Simple rainbow sugar cookies made from a circle cookie cutter! We'll share two ways to decorate them with buttercream frosting. So colorful and delicious! This post contains affiliate links.
You might also like our easy hack for frosting sugar cookies in a hurry or our rainbow fruit platter!
Watch our step by step video!
I love finding ways to make new sugar cookies using cookie cutters that I already own. Would you like to make rainbow sugar cookies for St. Patrick's Day? You can make them using round cookie cutters! Make sure to use our sugar cookie dough recipe too---it's a good one!
For these rainbows I used biscuit cutters from IKEA. They work great for sugar cookies, and come in a box with a variety of sizes. You can also use a round sugar cookie cutter.
Rainbow Sugar Cookies: 2 Ways!
(Watch our video to see how we did this!)
You simply cut out round cookie shapes and make semi-circles for rainbow shapes! You can also decorate a round cookie to look like a rainbow and blue sky.
- I used a 4" round cookie cutter to make the semi-circle rainbow cookies and a 1" round cookie cutter to make the center arch cut.
- I used a 3" round cookie cutter to make the round rainbow cookies.
Tips for Easy Cookie Decorating
- 5 and 7 are small round tips. They are very similar in size, so just use what you can find! Michael's is actually the cheapest place to find these tips. They are $1 each and you can usually apply a 20% coupon making them $.80.
- 18 is a star tip. Again, I'd check Michael's if you have one in your area.
Tips for using round tips: apply firm pressure for a smooth application.
Tips for using star tips: use short "bursts" instead of applying firm, steady pressure. You aren't making lines or covering large sections, you are making small stars bursts all over the cookie.
Tip: Buy a few #5 tips. This makes it easier to work with a variety of frosting bags filled with different colors!
Other Useful Items for Cookie Decorating
- Disposable Frosting Bags: these are convenient to have and just toss after using.
- Couplers: couplers attach to the frosting bag and make it easy to switch out the frosting tip that you are using. With a coupler you can switch from a round tip to a star without filling a new bag with frosting!
How To Use a Coupler
How To Fill a Frosting Bag
Ready to make your own? Let's get started!
Rainbow Sugar Cookies Decorated Two Ways!
Rainbow Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- #5 frosting tips (round tip)
- #18 frosting tip (open star tip)
- frosting/patry bags
- frosting couplers
- large round cookie cutter
- small round cookie cutter
Ingredients
- batch sugar cookie dough (our favorite recipe)
- 1 cup butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6-8 Tbsp. milk
- food coloring
Instructions
- For the semi-circle rainbow cookies, cut out circle cookie shapes then slice each circle in half using a pizza cutter or knife.Use a small round cookie (or biscuit) cutter to cut out a small section in the center for the arch.
- Bake cookies and let cool completely.
- Whisk ingredients together for frosting. Seperate into bowls and add food coloring.Fill pastry bags with frosting and desired frosting tips. Use a #5 or #7 tip for the rainbow colors and a #18 tip for the white clouds.
- Pipe rainbow onto cookie using frosting bags filled with buttercream frosting.Add clouds by piping on small white stars to each cookie.
- For the round rainbow cookies, cut out circle cookie shapes. Bake cookies and let cool completely.Outline cookie in blue frosting. Fill bottom with blue frosting.
- Fill in top half of the cookie with rainbow colors. Swirl clouds onto each cookie using the white frosting and star frosting tip (#18).
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