Turtle Sugar Cookies
These turtle sugar cookies are so easy, delicious, and adorable that they'll be your new favorite cookie recipe! These soft, chewy sugar cookies are colored green and easily shaped into sea turtles.
The only thing I love more than cookies are cookies made into fun shapes. Of course, when they're both easy to make AND shape, it's even better. That's why these are some of my favorite cookies to make for fun events.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It only takes some basic baking ingredients to make.
- It's a simple sugar cookie recipe that's equally as easy to shape into turtles.
- They're adorable and perfect for any occasion.
Top Tip
Be gentle when pressing your small balls of dough for the head and feet into the main cookie. You want to connect them without squishing your center cookie.
Ingredients
Aside from the green food coloring gel, you'll probably have every single ingredient for these cookies in your kitchen right now. It only uses simple baking staples! Be sure to check the recipe card at the end of the post for exact quantities.
- Sugar
- Butter, softened
- Vanilla
- Egg
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Green gel food coloring
Instructions
This is just a simple, basic sugar cookie recipe that's colored with food coloring and then shaped into turtles. There's nothing difficult about it!
The highlights are right here, but you can find the exact instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.
1: Combine the butter, sugar, and wet ingredients.
2: Add the dry ingredients and mix into dough.
3: Add food coloring gel and mix until combined.
4: Scoop out dough balls for the body and flatten them with a fork. Then, roll out 5 small dough balls for the head and legs and gently press them into the main cookie body.
5: Bake until the bottoms of the cookies are brown.
6. Add eyes with black edible marker.
Substitutions and Variations
- You can use almond extract in place of vanilla.
- Omit the food coloring and just make plain sugar cookies.
- Try pressing chocolate chips and nuts into the main body of the sugar cookie to make a "shell".
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
- Baking sheet
Storage
Room Temperature: Store for up to 5 days in an air-tight container.
Refrigerator: Store for up to 10 days in an air-tight container.
Freezer: Store for up to 3 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container.
Make Ahead: These cookies will stay fresh for several days, so feel free to make them ahead of time.
What to Serve with Sugar Cookies
These sea turtle sugar cookies are delicious with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. They're also excellent when served alongside your other favorite sweet treats as part of a larger dessert spread at parties or paired with ice cream.
Tips:
- Be sure to fully soften, not melt, your butter so it creams well.
- Mix your cookies until just combined and no further for soft, chewy cookies.
- As soon as your cookies are brown on the bottom, remove them from the oven for the perfect bake time.
FAQ
Creaming softened butter and sugar adds air to your cookie dough, allowing them to expand and rise. This creates a soft, fluffy texture.
If you use melted butter in cookies, they'll spread out more during baking, resulting in an ultra-thin cookie that's soft on the inside and crispier on the edges.
Flattening the cookies allows them to spread just enough to make them into turtle bodies.
More Yummy Cookie Recipes
Turtle Sugar Cookies
These turtle sugar cookies are classic, soft, and chewy sugar cookies colored with green food coloring and shaped like sea turtles!
Ingredients
- ⅔ cups sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- Green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla until creamy.
- Add egg and beat again.
- Add dry ingredients until dough is smooth.
- Add green gel food coloring to the dough and beat again until the color is uniform throughout. The amount used will depend on the type of food coloring you are using.
- Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough and roll it into round balls to form the bodies of the turtles. Place them on a greased cookie sheet.
- Using a fork, press the dough balls down in two different directions to create the shell design. Cookies should be about ½-inch thick after being pressed down.
- For each turtle, roll a head and four small feet. Gently connect them to the bodies.
- Bake cookies for 5-7 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown.
- Place cookies onto a cooling rack to cool.
- When cookies are cooled, carefully draw eyes on with an edible marker.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 92Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 18mgSodium 118mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 0gSugar 6gProtein 1g
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