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Slice and Bake Rainbow Sugar Cookies

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There aren’t any skittles in these slice and bake rainbow sugar cookies but you can practically taste the rainbow.

Taste the rainbow with these simple slice and bake rainbow cookies perfect for St. Patrick's Day or National Pride Month!

I have a confession to make. I have a YouTube video problem. Specifically a YouTube food video problem. I can absolutely without a doubt fall down the rabbit hole of food videos while working and the next thing I know it’s 3pm and I can’t remember if I’ve eaten lunch or not.

There’s just something so satisfying and awe inspiring about watching someone make a 6 tiered cake that looks like a palm tree. Or decorating a cookie to look like a snow globe. Or creating a life sized bottle of Fanta out of chocolate. Who doesn’t want a life sized bottle of Fanta made out of chocolate?!

But what really sucked me into the world of YouTube food videos were these beautiful rainbow heart slice and bake sugar cookies. This talented YouTuber combines math and sugar cookie dough in a marriage that makes gorgeous slice and bake sugar cookies that put Pillsbury to shame every time!

Taste the rainbow with these simple slice and bake rainbow cookies perfect for St. Patrick's Day or National Pride Month!

I have attempted and failed my own versions of slice and bakes in the past. Like these jack ‘o lantern cookies I geniusly pretended were supposed to be like that from the beginning. What I was really going for was a surprise pumpkin inside slice and bake.

But bad math and not enough water to hold it all together left me frustrated and annoyed and pretending I’d meant to make orange cookies from the get go. You do what you gotta do.

But I wanted to try again {because I’m stubborn} and these babies are right up my alley. They’re stupid simple. A tube of dough in the middle wrapped in 4 flat rectangles is as easy as it gets. Chill, slice, slice in half to get a rainbow and not some psychedelic tree ring and you’ve got a slice and bake cookie that doesn’t require math.

Ok, maybe a little math to get the ratios right but definitely no skittles.

Taste the rainbow with these simple slice and bake rainbow cookies perfect for St. Patrick's Day or National Pride Month!

Taste the rainbow with these simple slice and bake rainbow cookies perfect for St. Patrick's Day or National Pride Month!

Taste the rainbow with these simple slice and bake rainbow cookies perfect for St. Patrick's Day or National Pride Month!

Slice and Bake Rainbow Sugar Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup salted butter,, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • red, orange, yellow, green, blue gel food color

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  2. Sift in flour and salt and mix until combined. Do not over mix.
  3. Divide the dough in the following portions, 1 2.5oz, 1 3.5oz, 1 4.5oz, and 2 5oz. 
  4. Color the 2.5oz portion blue, the 3.5oz portion green, the 4.5 oz portion yellow and the 2 5oz portions orange and red by adding a pea sized amount of gel food color and working it through by hand, gently kneading the color into the dough until it is uniform throughout. 
  5. Roll the blue dough into a tube about 1/2" thick and 12 inches long. Roll the green dough between two pieces of parchment paper into a rectangle about 1/4" thick and 12 inches long and wrap it around the blue tube, pinching the edges to seal and trimming off any excess dough. Repeat with the yellow, orange, and red until tube is finished. 
  6. Roll dough lightly to seal the layers together, wrap in parchment paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. 
  7. Once firm use a sharp knife and slice circles using a sawing motion to keep the dough from squishing out of shape. Slice each circle in half to make a semi-circle.
  8. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. 

Colleen

Saturday 17th of June 2023

Hi Meaghan, you did not specify when to add the 1/4 tsp salt in the recipe. Should it be added with the flour?

Meaghan

Monday 19th of June 2023

Yes, you'll want to add the salt in with the flour. Thanks for checking!

Goldie

Sunday 12th of February 2023

Thanks! How things should each cookie be when I am slicing the rolled up log of dough thanks

Meaghan

Friday 17th of February 2023

You're going for about 1/4" thickness :)

Carol Bennett

Friday 4th of December 2020

I made some similar to these in my kindergarten class with the children. We made 6 layers and stacked them-purple, blue, green, yellow, oranges and red-then sliced through and shaped in arcs. Not as mathematically correct but pretty.

Meaghan

Tuesday 8th of December 2020

What a fun treat to make for your kiddos! I used to do the same when I taught preschool :)

Elizabeth

Sunday 28th of April 2019

My 5yo daughter and I had a lot of fun making these. Not as pretty as your pictures, but fun none the less. Thanks!

Jill Hansen

Sunday 10th of March 2019

Just made these yesterday with my 31/2 yr old gr-son & we baked them this morning. Made minor additions (1/2 t baking powder & increased portions by 1/4). They are delicious!! It took me quite a bit more time, but well worth the effort. This will be my go-to sugar cookie from now on. Thanks for posting. I’d love to post a photo, but don’t know how to get it in this comment section.