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Fireworks sugar cookie cake can be your star spangled, patriotic dessert on Memorial Day or the 4th of July! This easy cookie cake recipe is full of red, white, and blue deliciousness!
I am SO ready for the Fourth of July, are you? This Fireworks Sugar Cookie Cake is the PERFECT dessert to serve for the holiday!
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Easy 4th of July Cookie Cake
I swear, something about red, white, and blue food makes me happy. Is it the color combo? The promise of a holiday that doesn’t require presents? The knowing it’ll be a day of endless swimming and barbecue and fun? Or should I lie and say it’s because it’s our day of Independence?
Honestly, I think it’s a little of all those things, but mostly the 4th of July means that it’s SUMMER. The entire month is fun, what with Mel’s birthday and our anniversary and all the other little things here and there. (Please remind me of this statement come July 31 when I’m all is it time to go back to school yet?)
Jordan got out of school last week (happy dance) but you know the BEST part of the entire end-of-school was? Returning her darn violin. That thing was my nemesis! She was so excited to start playing back in September…and then she actually had to, you know, learn to play it. Once she realized it was more than just looking cool holding an instrument the thing became a glorified door stop/middle of the night road block/hours of whining.
I returned it to the store a few week ago and literally jumped for joy. Then I went to Target and bought red, white, and blue M&Ms because it’s SUMMER!
You’re probably like, gosh, this looks familiar. Fireworks cookies…didn’t she do that before? Well, yes. Yes I did make those last year. But they were different. And cookies, not a cookie cake recipe. And also, y’all liked the explosion of M&Ms and sprinkles, so I figured, why not do it again?
Plus, the pictures of my fireworks sugar cookie cake make me super happy, with all the red, white, and blue and all. Speaking of fireworks, my blogger friend, Becca, has a summer vegetable orzo pasta salad recipe nicknamed Fireworks orzo salad, because of the explosion of color and flavors. And Angie has a recipe for a 4th of July fireworks cake roll!
This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I’ve used it for bars and cookie cups and snickerdoodles. However you make these cookies, they’re SO GOOD. However, I think my favorite way to eat them is like this: with chocolate, baked in a pan. The dough is soft and tender and gooey…I could easily eat the entire cake by myself.
What makes this fireworks sugar cookie cake recipe so special?
Lots of butter and sugar (equal parts), as well as cream of tartar. Cream of Tartar is a leavening agent that helps keep cookies soft and tender, and when combined with baking soda it makes it so they are chewy and soft, all in the same bite. I also use a full tablespoon of vanilla extract to give it lots of extra flavor…and you can never have too many M&Ms!
Plus, the cookie cake recipe is easy. You can make it even if you’re not a seasoned baker. Pressing it into a 9″ cake pan makes it easy to get a soft not-over baked cookie and the frosting adds a perfect sweet finish.
Fireworks Sugar Cookie Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cookie Cake:
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted Challenge Butter softened
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 cups (248g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup M&Ms Use patriotic M&Ms for the 4th of July
- ½ cup “jimmie” sprinkles use red and white for the 4th of July
For the frosting:
- 3 tablespoons (38g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups (170h) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅙ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy whipping cream or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9” round cake pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the cookie cake: Beat butter and sugar with a hand or a stand mixer until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla, then mix in baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Slowly mix in flour. Stir in M&Ms and sprinkles.
- Press batter into prepared pan, pressing more M&Ms onto the top as desired. Bake for 19-22 minutes or until the edges are just turning a light golden brown. It’s better to under bake this dough than over bake it. The cake will continue cooking a bit as it cools so err on the side of underdone for the best tasting cookie. Let it cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: beat butter until smooth, then slowly beat in powdered sugar until crumbly. Add salt and vanilla, then add 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream. Beat until smooth, adding more a teaspoon at a time to get a spreadable texture.
- To frost: use a 1M tip and a ziplock or piping bag to decorate the cookie cake. Top with more sprinkles and M&Ms.
- Store loosely covered for up to 2 days.
Red Velvet Cookie Cake (use red, white, and blue sprinkles!)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (use Patriotic M&Ms!)
This is SO delicious! I make it for every pot luck I attend, and everyone always raves over it. If I double it, could I bake it in a 9 by 13 pan instead of baking in two 9 inch cake pans? Do you have an idea what the bake time would be? 😀
My sugar cookie bar recipe is basically this same one, baked in a 9×13 (no doubling required) and baked for about 15-22 minutes (less for softer, more for more done). If you double it you can still bake it in the 9×13 and it’ll be nice and thick, and you will probably need to bake it for 20-30 minutes.
This turned out really great! It was pretty easy and was delicious. Love the underbaked sugar cookie texture! My family was very happy when I pulled this out on the boat we watched Fourth of July fireworks from!
This recipe is one of my all-time favorites for desserts. It’s phenomenal and I can’t wait to make it again this year as I actually bought the patriotic M&Ms in time. Thank you for this—my iconic dessert, now, for the 4th of July!
This recipe is one of my all-time favorites for desserts. It’s phenomenal and I can’t wait to make it again this year as I actually bought the patriotic M&Ms in time. Thank you for this—my iconic dessert, now, for the 4th of July!
I would LOVE to make this the the 4th. We are going camping and returning July 3. Is there any way I could make this dough and frosting a head of time and store in refrigerator and then bake and assemble on the 4th?
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