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Buttery sugar cookies with a tender snap, decorated with glossy royal icing in patriotic colors. Perfect for holidays and parties, these cookies hold their shape well, dry smoothly, and stay fresh at room temperature.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 cups (500g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6 tablespoons warm water (plus more as needed)
  • Gel food coloring (red and blue)

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
  2. Cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes).
  3. Beat in the egg and vanilla until fully blended.
  4. Gradually fold in the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms; shape into a flat disc, wrap tightly, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  6. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll chilled dough to ¼-inch thickness; use a 3-inch round cutter to cut circles and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
  7. Optional: Freeze cut dough shapes on trays until solid, transfer to bags, and when ready to bake, bake from frozen adding about 1 minute to the bake time.
  8. Bake the cookies 8–10 minutes until the edges are set and just turning light golden; cool on the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  9. Combine sifted powdered sugar, meringue powder, and warm water in a large bowl and beat on high for 5–7 minutes until the icing holds stiff peaks.
  10. Divide the icing into three bowls; leave one white and tint the other two with red and blue gel food coloring.
  11. Thin the white icing with drops of warm water to a 10-second flood consistency and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
  12. Pipe an outline around each cookie, flood the interior with the thinned white icing, and use a toothpick or scribe tool to even out the surface; let the base layer dry at room temperature at least 6 hours or overnight.
  13. Fill two piping bags fitted with small round tips with the red and blue icing and pipe short lines radiating from the center of each cookie, adding dots at the ends of some lines to mimic fireworks.
  14. Let the decorated cookies dry completely at room temperature before handling or packaging.

Notes

Chill dough at least 1 hour to prevent spreading and keep sharp edges., Use gel food coloring to avoid thinning royal icing and to ensure proper drying., Fully dried iced cookies keep well at room temp for up to a week; avoid refrigeration to maintain icing texture., For crisper edges, substitute half the butter with shortening, but all butter yields best flavor., Bake cookies at 350°F for 8–10 minutes until edges just turn light golden for tender-chewy centers., Practice piping fireworks designs on parchment before decorating cookies., Allow flooded icing to dry naturally overnight without fans or dehydrators for a glossy finish., Freeze cut dough shapes to bake fresh later, adding one minute to baking time when baking from frozen.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://margorecipes.com/fireworks-sugar-cookies-patriotic-dessert-to-bake-ahead-of-time-emmas-cake-studio/