Rainbow Butter Cookies
Soft and buttery just like any classic butter cookie - but with a colorful rainbow twist.
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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.
Notes
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.
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.
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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
