Watermelon Frosted Sugar Cookies
These watermelon frosted sugar cookies are the ultimate summer treat! A green sugar cookie base, pink buttercream frosting, and chocolate ganache “seeds” make them one of the cutest and most unique cookie ideas for summer parties.
Equipment
- 1 small icing bottle or piping bag witted with a small tip optional
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Base
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- green food coloring
Pink Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- pink and red gel food coloring
Chocolate Ganache Seeds
Instructions
Make Sugar Cookie Base
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla, and mix until fully combined.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. It should be soft but not sticky.
- Add a couple drops of green food coloring to color your dough green.
- Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This helps the cookies hold their shape and bake up nice and thick.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie using a medium cookie scoop. Roll into balls and slightly flatten with your palm. Bake for 9–11 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops look matte and dry. Don’t overbake! Let the cookies cool completely before frosting.
Make the Pink Buttercream Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar.
- Add the vanilla and enough heavy cream or milk (probably not all of it) to reach a spreadable consistency.
- Finally, mix in pink gel food coloring until you get that classic watermelon flesh color. If your pink doesn’t get dark enough, add just a drop of red and it should be good.
Decorate the Cookies with Frosting and Ganache
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag with no tip and pipe it onto the cooled cookies. Or, you can also spread it with a butter knife.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and heavy cream in 30-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
- Pour the ganache into a small squeeze bottle or piping bag fitted with a fine tip. Pipe little teardrop shapes onto the pink frosting to resemble watermelon seeds.
- Allow the ganache seeds to firm up slightly before serving. You can store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you wish to keep them longer, or are worried about the frosting smudging, you can also store them in the fridge.
Notes
*Chilling the dough is really important for this kind of dough. If you don't chill your dough, your cookies will most likely come out looking like puddles rather than cookies.
*Use good-quality food coloring to get the best colors for these cookies. I like to buy my food coloring at Michael's in the baking section. Typically gel food coloring works well.