Cut Out Cookies don’t have to be reserved for the holidays.  These Flamingo and Ice Cream Cut Out Cookies have a Strawberry Rhubarb Icing that screams Summer-time!

When Everett was gifted a few new cookie cutters for his birthday, he wanted to get right into the kitchen and start baking.  I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for a hot kitchen and a lengthy Summer baking session. What we came up with together was well worth a few drops of sweat and the flour dusting around the kitchen and in my hair.

Everett wanted bright pink cookies, of course… because we had flamingo and ice cream cookie cutters AND his favorite color is PINK! So I brainstormed with a friend on how to naturally dye our royal icing pink, she handed me a tiny packet of beet powder (normally used for a vitamin supplement).  Then, I also browsed through my fridge for pink foods… finding a small jar of homemade strawberry rhubarb jam that might just do the trick.  The result was a perfectly pink hue of icing that also tasted amazing… better than any royal icing I’d had before.  Mid-winter (when we normally bake off a big batch of cut out cookies) we would have never came up with this!

Hope you enjoy these fun Summery cookies as much as we do!

About the Recipe

• In effort to not jump into a full-on cut out cookie session like we would during the Christmas season I halved the recipe.  The only difficulty with that is that you only need 1/2 egg.  For this I just whisked up one egg and only used half of it. If you want to make a large batch of cut out cookies double the recipe and use 1 whole egg.

• I’ve had many friends ask me about cut out cookies and how to get them to hold their shape.  The key is to keep the dough cold.  I roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time and keep the rest in the fridge.  Then once the cookies are cut out I also let them sit in the freezer on their baking tray for a bit (at least 10 minutes before baking them off.  This should ensure that my recipe will produce cookies that don’t spread out and keep their fun shapes.

• You may need to play with the icing a little bit to get the right consistency. Also, make sure to let it dry completely and harden before storing the cookies away.

• You can find beet powder at most natural food stores as a vitamin supplement.  It comes in a tiny packet and costs just a couple dollars or less.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cut Out Cookies

These Summery Cut Out Cookies are topped with a fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Royal Icing that gives the cookies a real fruit flavor. 

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 17 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cookies

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 stick butter, 4 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 egg*
• 1 tablespoons milk or almond milk
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Strawberry Rhubarb Royal Icing

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons strawberry rhubarb jam
• 2 tablespoons milk or almond milk
• 1 pinch beet powder*
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

 

• Sift together the dry ingredients.
• In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light; add the 1/2 egg, milk, and almond extract and beat well. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix just until blended. 
• Wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degree and prepared a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• On a lightly floured board, roll out one third of the dough at a time (keeping the rest in the fridge). Roll to about 1/4 to 1/6 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters. 
• Put shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. (Keep remaining cut out cookies in the freezer on a lined baking sheet until the first batch comes out). Let cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to racks to cool completely before icing.  

Strawberry Rhubarb Royal Icing

• In a small bowl wish together the icing ingredients adding more sugar or more milk to reach desired consistency.  The icing should be a little thicker than heavy cream. 
• Spoon out the icing over the cooled cookies, spreading with the back of your spoon. Let dry completely then store in an air tight container (if layering, use parchment paper in between layers). 

Notes

You can find beet powder in health food stores.  It comes in a small packet and is most commonly used as a supplement but works great to naturally die foods pink.

For the 1/2 egg whisk 1 whole egg then use 1/2 of it for the recipe. 

More Summer Cookie Recipes

Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nutella No Bake Cookies

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

For this Recipe you’ll need