Easy 4th Of July Cut Out Cookies

"4th of July sugar cookies are a great way to make delicious cookies at home and enjoy a fantastic time with your kids, friends, and family. 4th of July cut out cookies are cute, fun, delicious, and super easy to make. Equipment Needed: Bomb Pop Cookie Cutter Rolling pin Cookie Sheets Parchment Paper Pastry bags Electric mixer / stand mixer For the Cookies: Butter: No cookie recipe is complete without butter. It is that ingredient that makes the cookies buttery and rich and gives them a structure. Make sure you are using unsalted butter for this 4th of July sugar cookie recipe. Sugar: The next main ingredient in these cookies is sugar. You will want to use white granulated sugar, but you can use organic cane sugar or coconut sugar as well if you prefer. Eggs: Eggs make the cookies chewy. They act as a binding agent, and therefore you get perfectly shaped cookies. Use room-temperature eggs when making cookies. Vanilla: vanilla extract adds a sweet flavor to the cookies. Plus, the aroma is divine. If you don’t have vanilla extracts, you can use fresh vanilla from beans as well. Make sure you don’t add too much, as fresh vanilla has a strong flavor. Flour: All-purpose flour works best for this recipe. You can find it in every grocery store. In fact, it is a staple in every kitchen pantry. It sets the base for these cookies. Salt: A dash of salt elevates the sweetness of the cookies and makes them taste more flavorful. For the Icing: Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar or icing sugar is widely used in baking. The reason we use icing sugar for making icing is that granulated sugar doesn’t dissolve like powdered sugar. So you won’t feel bits of sugar in your icing. Cream: The next main ingredient required to make this icing is cream. Plan dairy cream or heavy cream is what you want to use. Half-and-half will work as well too. Vanilla: A dash of vanilla extract elevates the flavor of the icing. Light corn syrup: Light corn syrup is a colorless sweet syrup that not just adds sweetness to the icing but also gives it a texture. It aids in the fast setting. Plus, it also makes the icing shiny and eye-catching. Meringue powder: Most icings require egg whites that are whisked until soft peaks are formed. The egg whites do taste delicious, but it is a long process. I have an amazing shortcut! Instead of adding egg whites to your icing, add meringue powder. It is actually an icing stabilizer that ensures your icing sets faster. It gives it a structure. Also, this powder doesn’t really have a taste of its own. You can easily find it at grocery stores. It works wonders. Food coloring gel: To Decorate the 4th of July Cookies, you will want premium quality food coloring gel. I have used blue and red because these are the colors that represent the occasion. If you are making these cookies on any other occasion, use the color gel most suited to that occasion! In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, and mix until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix again. Add the vanilla, and blend. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and salt, and add a little at a time until all the flour is added, and well blended. Place the dough on a floured surface, and flour a rolling pin. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on top of the dough,and roll the dough to a thin layer. Cut out the Cookies with the Cookie Cutter, repeating until all the dough has been used. Place the cookies on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, and bake for about 12 minutes, at 350 degrees, or until cookies are light golden brown around the edges. Remove the Cookies from the oven, and let the cookies cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, make the icing. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, blend the cream, vanilla and corn syrup. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until it’s all been added, and blended. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, if it’s too thick, and a few more drops of cream, starting with two or three drops. When you have the desired consistency, divide the icing into one larger bowl, and two slightly smaller bowls. Use the larger bowl for the White icing, (No Food Coloring required for the White Icing), and the small bowls for the Red and Blue icing. To color the icing, start with a few drops of the gel food coloring, and mix well. If the color is too light, add a little more and stir well until you get the color desired. No food coloring is added to the white icing. Place the Icing in plastic Pastry bags, and snip off a small amount of the pointed edge, to decorate. When the cookies have completely cooled, decorate with icing. Allow icing to dry, or set. Serve, and Enjoy!"