Tie Dye Cookies are colored sugar cookie dough colored to look like tie-dye then sliced and baked for a delicious cookie with tons of color. Use different colors to match any theme or holiday. Kids will love making and eating these cookies!
For the last day of school, I wanted to bring all of the Kindergartner’s one last treat for the year. I was the room mom and tried to bake a cookie or cupcake for every holiday or occasion throughout the year.
Since this was not really a themed event, like St. Patrick’s Day or Christmas, I decided to just play around with color. I have noticed that 6-year-olds are really into crazy-colored food.
Have you seen the scary neon green yogurt? I have quite a collection of food coloring and some new colors that I had never seen in action. (I really don’t know what I am going to do when I do not live so close to a bakery supply store). This is the perfect job for that.
I used my basic sugar cookie dough recipe, but you could easily use pre-made cookie dough. I promise I will not tell. I let William help me pick out the colors and mix them into the dough. Even Daddy got in on the cookie-making fun!
Ingredients //
- Sugar Cookie Dough – I love making a big batch of my basic sugar cookie dough for this tie dye cookie recipe, but you can also use store bought cookie dough and they will be just as delicious.
- Food Coloring – This is where it gets fun! Choose any colors you need to mix and match your favorite colors for a theme or just for fun. Be sure to use gel color. You would need to use a lot of the liquid color and it would change the consistency of your dough.
How to Color Cookie Dough // The Steps
- Make colored cookie stations. Separate the dough into as many bowls as colors you want to make for the cookies. Work in as much food coloring as need to get the desired color. I am guessing about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon food coloring per bowl.
- Form the colored cookie dough log. Pinch off pieces of the dough and form a loose log shape on a piece of parchment paper. We did some really little pieces and some larger for variation in the dough. Roll up the cookies in the parchment to form a larger log.
- Slice and bake. Chill the dough for about 2 hours or until firm. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and bake according to the cookie dough recipe. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
- For cut out cookies, you can divide the the dough into small pieces and roll out for cut out cookies. Bake as directed.
Tips & Tricks for Making Tie Dye Cookies //
- Chill the dough. Make sure you chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking to keep the cookies from spreading.
- Use various sizes. When making the cookie log, try and use bigger and smaller pieces to change up the colors and make it truly look like tye die.
- When using premade cookie dough. Follow the instructions on any premade cookie dough for baking as times and temperatures may vary.
Why are Tie Dye Cookies So Good? //
- Fun with kids! This is the perfect recipe to get your kids familiar with the kitchen. They’ll love choosing the colors and forming the cookies while learning about baking.
- Save yourself time. You can absolutely use pre-made cookie dough for this recipe to save you time and clean up in the kitchen.
- They’re Versatile. Since you can make any color, you can theme them for specific holidays are parties making sure the dessert matches any fun event.
- A quick cookie. Once formed and ready, these cookies take 10 minutes or less to bake.
Variations //
- Add a pop of fresh flavor. Give the cookies a citrus twist by adding some lemon or orange extract to the cookie dough.
- Sprinkles. Incorporate some sprinkles inside the dough or place them on top for even more color fun.
- Colored Icing. Make a batch of simple sugar cookie glaze and use any extra food coloring to add a sweet colored glaze to the top of the cookies.
- Make fun shapes. Try spreading out the dough and using cookie cutters to make fun sugar cookie shapes.
How to Store Tie Dye Cookies //
Baked and cooled tye die cookies can be stored on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Make-Ahead and Freezer Options //
Baked cookies can be stored in the freezer in an airtight freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. To keep them fresh even longer, use a vacuum-sealed bag.
To freeze the raw dough, wrap it in plastic wrap then add to an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before baking.
More Fun Cookie Recipes //
Tie Dye Cookies
Tie Dye Cookies are colored sugar cookie dough colored to look like tie-dye then sliced and baked for a delicious cookie with tons of color. Use different colors to match any theme or holiday. Kids will love making and eating these cookies!
Ingredients
- sugar cookie dough
- various food colors
Instructions
- Separate the dough into as many bowls as colors you want to make for the cookies.
- Work in as much food coloring as need to get the desired color. I am guessing about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon food coloring per bowl.
- Pinch off pieces of the dough and form a loose log shape on a piece of parchment paper. We did some really little pieces and some larger for variation in the dough.
- Roll up the cookies in the parchment to form a log.
- Chill the dough for about 2 hours or until firm. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and bake according to the recipe.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 5Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 4mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only.
This Post Has 43 Comments
These are ADORABLE!! I love them! Such a cute idea!
Thanks Dangler!
1. I was just about to ask if you make them wear clothes that match the food when I got to your sentence about Ava. That made me laugh.
