Tie Dye Butter Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• To heat the flour, place it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until an instant read thermometer stuck into a few different spots of the flour reaches 180 degrees F. Let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the applesauce and mix until combined. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Divide the dough among 3 bowls and add food coloring, keeping the colors separate. Wearing disposable gloves, knead in the color by hand, or stir it in with a spatula, until homogenous. If you don't have gloves, you can use a zip-top plastic bag.
• You can play with and bake the dough now (dust with a little more flour if it gets sticky) or you can put it in an airtight container and refrigerate for an hour or overnight to play with and bake later.
• Roll each batch of dough into a log about 2 1/2 feet long and 1 inch wide. Line up the three logs of dough and cut each into 6 equal portions. Twist one portion of each of the colored doughs together and roll into a ball to create the desired tie-dye pattern. Roll in sanding sugar, place on the prepared baking sheet and gently press down using your hand. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the finished cookies an inch apart. Bake until very lightly browned on the bottom but still gooey on the inside, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy!

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and egg and mix until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour and salt and mix until just combined.
• Remove a quarter of the dough (about 1/2 cup) to a flour-dusted surface and reserve. Add the sprinkles to the dough left in the mixer and mix on low until just combined. Remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and gently fold until it comes together.
• Add the reserved dough back to the mixer bowl and add enough green gel food coloring to color it a vibrant green like a wreath, about 6 drops. Mix on low until the dough is completely green. Remove to a flour-dusted surface and fold with your hands until it comes together.
• Tear off 2 Ping-Pong ball-size pieces of the white dough and add to the barrel of a cookie press; add 1 marble-size piece of the green dough. Repeat this pattern until the barrel is filled (you will not use all of the dough). Place a wreath disc onto the cookie press barrel according to the manufacturer's instructions. Press the cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet and set aside. Repeat 2 more times in the same pattern with the remaining dough.
• Bake 2 of the batches until the cookies are firm but not yet browning on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the cookies for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Bake the third batch and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Steps:

• Divide the frosting evenly among three medium bowls. Add 1 shade of food coloring to each and stir to make three different colors of frosting.
• Transfer each frosting to a piping or resealable plastic bag with one corner snipped. Starting along the outside edge of a cookie, pipe concentric circles of frosting, alternating colors for each circle, until the surface is covered. Drag a skewer from the center of the cookie outward to make lines through the frosting, making sure to clean the tip of the skewer between drags. Continue to drag lines through the circles until a star shape is formed. Repeat the process on each cookie.