Citrus Fruit Sugar Cookies with Printable Gift Tags
Learn how to make these colorful citrus fruit sugar cookies and download the free printable gift tag! These are gorgeous, delicious and easy to make cookies.
These classic sugar cookies are fun to make to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! I’m a huge fan of creating treats for every occasion, especially delicious ones like these.
Grab my free Cinco de Mayo activity printables and check out these fun taco sugar cookies to complete the festivities!
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this easy recipe to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be waiting there when you’re ready.
Sugar cookie dough is super versatile and easy to make with only a few ingredients from the grocery store. You will need simple ingredients like butter, granulated sugar and all purpose flour.
Before you get started make sure that you have everything that you need to make and decorate these cookies. I found our cookie cutters and icing bottles at Michaels but you can also order them from Amazon below.
This post contains affiliate links.
Sugar cookie supplies:
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cookie cutters
- Icing bottles
- Wire cooling rack
- Cookie scribe or toothpick
This is my grandma’s classic sugar cookie recipe – time tested and delicious. The only thing that I have changed over the years is swapped out shortening for butter.
Citrus Sugar Cookie Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Tip: Pre-made Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough can be used to create these cookies as well. Simply add 1/4 cup of flour to the dough, combine well and roll as directed. I love quick mom hacks like this!
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
4. Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4″ thickness on the floured surface.
5. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
7. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
This recipe will make about 60 citrus fruit shaped cookies. I used both circle and semi circle shapes for our cookies.
Use my Easy Royal Icing Recipe to make the best icing for these cookies! You will need light green, pink, orange, yellow and white royal icing that has been tinted with food coloring.
I prefer to use icing bottles over a piping bag because I find them easier to handle. Here I have our different colors of icing ready in each bottle.
My royal icing tips:
- If the icing is too hard, add more water one drop at a time.
- If the icing is too soft, add more powdered sugar one teaspoon at a time.
- Icing can be stored at room temperature in a an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- To use, mix the royal icing with a hand mixer so that it becomes smooth and shiny again.
- Flood consistency is reached when a spoonful dropped onto a flat surface takes 10 – 15 seconds to become completely smooth.
These instructions will show you how to decorate citrus cookies like these ones. The sky is the limit though, have fun with this process!
How to decorate citrus fruit sugar cookies:
1. Outline each shape with a line of icing and flood the center. For circle shapes, leave a spot in the center for white icing.
2. Before the icing dries add a line of white around the outer edge of the cookie and a circle of white in the center. This method is called wet on wet icing.
3. To create the citrus fruit “rind”, use a scribe or toothpick to pull the white icing into the colored icing.
4. Pull from the outside edge inwards.
5. And from the central white dot outwards.
6. Once this technique is used on all of the cookies, allow the icing to dry.
These citrus fruit cookies turned out to be simply darling and are the perfect sweet treat! Far easier to create than you would think, all you need is a little patience and practise.
Allow the icing to completely harden for at least four hours before packaging or storing the cookies. These look amazing wrapped in cellophane and tied up with a bit of twine.
Add my free printable gift tag and voila! A darling gift to brighten any day!!
Check out more fun & easy Summer Sugar Cookie Ideas!
This post contains affiliate links.
Some of my baking essentials:
- I love using this non-stick bakeware for all of my baking.
- These silicone mitts are perfect for grasping hot pans and baking dishes.
- This Henckel Knife is my favorite for slicing and dicing in the kitchen.
- These parchment paper bags are perfect for packaging and these large Rubbermaid food storage containers are great for storing baking in the freezer.
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Be sure to check out my other Sugar Cookie Recipes as well!
Citrus Fruit Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- 1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- 2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
- 3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
- 4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- 5. Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4" thickness on the floured surface.
- 6. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
- 7. Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
- 8. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool before decorating with royal icing.
Notes
Nutrition
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