These rainbow-bright unicorn cookies are such a fun and easy baking idea! They’re made from my favorite sugar cookie dough colored pink, blue, and purple, and bursting with rainbow sprinkles.
These unicorn sugar cookies bake up thick and soft, and they’re great for parties! Check out more rainbow desserts for inspiration.
Easy Rainbow Unicorn Cookies
These soft-baked and colorful unicorn sugar cookies use my favorite easy sugar cookie dough, dyed bright unicorn colors and filled with rainbow sprinkles. I’ve made variations of this recipe for so many holidays, like my patriotic sugar cookies for the 4th of July, and these monster sugar cookies and candy corn sugar cookies for Halloween. I just love the tye-dye look! These soft-baked unicorn cookies turned out magical, and they were so easy to make.
I’ve also seen these called unicorn poop cookies since the swirls of color and sparkly sprinkles make the cookies look… well… like they came out of a unicorn!
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- They’re easy to make. I use a similar technique before (linked above), this unicorn cookie recipe is even easier. Instead of scooping individual colors, you simply mix the different colored dough in one bowl to create a tye-dye effect.
- Easy to customize. I’m thrilled with how bright and colorful these unicorn cookies turned out. They have swirls of pink, blue, and purple dough, but you can customize these for any color theme. Plus they’re packed with crunchy rainbow sprinkles (like my sprinkle sugar cookies). These are the ultimate unicorn cookies, perfect for the unicorn-obsessed girls and boys in your life.
- Soft-baked. This dough recipe makes thick, soft-batch sugar cookies. While it won’t work for cut-out cookies, it’s great for coloring and filling with sprinkles! I also like to roll the dough in sugar before baking for extra sparkle and crunch.
Ingredient Notes
Along with some baking staples like flour, sugar, etc., these unicorn cookies call for a few key ingredients. I’ve included my notes below. Scroll to the recipe card for the full ingredients list with recipe details.
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter and it should be close to room temperature but not too soft.
- Vanilla – Make sure to use real vanilla extract or vanilla paste and not imitation. You could also use almond extract.
- Cream of Tartar – You’ll often see cream of tartar used in Snickerdoodle cookies. It’s what gives them their signature chewy texture and tang. I like to use it in most of my sugar cookie recipes for that reason! If needed, replace the ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar as an easy substitute.
- Sprinkles – For these unicorn cookies, I use the Fancy Sprinkles Deluxe Rainbow Crunchy Jimmies.
- Food Coloring – I highly recommend gel coloring for the brightest colors (see below). I use the Pink, Royal Blue, and Violet gel colors from this 12-pack by AmeriColor.
What Type of Food Coloring Is Best?
I use concentrated gel colors to dye everything from cookie dough to frosting and cake batter. Since gel colors are highly concentrated, they produce the most vibrant colors without thinning out the dough. You’ll find brands like AmeriColor, Chef Master, and Wilton that offer great options in combo packs and individual colors.
How to Make Unicorn Cookies
I make these as drop cookies, meaning there’s no need to shape or chill the cookie dough before baking. Just follow the steps to color and mix the cookie dough, then scoop and bake. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable instructions.
- Make the cookie dough. Start by creaming softened butter with sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients separately, and slowly mix them into the batter. Add the sprinkles just as the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough. Now, you’ll divide the dough evenly between 4 bowls. Color 3 out of the 4 using the colors of your choice, leaving the last bowl of dough uncolored.
- Mix. Next, add all four dough colors to one large bowl. Using a spoon or your hands (wear gloves!) gently bring the colored dough together to create a tye-dye effect. Overmixing will cause to colors to blend together too much, so handle with care.
- Portion the cookies. Use a medium or large cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls. Roll the dough balls in sugar for crunch or topp with additional sprinkles and arrange them on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake! Place in an oven preheated to 350ºF oven for 10-12 minutes. You want these cookies slightly underbaked, so you can leave them to set up on the baking sheet for a few minutes afterward. Then, move them to a wire rack.
Time-Saving Tip
Short on time? Replace this homemade sugar cookie dough with one (17.5oz) box of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. Follow the package directions to prepare the dough, then color and bake as directed. The baking times will be similar, but keep an eye on the cookies so that they don’t overbake.
Tips for Success
- Wear gloves. Gel colors are potent and will stain hands. I recommend using gloves when mixing and handling the colored dough.
- Don’t overmix the colors. Overmixing the colored cookie dough results in the colors blending and forming new colors. Mix the dough lightly.
- If you find the cookies spread while baking, right when they come out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter (find one larger than the cookie) and place it around the outside edge. Gently rotate the cutter around the edges of the cookies, pushing them back toward the center. You can also reshape the cookies using a spoon or spatula. This trick is to do this while they’re freshly baked.
- Add chocolate chips. For extra texture, stir in white chocolate chips (or any kind you’d like).
- More decorating ideas. Frost these unicorn cookies with rainbow chip frosting or vanilla buttercream dyed pink, blue, or purple to match the cookies. You can borrow the frosting coloring technique from my rainbow cupcakes.
Unicorn Party Ideas
These unicorn sugar cookies are perfect for a unicorn birthday party or even a baby shower. Serve them with a batch of unicorn cupcakes or a rainbow cake. These unicorn hot chocolate bombs make a delicious drink to sip on, or you can wrap them up as party favors!
Make-Ahead
You can prepare the sugar cookie dough up to 2 days ahead of time, scoop the dough and keep it wrapped or covered in the fridge. Otherwise, freeze the cookie dough in an airtight container and thaw it to room temperature before baking.
How to Store
- On the counter. Store the baked unicorn cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freeze. You can also freeze these cookies airtight for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature.
More Sugar Cookie Recipes
- Rainbow Cookies
- Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
- Fruity Pebble Sugar Cookies
- Lucky Charms Cookies
- Cookie Monster Cookies
Unicorn Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 18-20 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Rainbow-bright unicorn cookies are a fun and easy baking idea made from colored sugar cookie dough bursting with rainbow sprinkles. These unicorn sugar cookies bake up thick and soft. They’re great for parties!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (285g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (420g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2g) cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon (1.2g) salt
- ½ cup sprinkles
- Gel colors (Pink, Royal Blue, and Violet)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine the butter with the sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed together. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix the butter and sugar until the eggs are well beaten.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add into the batter and beat on medium-low speed until well combined and the dough starts to form, then add the sprinkles and finish mixing to incorporate.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal-sized balls. Leave one bowl uncolored and dye the remaining 3 using colors of your choice. Work the color into the dough with a spatula or by hand. Place all four doughs into a large bowl and lightly mix with a spoon or by hand to create a tie-dye effect. Overmixing will result in the colors blending and forming new colors.
- Use a medium or large cookie scoop and portion the dough. Roll each ball of dough in granulated sugar or add additional sprinkles and then place each one about 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 350° F for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookie to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
Notes
- I prefer the look of these as a medium-sized cookie as opposed to large.
- When mixing the dough by hand, please wear food-safe gloves, as the dyes are very concentrated.
- Cream of tartar substitute: If needed, replace the ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar in this cookie recipe with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
- Make ahead and storage options: Prepare the dough ahead of time, scoop and leave it in the refrigerator or freezer. If it’s more than 48 hours, I recommend freezing the dough in an airtight container. Thaw to room temperature prior to baking. Finished cookies can be frozen and stored in an airtight container.
- Storing finished cookies: These can be stored at room temperature for 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months
- If you find the cookies are spreading too thin, try refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes. Working the dough with your hands causes the butter to further soften.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 232
- Sugar: 17.6 g
- Sodium: 69.6 mg
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.2 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 43 mg
