Festive Soft and Chewy 4th of July Blossom Cookies
Sugar cookies meet patriotic vibes with these 4th of July blossom cookies. Soft and chewy sugar cookie dough rolled in festive sprinkles, baked just until the edges set, then crowned with a peppermint kiss in the center of each cookie while they’re still warm. They deliver everything you want in a festive holiday cookie without a single piping bag in sight. This is the cookie that makes people ask for the recipe. So celebrate 250 years of American freedom this year with red, white, and blue blossom cookies. Full printable recipe card below.
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What are Blossom Cookies?
Blossom cookies started as classic Christmas cookies called peanut blossoms. These cookies are made from a peanut butter cookie and chocolate Hershey kisses. When it comes to cookies, peanut butter blossoms are an OG recipe that have been around for decades. My grandma used to make classic blossom cookies for me all the time and even mailed them to my college dorm room, true story. However, blossom cookies are becoming popular sweet treats for all the holidays!
For these delicious cookies I took an old classic and gave it a little twist. Instead of peanut butter cookies, I used a buttery sugar cookie, rolled it in red, white, and blue sprinkles, and added a peppermint white chocolate kiss for a new holiday cookie.
Cookie Ingredient Notes
These buttery sugar cookies are soft, chewy, and wildly patriotic! They use simple baking ingredients but let’s go over the basics that will produce the best results.
Butter – You will need room temperature butter, preferably real unsalted butter. Butter is the primary fat content in the cookie and needs to combine with the sugars which is easier when it is softened. When the butter is melted it will not combine in the same manner and you will end up with flat thin cookies. Bring the butter up to room temperature before making the cookie dough and do not substitute with margarine.
Sugar – Sugar is one of the key components to all cookie recipes and establishes the ph of the cookie dough. Since these are sugar cookies, this ingredient is required.
Egg – This is your binder for all the wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Not only will it hold everything together, but it will also add moisture to your cookies due to the high water content in the egg whites.
Vanilla – Vanilla rounds out the flavor and makes the cookie taste more complex. Use pure extract, not imitation. You’ll taste the difference.
Almond Extract – This is one ingredient makes a huge difference in the taste. Most households do not stock this in the pantry unless you bake often. BUT almond flavor has a very distinct taste and combined with the vanilla creates a craveable cookie flavor.
Flour – Even though there are several different types of flour and I stock many of them in my pantry, I stick to all purpose flour for making cookies.
Baking Powder – Do you really need this? YES! Baking powder is usually a very small ingredient but a very important ingredient. The baking powder is a leavener that produces carbon dioxide which creates lift and makes puffier cookies and prevents them from spreading too much.
Cornstarch – If you love soft cookies, cornstarch is the secret! It creates a slightly thicker cookie with a soft and chewy consistency.
Cream of Tartar – With a similar effect to cornstarch, this ingredient helps create chewy cookies as it prevents the sugars from crystalizing. This is why cream of tartar is a common ingredient in sugar cookies and snickerdoodles.
Salt – A little bit of salt helps balance out all the sweetness from the sugar in the cookie dough.
Red, white, and blue festive sprinkles – These create your patriotic coating and add visual appeal and a bit of crunch. I have found non pareil sprinkles to work the best as some versions don’t hold up to baking and melt into the cookies. Colored sugar sprinkles worked ok but didn’t give the cookies the same festive flare. You can find patriotic sprinkle mixes in the baking aisle of most grocery stores starting in late May or year round on Amazon.
Peppermint Hershey’s Kisses – The centerpiece of this cookie recipe is the Hershey kisses. They are the festive toppers that sit in the center of each cookie. The peppermint flavor pairs beautifully with the sugar cookie base and adds to the red, white, and blue theme. Peppermint kisses are most commonly sold around Christmas but are available on Amazon all year. You can also use the regular Hershey hugs or traditional chocolate kisses if you aren’t big on peppermint flavor.
Mixing Options
For best results, you will want to use a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer will be the best option to mix all the ingredients.
