which is what I say basically every time I see a cookie with frosting on it!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
That’s how I feel about cookies too :)
These look great. Could you double the recipe and put it in a 9×13?
Yes
Oh my god this is my favorite cookie texture EVER (while not an absolute, crispy cookies are often a waste of my time when chewy is an option). I really enjoy the sprinkle ratio too. :-)
crispy cookies are often a waste of my time when chewy is an option <---- AMEN yes that!