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Summer Sugar Cookies

Summer sugar cookies with a buttery, golden-crisp snap and a tender center, finished with sky-blue and coral royal icing. Cut into summer shapes, baked at 375°F, then flooded and fully dried before detailed piping and pearl sprinkle accents.
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Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Chill + flood-dry time (1 hr chill, 2 hr icing dry) 2 hours 2 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 41 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 220
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.75 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Cookie base
  • 1 lb unsalted butter, softened
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Royal icing
  • 3 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp meringue powder
  • 0.25 cup water
Decoration
  • 1 Gel food coloring (sky blue, coral, yellow)
  • 1 edible flowers and pearl sprinkles

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make the cookie dough
  1. Cream softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Scrape the bowl as needed so the mixture looks light and evenly combined.
  2. Beat in egg and vanilla until the dough base is smooth and glossy. Mix just until no streaks of egg remain.
  3. Mix in all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until a dough forms. Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears.
Chill, roll, and cut
  1. Chill the dough for 1 hour until firm. Keep it covered so it doesn’t dry out.
  2. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into summer shapes. Re-roll scraps once and aim for even thickness for consistent baking.
Bake
  1. Place the cut cookies on a sheet pan and chill for 10 minutes before baking to help them hold their shape. Bake at 375°F for 8–9 minutes until lightly golden at the edges.
  2. Cool the cookies completely on the pan or a rack. Wait until fully cooled before icing so the royal icing doesn’t melt or smear.
Flood with royal icing
  1. Prepare royal icing by mixing powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water until it reaches a floodable consistency. Divide the icing and tint with gel food coloring (sky blue, coral, yellow).
  2. Flood the cooled cookies with the colored royal icing and let them dry for 2 hours until set. Let the surface become firm before any detail piping.
Decorate
  1. Pipe additional detail over the dried flood icing using contrasting colors from the gel food coloring. Aim for clean lines and keep pressure consistent.
  2. Add edible flowers and pearl sprinkles to finish the decorations. Place them while the piping is still tacky so they adhere.

Notes

Pro tip: chill cut cookies 10 minutes before baking to maintain sharp edges, and keep detail work until the base flood icing is fully dry so decorations don’t bleed. Store decorated cookies in a single layer or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; for longer keeping, refrigerate up to 5 days (bring to room temperature before serving). Freeze baked, undecorated cookies up to 2 months; thaw completely, then ice and decorate.