How to Color Cookie Dough
Have you ever colored cookie dough? It’s a simple little thing you can do to give your cookies a kick or a twist and it will make the icing pop a little bit. You can also color cookie dough so the main design of the cookie is the color you add. I am working on several designs where the colored dough makes the cookies pop and gives the design something special.
But before we get started on those designs, I want to make sure everyone has a good tutorial on how to make color cookie dough.
Supplies for How to Color Cookie Dough:
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Food Gel Colors-I prefer AmeriColor and Wilton but you can use what you are comfortable with. Just make sure not to use a liquid color like you buy at the grocery stores. It will mess with the consistency of your dough.
Food Safe Gloves-or else you will have rainbow hands like I have most of the time.
Start by making the cookie dough. I like to divide my and only add color the amount of dough I need. It may be a little hard to guess how much so I suggest making more than you think because you can always make extra cookies. It will be hard to match the exact color once you run out.
Begin my mixing the dough with the food gel color. It may take more gel than you think or it may not. Usually in post and recipes I say add a little at a time, but if you do that you may over work your dough. We all know that over working or mixing your dough can cause it to spread when baking.
Keep in mind I do not have professional training. I am self taught and do things over and over until I see what works and what doesn’t. With that said, brown and darker colors are a little harder to mix so I add a little more color than I think I need so hopefully it will work out the first time. It seldom does though. 
Keep adding and mixing until you get the color you want. 
You can always use a chocolate roll out cookie recipe but the person I was making these for didn’t want chocolate. Who doesn’t like chocolate! RIGHT!?
Next, roll the dough out and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. I have really hot hands so I have to chill it or it will lose it’s shape when I try to pick it up. As a matter of fact, I always chill my dough before I bake my cookies. Just thought I would let you know that!
Once you have colored the cookie dough, roll it out and cut your shapes.
Can you tell what we are making yet?
Use a wooden BBQ skewer to polk holes in the top of the cookies.
Now do you know what we are making? NO? 
Ice cream sandwich cookies! I knew you would figure it out!
Once you have the cookies cut out and have make the holes bake them according to your recipe. Let them cool before decorating.
Each sandwich cookie requires 2 cookies. Flip on over so the holes are on the bottom and pipe with thick white icing. Then, place another cookie on top and let them dry completely. 
Colored cookie dough is a quick way to decorate cookies without having to wait on different layers of icing to dry. You can use them in a platter or think outside of the box and make them to sand out on their own. If you use your imagination, I bet you can think of a million cookies that will look great with colored cookie dough!
More way to make Color Cookie Dough cookies:
Frankenstein Cookies by Munchkin Munchies
Fall Wreath Cookies by Elizabeth Roehrig
Cute Little Christmas Cookies
Bear hugs,
I’m so glad you posted this! I was just looking and coloring dough for a recent order. Do you find that you need to chill it after coloring it? Your ice cream sandwiches are adorable, but I have to say the ice cream cones have stolen my heart. They look so realistic!
I love ice cream cones! They are my favorite! I do chill the dough before baking it. Let me add that to the post really fast. Thanks for the reminder! LOL
OMG Lisa! For a second I, too, thought that the ice cream cones and sundaes weren’t real. WOWZA! You are AWESOME!
“Not real” as in they look like painted wooden cutouts. I thought, for a second, that you used wooden ice cream cones and sundaes as decoration to support your “ice cream” theme. I then realized that they were ACTUAL cookies. :O)
Thanks Janis! You are cracking me up! LOL
Your cookies are amazing, as always! I love the realistic look of the ice cream sandwiches.:) Thanks for linking to my cookies, Lisa! XO!
Your cookies are amazing Sue! I love everything you do! !
I’m looking to surprise my granddaughter with colored cookies. She is attending the University of Texas at Austin. The school color is burnt orange. Any ideas how to achieve this color?
Thank you very much
Ella
Hi Ella,
If I was making Texas orange I’d start with an orange food gel color and add a little ivory color and see how that works. If you’re feeling brave you might add a touch of brown food gel if it needs to be a little darker.
I know you’ll master it! 😉
I blend green or red food colouring and flavour extracts into the softened butter and then blend the coloured, flavoured butter into the dry mixture. The shortbreads turn out pale pink or green and it makes no difference to the texture after baked.
Could you make a cookie dough white? Trying to do red white and blue cookies
I’m interested in adding color to chocolate chip cookie dough. Can I use liquid coloring for that, or does it need to be gel?
Hi Amanda,
I’d use the gel. The liquid will mess with the consistency of your dough.
Adding the color to the dough, what if you don’t have the ‘liquid’ gel, but rather the gel that comes in the little tubs and needs a toothpick?
Would you just put the gel color on the toothpick and then dip the toothpick into the dough?
Hi Barb,
I haven’t tried that kind of gel to color my cookie dough. I would try it because I believe it would work. If you try it will you let us know how it turns out?
Thanks and sorry it took me so long to respond to your question.