Unicorn Sugar Cookies

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Homemade Unicorn Sugar Cookies are buttery, sweet, and soft in the center with crispy golden edges. Easy to make and fun to decorate with pretty pastel colors for a unicorn party, Easter, or special celebration.

Easy Unicorn Cookies

Our Unicorn Sugar Cookie recipe is an easy and whimsical way to make a magical sweet treat all dressed up with pastel colors, unicorn sprinkles, a glaze, or glitter dust.

While some unicorn cookie recipes require long chill times for the cookie dough to retain its shape during baking, this cookie dough is so easy to work with and won’t spread much in the oven, even without refrigeration!

With only a handful of ingredients, you can create a soft, buttery cookie with a pretty pastel color palette: simply make the dough, divide it into 4, add gel food color, and roll a bit of each into a ball; then bake your cookies into the best tasting dessert that’s unique like the unicorn.

Why We Love This Easy Unicorn Sugar Cookies Recipe

Quick and easy to make.
Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
Customize with your favorite colors and make it beautifully bright or pretty pastel.
Turns a simple sugar cookie into a magical, sprinkle-covered treat.
Perfectly pretty for a unicorn or princess party, themed birthday bash, baby shower, Easter dessert, or any special event.

Unicorn Sugar Cookies Ingredients

Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Vanilla extract
All-purpose flour
Salt
Sprinkles
Gel food coloring: pink, yellow, blue, purple

Substitutions and Additions

Dreamy Decorations: Use your favorite nonpareil, Unicorn sprinkle mix, colored sanding sugar, or edible glitter to decorate your desserts.
Customize Your Colors: This recipe is so easy to customize for any themed party or holiday. Simply switch up the colors to match your celebration. Make yellow and orange cookies for Halloween, red, pink, and white for Valentine’s Day, or red and green for Christmas.

Recommended Tools

Stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer
Mixing bowls
Cookie scoop
Glass
Baking sheet

How to Make Unicorn Sugar Cookies

Beat The Butter: Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Make The Flour Mixture: Whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
Create The Cookie Dough: Mix the vanilla extract and flour mixture into the butter mixture until fully incorporated and the cookie dough is formed.
Color The Cookie Dough: Divide the dough into 4 balls and mix gel color into each.
Make Multi-Colored Cookies: Roll a bit of each of the 4 colors of dough into 1″ balls, roll in sugar, and place the cookie balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Press flat into a disc shape and top with sprinkles.
Bake: Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to lightly brown.
Serve: Cool and enjoy!

Tips For Making The Best Unicorn Sugar Cookies

Make sure not to over-handle your cookie dough or mix the colors together too much. Gently roll the balls in the palms of your hands and then press the balls down gently with a glass.
Try not to overmix or overbake these cookies. They should be lightly golden on the edges and soft inside.
If you like sweeter cookies you can dip them in cookie glaze and then add sprinkles to the top.
For a final magical touch brush some glitter dust over the cookies after they have cooled!

How to Store Unicorn Sugar Cookies

To Store: These cookies will stay fresh for about 3 days in an airtight container.
To Freeze: You can freeze the cookies after they have cooled completely. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before serving.

More Easy Unicorn Recipes

Unicorn Hot Chocolate

Unicorn Fudge

Unicorn Ice Cream

Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I mix in the gel color with a stand mixer?

If you find it easier to use the stand mixer to add the gel color, you absolutely can! Make sure to mix the colors from lightest to darkest to avoid the colors from mixing and completely scrape the bowl before adding the new color. The gel color is very concentrated so a little goes a long way. Try to mix until just combined so the dough doesn’t get overworked.

Can I use liquid food coloring instead of gel coloring?

No, you should not use liquid food coloring for this recipe. Gel food coloring is much more concentrated so you need fewer drops to achieve your desired color. Plus, less liquid means that the dough will not be watery, so the cookies will retain their soft texture.

5 from 2 votes

Unicorn Cookies

Author — Jennifer Fishkind

Serves —

Unicorn Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery and beautifully decorated with a pretty pastel color palette for your unicorn-themed party.

Print Rate Pin Save

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Ingredients

▢ 1¼ cups unsalted butter softened
▢ 2⁄3 cups granulated sugar plus extra for rolling
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
▢ pinch of salt
▢ assorted sprinkles
▢ gel food coloring- pink yellow, blue, purple

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°.
In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes.
Whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
Add the vanilla extract to the bowl, followed by about a third of the flour mixture, and mix on medium-low until all the flour is incorporated and the cookie dough is formed.
Divide the dough into 4 balls.
Knead gel color into each ball.
Using a cookie scoop add a bit of each of the 4 colors of dough into the scoop and carefully form the dough into 1" balls by gently rolling them together with your hands.
Roll cookie balls in sugar and then place the cookie balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Use a glass to press the cookies down into a disc shape.
Add sprinkles to the top of the cookie discs.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to lightly brown.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool and enjoy!

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:

To Store: These cookies will stay fresh for about 3 days in an airtight container.
To Freeze: You can freeze the cookies after they have cooled completely. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before serving.

Tips:

Make sure not to over-handle your cookie dough or mix the colors together too much. Gently roll the balls in the palms of your hands and then press the balls down gently with a glass.
Try not to overmix or overbake these cookies. They should be lightly golden on the edges and soft inside.
If you like sweeter cookies you can dip them in cookie glaze and then add sprinkles to the top.
For a final magical touch brush some glitter dust over the cookies after they have cooled!

Nutrition Info