Memorial Day is just around the corner, and I am so excited because it means summer is getting closer. These buttery sugar cookies are shaped with a star shaped cookie cutter, frosted with a simple cream cheese frosting and then finished off with red, white and blue sprinkles. Not only were these cookies cute and fun to make, but they were also a hit with the whole family!
If you would like to try more patriotic recipes, check out my patriotic fruit salad, patriotic flag cookies, or patriotic skewers with 3 variations. For a list of patriotic recipes all in one spot, click on the link to Fun Patriotic Recipe Collection.
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Easy Patriot Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour plus extra for rolling
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon fruit juice orange, pineapple, apple etc.
- 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
Sprinkles:
- Patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350:
- Cream the butter and sugar together, then whisk in the egg until the mixture is fluffy and no lumps remain. Add baking powder, dash of salt and flour, then mix well to combine. Chill for 20-30 minutes.
- Flour the countertop, then roll the dough out into a sheet roughly 1/4 inch thick. Using a star shaped cookie cutter (size is up to preference), cut out the cookies and carefully place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, several inches apart. Bake the shortbread cookies in the preheated oven for 8-12 minutes until lightly colored on the bottoms and set on top (best if lightly baked). Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Place the cream cheese and fruit juice in a medium sized bowl, then mix with a hand mixer until well combined. Add confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and continue mixing until the icing is thick enough to spread onto the cookies, but somewhat thin.
- Using a Wilton 1 or 2 tip, pipe cream cheese frosting around the edges of the cookies, then pipe frosting into the center and spread carefully with a cake spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with sprinkles, then serve and enjoy! Keep refrigerated to store. Additional storage notes below.
Notes
Ingredients you will need for these patriotic cookies: butter, sugar, egg, baking powder, salt, all-purpose flour, cream cheese, fruit juice (of your choice, light colors are best), confectioners’ sugar and patriotic sprinkles.
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Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar together, then whisk in the egg until the mixture is fluffy and no lumps remain. Add baking powder, dash of salt and flour, then mix well to combine. Chill for 20-30 minutes.
Note on flour:
These cookies can quickly become crumbly and dry if too much flour is added. You want a soft dough that is a little sticky before it is chilled. It is easier to add more flour later than to fix a dough that is too dry. If you do need to loosen up a dry dough, I would recommend adding more softened butter.
Step 2: Flour the countertop, then roll the dough out into a sheet roughly 1/4 inch thick. Using a star shaped cookie cutter (size is up to preference), cut out the cookies and carefully place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, several inches apart. Bake the shortbread cookies in the preheated oven for 8-12 minutes until lightly colored on the bottoms and set on top (best if lightly baked). Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Step 3-4: Combine ingredients for cream cheese frosting. Add confectioner’s and juice sparingly until the frosting is creamy, but stiff enough to pipe and spread onto the cooled cookies. Using a Wilton 1 or 2 tip, pipe the cream cheese frosting around the edges of the cookies, then pipe frosting into the center and spread carefully with a cake spatula or the back of a spoon.
Last step: Decorate the cookies with red, white and blue sprinkles, then serve and enjoy!
Storage notes:
Because these cookies are topped with cream cheese frosting you will need to keep them refrigerated. They taste great even after being refrigerated for several days and can be prepped ahead for events. The cookies can also be frozen, but to keep things fresh I would recommend freezing the shaped cookies without the frosting and sprinkles, then adding the frosting and sprinkles after the cookies have thawed.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great day! Feel free to pin or print this recipe for later, but please leave a comment and recipe rating in exchange. Thank you for your support! -Marilyn Stoltzfus Peight
