Celebrate Independence Day with a beachy twist! These 4th of July cookies are equal parts festive and fun, featuring summery designs like flip flops, shells, surfboards, and palm trees—all decorated in patriotic red, white, and shades of blue. Whether you’re hosting a backyard BBQ or heading to the beach, these cookies are sure to spark joy and plenty of compliments.

Ingredients:

Classic Sugar Cookie Dough (No Spread):

1 Cup / 2 Sticks (226g) Unsalted Butter (softened to Room Temperature)

1 Cup (212g) Granulated Sugar

1 Large Egg (at Room Temperature)

3 Cups (380g) All-Purpose Flour

3 Tablespoons (30g) Cornstarch

1 Teaspoon (8g) Salt

2 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract 

1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Butter Extract

1⁄2 Teaspoon (2g) Baking Powder 


Royal Icing:

2 Lbs Powdered Sugar

3/4 Cup Warm Water

5 Tablespoons Chefmaster Deluxe Meringue Powder

1 Tablespoon Clear Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup (Optional)

Chefmaster White Food Coloring


Tools & Utensils:

Kitchen Scale

Measuring Cups & Spoons

Stand Mixer or electric mixer

Bowls

Spatulas

Cookie Baking Sheets

Parchment paper (or silicone baking mats)

Cookie cutter (or Sharp Knife)

Tipless Pastry bags

Preparation:

1. Cut your butter into small squares (about ½ to ¾ inch) and set aside to soften.
2. Prepare and measure the rest of your ingredients.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Prepare your Cutout Cookies:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Using a paddle attachment, beat your butter and sugar on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. The time it takes may be less or more here. The color will lighten and become a pale yellow. Try to avoid over-mixing here.
3. Add your egg, vanilla, almond, and butter extract until just barely combined. (Can substitute or add flavorings at this step if desired) Scrape the sides of the bowl and re-beat them together if necessary.
4. Beat in the flour mixture to your wet ingredients a 1/2 cup - 1 cup at a time until the dough starts to form. Once all flour is combined, the texture should not be sticky (but will be soft) and should form a ball easily. If it is still sticky to the touch, add a bit more flour a tablespoon at a time. Humidity and weather can affect your flour amounts.
5. Form dough into a ball and split it into 2 equal parts for easier roll out further on. Skip to step 7 if you aren't going to "development chill".
6. Roll between lightly floured parchment or cling wrap at your desired thickness and chill dough in the refrigerator or freezer for a minimum of 3 hours up to 12 hours. This is my recommended "development chill" process to let the ingredients settle together.
7. Take out your cold dough, cut out shapes and "quick freeze" in the freezer once more until they are firm before baking. This should only be a few minutes depending on your freezer temperature. You may also do this in the fridge.
8. For your leftover dough, while it is workable (but still cold) and cut more shapes. If your dough becomes too soft, quick freeze for a couple minutes. Try to refrain from rolling dough more than 3-4 times as it can add air bubbles and cause spreading.
9. Remove your chilled shapes and immediately bake for 7-10 minutes and remove when the cookies turn matte, and you no longer see a sheen. The sheen is from the butter! Baking time should be around 7-8 minutes for 1/4" and 8-10 for 3/8" or 5/16". Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then flip the cookies over (top side down) onto the baking sheet and leave to continue cooling for 10 minutes. My secret for super flat cookies! Or you may also take a flat spatula and carefully press onto the tops of the cookies in a circular motion to remove any potential puffing.
10. Place on a cooling rack until completely cool to the touch before decorating.

Make your Royal Icing:

1. Using a Whisk attachment, whisk together your meringue powder and warm water until it resembles a frothy foam on speed
2. Once foamed/bubbly and your cream of tartar and vanilla until combined.
3. Slowly add in your powdered sugar a cup at a time until all your powdered sugar is added. Start on low and then slowly increase your mixer speed to medium high or speed 6 for a few minutes. The strength of your mixer will ultimately depend on how long you reach the stiff peaks.
4. While your mixer is on, add in the corn syrup and white food coloring and mix for another minute.
5. Once finished mixing, your results should be a thick and fluffy royal icing. It should not have any flow to it, aka. stiff peaks.
6. Check for consistency:
   1. Thick piping: stiff peaks, like toothpaste
   2. Outline: 15–20 second consistency
   3. Flood: 10 second consistency
7. Divide into bowls and color as needed with gel food coloring. 
   1. For this set, you will need red, navy blue, royal blue, light blue, white, green, brown, and tan.
   2. Check out our Royal Icing 4th of July Color Palette blog to learn how to make some of these colors.

Decorate your Cookies:

1.       Surfboards:

• Outline and flood half the cookie with white and let it dry, then flood the other half. Let dry completely.
• Pipe wavy red, royal blue and light blue lines diagonally to create a retro design.
• Optional: While still slightly wet (dry on top) use a scraper and scrap the wavy lines off for a weathered and textured look

2.       4th of July Plaques

• Outline and Flood with white icing and let dry.
• Pipe “4” in red, “TH” in pale blue, and “July” in navy script, “of” in tan script. Outline first, add a squiggle of icing and let dry then flood. This helps to prevent craters.
• Optional: Finish with a golden luster for the “of” to add more detail.

3.       Palm Trees

• Outline the trunk and add individual bark lines. Fill in alternating with flood and once it has started to dry - fill in the remaining. 
• Pipe the palm fronds with stiff green icing, then flood. Let dry completely. 
• Add a center line of navy blue with stiff icing and continue it down the trunk. This will be the lights. Add red, white, and royal blue “light” dots for the individual lights.

4.       Flip Flops

• One flip flop: Outline and flood in Royal blue
• Second flip flop: Outline and flood red and white striped design. Use a wet-on-wet technique. 
• Once dry, pipe white sandal straps on top and draw or pipe on white stars using an edible white marker. You may also create icing transfer of the sandal strap on parchment paper then place on with some wet icing as glue.

5.       Shells

• Outline with white and add curved arcs in red and blue.
• Flood individual sections and let dry before moving to the next. Use a scribe tool for clean lines. Once your blue and red are dry, flood the remaining space with white.

6.       Jean Shorts

• Outline all the different sections and flood with light blue icing and allow to dry. Do each section separately.
• Add one striped pocket and light blue pocket. 
• Decorate with stars using an edible white marker (or a small paint brush dipped into Chefmaster Bright White Liqua-gel food coloring).
• Add a small “leather” patch on the belt part of the shorts. Once dry (optional) and USA 1776 using stiff brown icing.

Tips for Successful 4th of July Cookies

• Tipless piping bags = smoother lines. Cut your piping bags against the seam to create a rounder edge for the icing to come out from. 
• Layer drying & doing sections helps prevents bleeding
• Use a scribe or needle tool for precision
• Add shimmer with edible luster dust brushed over white icing or mix into the white before piping
• Use a fan or dehydrator in humid climates to help icing set quicker and create a smooth and glossy effect

Download the Cookie Designs & Outlines

Do you want to recreate this exact set? We’ve got you covered!

• Download the template pack with printable outlines, cutter references, and decorating guides to help you plan each cookie design:
  • Click here to download the 4th of July Cookie Set Template Pack (Includes: surfboard, flip flops, shorts, plaque, shell, palm tree outlines + color guides!)
• Print it, trace it, or use it as a reference while decorating. If you have similar cutters or want to use different shapes - feel free to change it up and make it unique.

Great for beginners and planners alike!