Creaming the butter and sugar together is one of the most important steps. Cream on medium speed for 3 full minutes. This step is non-negotiable. You’re incorporating air into the fat and sugar, which is what gives the cookies their light, tender texture. The mixture should look fluffy and pale, not grainy. If you stop too early, the cookies will be dense.
Rolling the Cookies
To achieve the signature patriotic look of this cookie you will need to roll the cookie dough balls in red, white, and blue sprinkles. This happens before you bake. This is easiest to do in a small bowl.
Freezing the Kisses and Chilling the Cookies
The best way to make non traditional blossom cookies is to freeze the kisses before you make the cookies. The melting point of white chocolate, dark chocolate, and other chocolate candy is different than the original milk chocolate Hershey kisses. Freezing the kisses allows a little extra time to place the kisses on the hot cookies.
Once the kisses are pressed into the center of each cookie, you need to place the pan in the freezer. This is required if you do not want your kisses to melt into the cookies. Even with frozen kisses, they melt quickly. Chilling in the freezer is needed for 25 minutes.
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Print
Festive Soft and Chewy 4th of July Blossom Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Every 4th of July party needs cookies that look like fireworks. These 4th of July blossom cookies combine a rich buttery sugar cookie with patriotic vibes. Soft and chewy sugar cookie dough rolled in festive sprinkles, baked just until the edges set, then crowned with a peppermint kiss in the center of each cookie while they’re still warm. A classic cookie recipe with a fun twist. They deliver everything you want in a festive holiday cookie without a single piping bag in sight. Celebrate 250 years of American freedom this year with red, white, and blue blossom cookies.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Unsalted Softened Butter (12 tbsp)
- 3/4 cup White Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 Egg
- 2 cup Flour
- 1/2 tsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Red White and Blue Nonpareil Sprinkles
- Frozen Peppermint Hershey's Kisses
Instructions
- Freeze peppermint kisses fully before baking cookies.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- With a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed. Note, the butter must be at room temperature and soft but not melted for this to work. Do not use margarine.
- Add in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, cornstarch, and cream of tartar and whisk until combined.
- Combine flour mixture with wet ingredients one cup at a time, mixing until combined. Do not over mix.
- Using a small cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough), spoon cookie dough into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.
- Shape dough into smooth round balls with your hands. This allows the sprinkles to stick better.
- In a shallow small bowl add 3/4 cup of nonpareil sprinkles and roll cookie dough balls in the sprinkles coating them generously and return to baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cooking times may vary but I find the perfect amount of time in my oven is 12 minutes for soft and chewy cookies.
- Once the cookies are baked, cool for 30 seconds then gently place the peppermint kisses in the center of each cookie and lightly press down.
- Place the pan in the freezer for 25 minutes to prevent the kisses from melting into the cookies.
Notes
- Bake time will vary. I always start at the low end to prevent over cooking.
- Makes about 20 cookies depending on size.
- Do not skip the freeze time. Trust me, I know from experience how this ends.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Freeze Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake, Baking
- Cuisine: American
Looking for more delicious cookie recipes recipes? Check out my chewy peanut butter blossom cookies, copycat Crumbl sugar cookies, chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, chocolate chip cookies without butter, chocolate peanut butter crinkle cookies, or my Halloween s’more snickerdoodle cookies.
Looking for more 4th of July recipes? Try my American flag chocolate brownie fruit pizza, patriotic white wine summer sangria, or my 4th of July chocolate covered Oreo cookies.
Storage
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Because these are a butter sugar cookie, they actually taste better longer than the normal cookies which start to taste stale after 4 days.
When to Make 4th of July Blossom Cookies
These are the perfect sweet treat to bring to your next 4th of July party or backyard BBQ. And even though this red, white, and blue cookie was intended for the 4th of July, these tasty sugar cookies are a great recipe for other patriotic holidays like Memorial day, Labor day, and Veterans day. They would also make a great game day treat if your team has red, white, and blue colors! Swap out the colored sprinkles and make them for other special occasions, holidays, or a cookie exchange. Festive sugar cookies are always so much fun!
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