Looking for a sweet slice of summertime? Give these watermelon sugar cookies a try. These adorable chewy and delicious cookies are decorated with pink, green and white icing and dotted with mini chocolate chips.
Summer is filled with sunshine, fruity flavors and fun. These watermelon themed sugar cookies are an adorable addition as a July 4th dessert, Memorial day dessert, Cookout dessert and more.
Decorated sugar cookies like these are easy to make themed for different occasions just like these snowflake sugar cookies or these bunny sugar cookies.
We were so excited to work on this fun recipe using our tried and true sugar cookie base and then coming up with the perfect icing decorations. And, these are easy enough for even the unartistic amongst us. Plus, they only take about an hour total to make.
Ingredients
for sugar cookies:
- Sugar
- Butter - softened + unsalted
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Flour
For icing and decorations:
- Sugar
- Meringue powder
- Vanilla
- Water
- Corn Syrup
- Mini Chocolate Chips
- Pink food coloring
- Green food coloring
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
Missing a few ingredients and/or want to change things up a little? Here area a few substitutions and variations we have tried.
- Watermelon flavor - instead of using vanilla extract, substitute it for watermelon flavoring both in the cookie and icing.
- Store bought cookies - if you wanna make these even faster, use store-bought sugar cookie dough to get started.
Love watermelon themed desserts? Try these watermelon rice krispie treats or these watermelon cupcakes.
Instructions
Follow these easy step by step instructions to bake up and decorate a batch of these watermelon decorated sugar cookies for yourself.
Step one: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Step two: Add sugar and softened butter to mixing bowl. Cream on medium high for 2 - 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Step three: Add in vanilla and egg. Mix on medium until well combined.
Step four: add in flour and use paddle attachment to mix together until dough balls up and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Step five: lightly flour surface and roll dough out about ½ - ⅝ of an inch thick. Cut circles then, slice each circle in half. Continue re-rolling dough scraps and cutting more circles until all the dough is used.
Step six: move cutout cookies onto baking sheets and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Step seven: for the icing, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder and vanilla. Mix on low for 30 seconds with paddle attachment. Add in some water and continue mixing. Increase speed to medium for 20 3 minutes until it is very stiff. Transfer to another bowl and cover with damp paper towel.
Step eight: in the mixing bowl, combine the rest of the powdered sugar, water , vanilla and the corn syrup. Mix on low using the whisk attachment.
Step nine: combine both icing mixtures into one bowl and whisk until smooth. Add water if needed to thin. Scoop icing up and allow it to drop into bowl - it should reincorporate in 12 - 15 seconds. If it does it too fast, add more sugar; too slow, add another dash of water.
Step ten: Divide icing into three bowls. Use pink food coloring in and green in another and leave the third white. Add each color to it's own piping bag.
Step eleven: take the green icing and pipe a thick border on the curved side of each cookie.
Step twelve: take the white icing and make a think line of it just inside the green icing.
Step thirteen: fill in the rest of the semi-circle with pink icing. And immediately set in a few mini chocolate chips.
Hint: when adding the pink icing, you can use a toothpick to help the pink settle into the cookie evenly.
Recipe Tips for Success
- Icing consistency - make sure your icing is the perfect consistency. Too thin and it can run off the edges; too thick and it won't spread well enough. It should reincorporate itself when lifted and drizzled into the bowl within 12 - 15 seconds. Use water to thin it and sugar to thicken it.
- Allow cookies to cool - don't ice the cookies until they are completely cooled otherwise the icing will run off the edges of the cookies.
- Don't stack too soon - once you have iced them, the icing needs to fully set before stacking them. Allow 24 hours for this.
- Don't overbake - they are ready when the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny. The center will continue to set once removed from the oven. If you overbake they will get very hard.
Storage
Cookies can be kept for 5 - 7 days in the fridge if they are in an airtight container. Or, they can be frozen for 6 months. Make sure to flash freeze them before packaging so that the icing doesn't smudge or get stuck together.
Watermelon Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Mixing bowl
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Round Cookie Cutter
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Rolling Pin
- Spatula
Ingredients
for sugar cookies
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Butter unsalted + softened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 Eggs
- 3 cups Flour
For icing and decorations:
- 4 cups Sugar divided
- 2 tablespoons Meringue Powder
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla divided
- ½ - ¾ cup Water Divided
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- Pink food coloring
- Green food coloring
- Mini Chocolate chips
Instructions
For sugar cookies;
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add 1 cup softened butter and 1 cup of sugar to mixing bowl and cream together on medium/high for 2 - 3 minutes or until fluffy and light.
- Add in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and mix until combined.
- Use the paddle attachment for the mixer and add in 3 cups of flour. Mix until dough balls up and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You can knead by hand if it's too tough for the mixer.
- Lightly flour a surface and roll the dough out ½ - ⅝ of an inch thick.
- Cut into circles and cut each circle in half to make semi-circles.
- Take any scraps, reroll and continue making more semi-circles until all dough is used.
- Move cookies to baking sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
For icing and decorations:
- Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of meringue powder and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Use paddle attachment and mix on low for 30 seconds.
- Add in 3 teaspoons of water and continue mixing until well combined.
- Increase speed to medium for another 2 - 3 minutes until icing is very stiff. Transfer to another bowl and cover with a damp paper towel.
- In the mixing bowl, combine the other 2 cups of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of corn syrup, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix on low with whisk attachment until well combined.
- Combine the two icing mixtures into one bowl and whisk until smooth.
- You should be able to scoop icing and drop it back into the bowl - having it re-incorporate in 12 - 15 seconds. Too fast - add more sugar; too slow - add more water.
- Divide the icing into three separate bowls. Add pink food coloring to one, green food coloring to another and leave the last white.
- Transfer the icing to three separate piping bags. Snip a tiny bit off each end of the piping bag as you get ready to use it.
- Start with the green icing and pipe a thick border on the curved side of each cookie.
- Then, use the white icing and pipe a line inside the green.
- Finally, fille the remaining part of the cookie with pink icing. Use a toothpick to help the icing settle if needed.
- Set a few mini chocolate chips into the pink icing on each cookie.
Notes
- Icing consistency - make sure your icing is the perfect consistency. Too thin and it can run off the edges; too thick and it won't spread well enough. It should reincorporate itself when lifted and drizzled into the bowl within 12 - 15 seconds. Use water to thin it and sugar to thicken it.
- Allow cookies to cool - don't ice the cookies until they are completely cooled otherwise the icing will run off the edges of the cookies.
- Don't stack too soon - once you have iced them, the icing needs to fully set before stacking them. Allow 24 hours for this.
- Don't overbake - they are ready when the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny. The center will continue to set once removed from the oven. If you overbake they will get very hard.
- Watermelon flavor - use watermelon flavoring in place of the vanilla extract.
- Make them faster - use store bought sugar cookie dough instead of making your own. These will be a little fluffier.
- Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 - 7 days.
- Flash freeze then package for up to 6 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is just an estimate and may vary based on specific ingredients used.
