Colorful Sugar Cookies Made with Natural Dyes – Matcha, Dragonfruit Powder and Cocoa
As most of these posts begin….the hubby had a meeting and he asked me to bake some treats. It was a meeting where cookies would be the best option for snacking so I thought that some colorful sugar cookies might be a fun choice. I turned to my new favorite cookbook – The Perfect Cookie and found a starting point.
I don’t like to use artificial colorants so when it came to the method of making my cookies pink and green I turned to natural dyes. Matcha tea and dried dragonfruit powder provide the colors for these cookies. Chocolate sugar cookies rounded out the triad and I soon had a platter of cookies that looked beautiful. Oh, they also tasted delicious too.
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Colorful Sugar Cookies
Base Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe – From The Perfect Cookie
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar plus 1/3 cup sugar for rolling
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
6 TBS unsalted butter melted and still warm
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 TBS whole milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For green cookies – 2 TBS matcha tea powder
For pink cookies – 3 TBS dried dragonfruit powder
Chocolate Cookies
1/3 cup granulated sugar for rolling
1 1/2 cups plus 2 TBS all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
14 TBS unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 TBS pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
Preheat oven to 350°
Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats
For the Green Cookies
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and matcha tea powder. Set aside.
Add the granulated sugar to the pieces of cream cheese in a large bowl.
Pour in the warm, melted butter and stir to combine. There might still be lumps of cream cheese – don’t worry.
Whisk in the egg, then the oil, vanilla and milk until well combined.
Fold in the flour mixture until just mixed through. It will be somewhat gloopy.
Using a medium scoop or dropping about 2 tsp balls into the granulated sugar that had been set aside.
Roll the dough in the sugar until coated and then into a smooth ball.
Place on the prepared baking sheets about 2″ apart
Press down on the dough balls with a glass
Bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes then rotate the pans and bake for another 7 or 8 minutes until the cookies are just done.
Remove to a wire rack to cool.
For the Pink cookies follow the same directions only add 3 TBS of dried dragonfruit powder instead of the matcha tea powder
For the Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°
Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats
Add the 1/3 cup granulated sugar to a small bowl and set aside
Melt 10 TBS of the butter, then add the remaining 4 TBS to melt and cool. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
To a large bowl add the brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and the egg and egg yolk. Mix well.
Add the dry to the wet and mix until just combined. It will be gloopy.
Drop the dough by 2 tsp amounts or with a medium scoop into the sugar in the small bowl and coat. Roll into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.
Flatten the balls with a glass.
Bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes and then rotate the pans and bake for 7 -8 more minutes until the cookies are baked.
Cool on a wire rack.
How Were the Colorful Sugar Cookies?
Pretty tasty if you ask me. The matcha tea cookies had a mild green tea taste too them but nothing overwhelming. The dragonfruit cookies were, at least to me no different than regular sugar cookies. The chocolate cookies were a bit like brownie cookie. They were rich in chocolate flavor with a crunchy exterior and a chewy interior.
I arranged them for the hubby on my cookie take along for his meeting and I thought they looked really pretty. The hubby came home with no cookies so that tells me that they were enjoyed by everyone at the meeting. Wouldn’t these be pretty for a spring party centerpiece?
Happy Times
I am so pleased that these cookies came out so tasty and so pretty with natural dyes. I will be continuing to experiment with these colors so stay tuned! If you are looking for some other cookies to try check out Glazed Lemon Tea Cookies or Homemade Sandwich Cookies.
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