RAINBOW SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Divide dough into 5 equal parts. Tint each with a different gel food color (red, orange [mix red and yellow], yellow, green, blue), and add 2 tablespoons of the flour to each to keep from becoming overly sticky. (DO NOT EAT RAW COOKIE DOUGH AFTER COMBINING WITH FLOUR.)
• On work surface, place 2 pieces cooking parchment paper. Sprinkle a bit of the remaining flour onto 1 of the pieces of parchment paper. Use rolling pin to roll red dough to 8x3x1/4 inch. Transfer this dough to other piece of parchment paper. Repeat with orange, yellow, green and blue pieces of dough, placing each color on top of the other until they are all stacked in rainbow order--red, orange, yellow, green, blue.
• Use sharp knife to cut edges of dough to even out rectangle. Starting at long side of dough, roll up.
• Sprinkle parchment paper with sparkling sugar. Roll dough gently in sugar until coated. Cut into 1/2-inch slices with sharp knife, then press one side of each round into sparkling sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, sugar side up.
• Bake 7 to 10 minutes or just until set. Cool slightly before removing to cooling rack.

Steps:

• Using a hand mixer or standing mixer, beat butter until creamy.
• Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt. Beat until well combined.
• Gradually, add the flour until dough is moist and holds together, but doesn’t stick to your hands.
• Place dough on a cutting board and form into a ball. Cut in half, then cover one half with plastic wrap and set aside.
• Divide the other half into 6 pieces. The outer layers of the rainbow will need a little bit more dough, so make two of them slightly larger than the others.
• Dye the dough with food coloring by placing a ¼ teaspoon of dye on the ball of dough and kneading it until it is one solid color. Gloves optional but suggested.
• Starting with purple, roll the dough into a log about 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) long. This will be the center of the rainbow.
• Next, roll out the blue dough with a rolling pin until it’s about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, slightly longer than the purple, and wide enough to wrap around the purple dough. Repeat with the green, yellow, orange, and red doughs. The further away from the purple you get, the wider the dough needs to be to go around the previous color, making the red dough the widest.
• Wrap the blue dough around the purple, pinching together any cracks that form, cutting off any excess dough. Repeat with the rest of the colors.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Once chilled, remove the plastic wrap, and cut the dough in half to make 2 rainbow shapes. Set aside.
• Cut the reserved dough in half, roll out to ¼-inch (6 mm) thickness, and make it slightly longer than the rainbow log.
• Place the rainbow dough in the center and wrap the plain dough around it, again, pinching together any cracks and smoothing out the surface.
• Repeat with the other halves. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for another 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Once chilled, remove the plastic wrap. Slice cookies about ½-inch (1 cm) thick and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the bottom has browned slightly.
• Cool on a cooling rack.
• Enjoy!