2. I really, really try to be ok with food coloring, but it kind of gives me the willies. Something creepy about it when food is not any color found in nature I guess. (Speaking of yogurt: scooby-do yogurt )
3. And yet I find that I have to make these. My kids clothes won’t match the cookies—they can’t even match their shirts with their shorts. But these are absolutely fun! And WAY easier than cutting out sugar cookies. I’m all about simple!
food coloring can wig me out too. The amount is so small for the impact. My kids will eat more things when they are funky colors, so I let me weirdness over the food coloring go. Now I have a collection of gel food colorings in my pantry. Have fun and take some pictures!
These look so fun Bree! The kids asked if I can make them right now when I showed them the picture. lol…will definitely try the recipe.
My 7 year old niece saw your email and got all excited about the cookies! We will make them on her next visit!
send me a picture if you do!
Oh my, how kid-friendly! They must gobble these cookies up!
they were really fun to make too.
I agree that these cookies are majorly kid-friendly! How fun! It all looks like edible Play-doh! YUM!
Now I want to make Play Doh with the kids, they had so much fun making these.
OH MY GOSH! These are adorable! I want some.. RIGHT NOW!!!
they are cute AND taste good.
My kids are going to be tie-dying t-shirts this week. I think your post is a sign for me to make cookies to match the occasion!
can we play at your house? Sounds like a fun day!
These baked up perfect. We are now calling them play-dough cookies!
Aren’t they fun? So glad that Alice liked them.
Hi Bree,
Love your site. Had a question about the sugar cookie dough recipe. I know you said using butter extract was optional, if I leave it out since I don’t have that ingredient on hand will it make the cookie taste different?
Thank you.
Ruth
I try it with out an it still taste the same
This is just brilliant! The girls and I had a blast making them. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
Wowwww. These are amazing. I feel like a little kid looking at these. You’ve got me mesmerized. Haha. I’ve used the same idea with pancakes but never cookies. Bookmarked! Thanks for inspiring me to steal your idea and flaunt it as mine to the kids. 😀
Aren’t they fun? I think that they would be perfect for Christmas in red, green and white.
In addition to the cookies looking very tasty, your shots are beautiful! What camera do you use?
thank you Abby, I use a D700. More info under the photography tab.
:3 I think I’ll try this tactic with Sugar cookies for my Halloween party. Everyone is 21 +, but hey, even we adults love some funky cookies, and my sugar cookies are already a hit, so colorful ones could only make them better. ;3
Everyone loves a fun cookie.
Thanks for the super fun recipe. We had such a great time making these yesterday! Also, I can’t get over how tiny your kiddos are in this post!
I know! They have gotten so big. I am so glad that you guys had fun making these. Yours turned out so much prettier than mine!
Just happened to stumble upon this recipe and am OBSESSED! I have been looking for a great recipe and this is my new favorite! I used more neon colors to make mine and they came out so bright and beautiful. Have you ever made a cookie cake with this recipe? I need to make one for a birthday but have no idea how long to bake them and at what temp. Would you know?
I have never made a cookie cake, but I am sure that there are a million recipes out there for it.
I’m the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your awesome cookie project! You can see it here:
https://funfamilycrafts.com/tie-dye-cookies/
If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful dea!
Thanks for letting me know.
I like the fun look of these cookies, and even though I live in, and work in, a strictly adult world, my professional coworkers-with-childlike-minds would truly enjoy these! We work in the Intensive Care Unit of our hospital (the unit has earned its name, trust me!), and lately we’ve seen an increase in many sad things; I think it’s time to bring some happy colors–and some great taste–to the unit.
I’m thinking that I”m going to put cream cheese frosting on them, then top that with bright-colored candy sprinkles–oooh, better yet, mini M’s! Love M’s!!
Thanks Bree, for the recipe and colored dough idea; this will be utterly fun for all of us here!!!
Yes! Tie Dye cookies have to make people smile!
Love it ! every one liked it…
This is such a great idea. I am thinking red and green cookies for Christmas!
Great idea!
I’m a mom with 2 little girls at home, 6 & 8. Being an over the road truck driver, my time at home with them is precious and I always try to do something fun. This is perfect! They love to get in the kitchen with me to make anything and these would be another wonderful memory!
This is a great activity for you then. Something to DO and something to EAT.
these are so cool !
I made theses for my school bake sale and they sold out in two in hours.
This is real good idea
I’m so glad.
I’m making these for my teacher book fair preview! The theme is peace love and books 🙂 I used your sugar cookie recipe. Question, it says chill over night and then you say to chill two hours after you make the tie dye log, or should I only chill once? I was going to chill it plain overnight and color and bake in the morning… What should I do?
That should work, you need to chill the log so that you can slice it cleanly.