FOOD & NUTRITION
Break out some Star Spangled Sugar Cookies
Something to bring that‘s still cute and festive
7/1/2014
Cookies with star sprinkles for the 4th of July.
Flag Cake.
If you‘ve got plans to attend a 4th of July barbecue this holiday weekend, you know at least one person is planning to bring a Flag Cake. It’s cute, it‘s festive, and everyone loves it with its white icing, patch of beautiful blueberries, and rows of sweet strawberries.
But just as no two women want to be seen wearing the same dress at an event, no one wants to hear, “Oh, another Flag Cake” when they arrive at a gathering with bounty in hand.
So here’s a little something to bring that‘s still cute and festive: Star Spangled Sugar Cookies.
Now, if you look at the “cookies Fourth of July” board on Pinterest, you’ll see some miniature works of art. Cut-out cookies frosted with red, white, and blue royal icing. Sparkling fireworks, stars and stripes, chants of “USA” ... an entire gamut of goodies that are too beautiful to eat, which have been made by people with too much time on their hands.
I’m here to make sure you have fun while baking, and that you don’t get so frustrated while making holiday treats that you stop swearing allegiance to the flag and start swearing at me.
These cookies don’t take much more work than the cake, and there‘s no icing that will melt in the heat. No berries will bleed or get mushy. And kids love playing with sprinkles and colored sugars, so this is a great project for them to help with.
This is also an excellent recipe to have on hand for other holidays and events: change the colors of the decorations and the shape of the cookie cutter, and you could make these for baby showers, for Hallowe’en, for Christmas, for Valentine‘s Day.
Oh, the cookie-eating possibilities are endless!
Contact Mary Bilyeu at mbilyeu@theblade.com or 419-724-6155 or on Twitter @foodfloozie.
RECIPES
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons half-and-half, plus extra for brushing
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- red, white, and blue sugars or sprinkles
Star Spangled Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream together butter and sugar; stir in half-and-half, vanilla extract, and egg. Add flour, salt, and baking powder; mix well.
Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead just until dough holds together. Roll out to about 1/3-inch thickness, then use a 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Brush lightly with half-and-half, then sprinkle with colored sugars and/or sprinkles.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges of cookies are just turning golden. Remove to a rack and cool completely.
Makes 24 cookies.
Source: Mary Bilyeu