Tie Dye Cookies are colored sugar cookie dough colored to look like tie-dye then sliced and baked for a delicious cookie with tons of color. Use different colors to match any theme or holiday. Kids will love making and eating these cookies!
For the last day of school, I wanted to bring all of the Kindergartner’s one last treat for the year. I was the room mom and tried to bake a cookie or cupcake for every holiday or occasion throughout the year.
Since this was not really a themed event, like St. Patrick’s Day or Christmas, I decided to just play around with color. I have noticed that 6-year-olds are really into crazy-colored food.
Have you seen the scary neon green yogurt? I have quite a collection of food coloring and some new colors that I had never seen in action. (I really don’t know what I am going to do when I do not live so close to a bakery supply store). This is the perfect job for that.
I used my basic sugar cookie dough recipe, but you could easily use pre-made cookie dough. I promise I will not tell. I let William help me pick out the colors and mix them into the dough. Even Daddy got in on the cookie-making fun!
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough – I love making a big batch of my basic sugar cookie dough for this tie dye cookie recipe, but you can also use store bought cookie dough and they will be just as delicious.
- Food Coloring – This is where it gets fun! Choose any colors you need to mix and match your favorite colors for a theme or just for fun. Be sure to use gel color. You would need to use a lot of the liquid color and it would change the consistency of your dough.
Tips & Tricks for Making Tie Dye Cookies
- Chill the dough. Make sure you chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking to keep the cookies from spreading.
- Use various sizes. When making the cookie log, try and use bigger and smaller pieces to change up the colors and make it truly look like tye die.
- When using premade cookie dough. Follow the instructions on any premade cookie dough for baking as times and temperatures may vary.
Why are Tie Dye Cookies So Good?
- Fun with kids! This is the perfect recipe to get your kids familiar with the kitchen. They’ll love choosing the colors and forming the cookies while learning about baking.
- Save yourself time. You can absolutely use pre-made cookie dough for this recipe to save you time and clean up in the kitchen.
- They ae Versatile. Since you can make any color, you can theme them for specific holidays are parties making sure the dessert matches any fun event.
- A quick cookie. Once formed and ready, these cookies take 10 minutes or less to bake.
Variations
- Add a pop of fresh flavor. Give the cookies a citrus twist by adding some lemon or orange extract to the cookie dough.
- Sprinkles. Incorporate some sprinkles inside the dough or place them on top for even more color fun.
- Colored Icing. Make a batch of simple sugar cookie glaze and use any extra food coloring to add a sweet colored glaze to the top of the cookies.
- Make fun shapes. Try spreading out the dough and using cookie cutters to make fun sugar cookie shapes.
How to Store Tie Dye Cookies
Baked and cooled tye die cookies can be stored on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Make-Ahead and Freezer Options
Baked cookies can be stored in the freezer in an airtight freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. To keep them fresh even longer, use a vacuum-sealed bag.
To freeze the raw dough, wrap it in plastic wrap then add to an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before baking.
Tie Dye Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 kg sugar cookie dough
- 5 various food colors
Instructions
- Make colored cookie stations. Separate the dough into as many bowls as colors you want to make for the cookies. Work in as much food coloring as need to get the desired color. I am guessing about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon food coloring per bowl.
- Form the colored cookie dough log. Pinch off pieces of the dough and form a loose log shape on a piece of parchment paper. We did some really little pieces and some larger for variation in the dough. Roll up the cookies in the parchment to form a larger log.
- Slice and bake. Chill the dough for about 2 hours or until firm. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and bake according to the cookie dough recipe. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
- For cut out cookies, you can divide the the dough into small pieces and roll out for cut out cookies. Bake as directed.
Thank you so much for the tips! I think I’m going to try to replicate the rainbow cookies from Ukrops here in Virginia. They’re really good and I think I can do it using these tips if i just use the three classic colors: green, yellow, and red. Then I’ll stack them, roll it into a tube, cut it thinly, and then kinda smear the colors together and bake it. I may use a shortbread recipe though instead of sugar cookie. Do you think that would make a crunchier cookie?
I think so! Shortbread tends to be crisper than sugar cookie dough, so you’ll likely get a crunchier bite. Enjoy and let me know how it went!