Soft, buttery, and just as nostalgic as the classic, but with a vibrant rainbow twist. These Rainbow Butter Cookies are bursting with color and flavor, and ready in about one hour! They are super easy to make and a great project to do with kids.
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The idea for this cookie was born in early 2020 when I first saw Buttermilk By Sam hidden rainbow bundt cake. I remember thinking what an absolutely genius idea! To take a 'regular' type of dessert but to brighten it up with a hidden rainbow. How absolutely fun and exciting! A perfect cookie to share with your friends, family and pride month!
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Why You Will Love This Cookie
Burst Of Color. Brighten your day and others with this colorful cookie! Rainbow sprinkles on the outside, hidden rainbow on the outside, and ready to brighten your day.
Major Yum. This cookie doesn't just boast color. A generous helping of vanilla helps elevate the flavor of this cookie. Plus it has a soft, tender bite!
Easier Than You Think! The process to make might be a bit more steps than we'd like, but I promise worth it in the end!
If you are looking for other soft and easy cookie recipes, I recommend trying my Birthday Cake Cookies or Birthday Brownies!
Pre-Bake Tips
Use Kitchen Scale. The greatest advantage you can give yourself when baking is using a kitchen scale. It helps more accurately measure ingredients by weight vs. volume.
Room Temperature Ingredients. Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before you begin.
Measuring Dry Ingredients should always be done using the spoon and level method if you are not using a kitchen scale.
Use Food Safe Gloves. I recommend using food safe gloves when mixing the food dye to help from staining your hands. The rainbow cookie dough can easily stain your hands so use caution.
Ingredients
Please read through the ingredients list so you can familiarize yourself with each ingredient, along with suggestions or recommendations during the preparation or baking process. Please see the Recipe Card for all details.
Butter. I prefer to use unsalted butter, but you can use salted butter if you prefer. If you chose to use salted then just omit the salt in the recipe.
Milk. I use whole milk, but you can use 2% or low-fat.
Sprinkles. Not all sprinkles are created equal. Trust me when I say I have baked with almost all the sprinkles out there, and a good quality sprinkle in this recipe is worth it. A poor quality sprinkle will lead to a poor quality tasting cookie. I highly recommend using Sprinkle Pop Rainbow Jimmies - they are delicious sprinkles and you will not be disappointed. You can find them in my Amazon Storefront.
Food Coloring. To make things simple, you can use just red, yellow and blue food dye to create the rainbow colors. Further details on how to achieve the colors below in the how to steps on creating these colors of the rainbow!
Vanilla Extract. This helps bring some more flavor to the cookie, but you can substitute with almond extract or lemon extract. If substituting with these, use only ½ teaspoon.
How To Make Rainbow Cookies
This recipe and tutorial uses baking tools and ingredients that can be found in most homes. Please see the recipe card for a full list of equipment and ingredients.
Step 1. Using a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Step 2. Add egg and mix until well combined.
Step 3. Add all purpose flour and salt to bowl. Mix on low until and dough will come together in a crumbly texture.
Step 4. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to the dough and mix on low until fully absorbed.
Step 5. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out 6 pieces of cookie dough and place on a plate, or alternatively use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop and scoop out 3 pieces of cookie dough.
Step 6: Take first ball of dough and add 1-2 drops of red food dye, and work thoroughly until well combined. Repeat for all colors.
Hot Tip! You can color dough using the 3 primary colors - red, yellow and blue. For creating orange, use 1 drop red and 1 drop yellow. For creating green, use 1 drop yellow and use 1 drop blue. For creating purple, use 1 drop blue and 1 drop red.
Step 7. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, and press between palms to flatten and expand dough. It should be about 3" - 4" in diameter.
Step 8. Remove ½ teaspoon from each colored dough and roll into a cylinder shape. Lay on top of flattened uncolored piece on the far left. You will repeat this process with each color and layer each color piece next to each other.
Step 9: Gently fold the uncolored portion of the dough over the colored portioned of the dough, and then use hands to roll into ball until seamed together.
Step 10: Use hands to roll into ball until seamed together.
Step 11: Coat thoroughly in sprinkles and place on cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper. Place cookies at least 3" apart.
Step 12: Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake cookies for 15 minutes, or until you see light browning along edges.
Step 13: Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Variations
- You can create the rainbow swirls as well! Divide dough in equal portions for the 6 colors, and color each piece accordingly. Place on parchment paper and line up similar to step 8, and then roll together. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip (like Ateco 849). Pipe in circular motion, about 1" diameter. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bake at 375 F for about 10 minutes, or until you see light browning along the bottom edges.
- Roll in sparkling sugar for added texture and flavor.
- Create them as a classic butter cookies recipe (no rainbow colors), and dip in melted chocolate. The chocolate coating adds a delicious sweetness against the butter flavor.
FAQ'S
It is similar with only small differences. Butter cookies generally have a higher ratio of butter to flour whereas sugar cookies are generally even. Sugar cookies have leavening agents like baking soda or baking powder whereas butter cookies do not.
Absolutely you can. This recipe doubles beautifully and would be a good idea so you can store some of those colorful cookies for yourself.
Storage
Pre-Bake Storage. It is best to store prior to coloring dough. Wrap twice in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, remove chilled dough and allow to come to room temperature before coloring.
Post Bake Storage. Place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also freeze by placing in a freezer safe container or ziplock bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and allow to come to room temperature before enjoying.
More Recipes To Enjoy
Rainbow Butter Cookies
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Equipment
- stand mixer with paddle attachment
- mixing bowls
- 2 + 3 tbsp ice cream scoops optional
- food color gels
- food safe gloves optional
- rubber spatula
- parchment paper
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ea large egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 - 2 tbsp mik
Instructions
- Using a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and mix until well combined.
- Add all purpose flour and salt to bowl. Mix on low until and dough will come together in a crumbly texture.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to the dough and mix on low until fully absorbed.
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out 6 pieces of cookie dough and place on a plate, or alternatively use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop and scoop out 3 pieces of cookie dough.
- Take first ball of dough and add 1-2 drops of red food dye, and work thoroughly until well combined. Repeat for all colors.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, and press between palms to flatten and expand dough. It should be about 3" - 4" in diameter.
- Remove ½ teaspoon from each colored dough and roll into a cylinder shape. Lay on top of flattened uncolored piece on the far left. You will repeat this process with each color and layer each color piece next to each other.
- Gently fold the uncolored portion of the dough over the colored portioned of the dough, and then use hands to roll into ball until seamed together.
- Coat thoroughly in sprinkles and place on cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper. Place cookies at least 3" apart.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake cookies for 15 minutes, or until you see light browning along edges.
- Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
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