Red, White, and Blue Star Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (227 g)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
• 1 large egg, room temperature (50 g)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10 g)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 g)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (16 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (2 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g)
• Red gel food coloring, as needed (4 g)
• Blue gel food coloring, as needed (4 g)
• 1 tablespoon milk (15 g)
• 1/3 cup red, white, and blue sanding sugar (67 g)

Instructions

1. Cream butter. Beat softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth. Scrape bowl and beater so no butter-rich pockets remain.
2. Finish dough. Whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in two additions, mixing on low just until combined. Stop when no dry flour remains; overmixing toughens cookies.
3. Color portions. Divide dough into three equal pieces. Leave one plain; knead red gel coloring into the second and blue gel coloring into the third. Flatten each into a one-inch-thick disk, wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. Cut stars. Heat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll one disk between parchment sheets to one-quarter-inch thickness. Cut stars, transfer them to the sheets, and reroll scraps once.
5. Add sugar. Brush tops lightly with milk. Cover them with sanding sugar, pressing loose grains gently into dough. Keep red, white, and blue batches separate for color groups. Space cookies one inch apart.
6. Bake cookies. Bake one sheet for 9 to 11 minutes, until edges set and tops look dry. Cool on sheet five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Bake remaining dough and cool completely before stacking.

Notes

• Wash hands and wipe counter between kneading colors to keep dough clean. Gloves prevent gel coloring transferring to fingers and utensils.
• If dough cracks while rolling, let it stand briefly, then press cracks together through parchment. Add flour only if dough looks sticky.
• A two-and-one-half-inch cutter yields about 30 cookies. Smaller cutters bake faster, so check edges one minute early.

Nutrition Facts