Watermelon cookies are perfect for summer. Made with refrigerated sugar cookie dough or your favorite sugar cookie recipe, this cookie idea is fairly simple to make, even if it is your first time with royal icing! Included below are step-by-step instructions on how to make watermelon cookies. Let’s get started!
Whether you need an easy to transport dessert to a summer cookout or you want to add these cookies to your dessert table at a watermelon birthday party, these cookies from Heather Painchauld fit the bill. They may look complicated but can be made with just a few ingredients and some tools to make these steps easy.
Watermelon Cookie Ingredients
To make these watermelon decorated cookies you need the following ingredients:
- refrigerated sugar cookie dough*
- flour*
- powdered sugar
- meringue powder
- gel food coloring
- black food pen
Sugar cookie dough from the grocery store was used to keep these watermelon cookies as simple as possible. You can easily skip the extra flour and swap the refrigerated dough with your favorite homemade cookies instead. You will also need the repurposed watermelon cookie cutters used in this post, the Breakfast Mini Shape Shifter Set from Michael’s. It uses the half circle (a wedge/bowl design) to create the watermelon wedge shape. You can also find these mini cutters from this larger set found on both Amazon and Sugar Dot Cookies. These are great starter sets with many different uses for each cookie cutter. However, if you have a circle cookie cutter already, you can cut the circle in half and separate before baking to mimic this design.
How to Make Royal Icing
To make the royal icing, mix the sugar and meringue powder in a stand mixer. Add in 8 tablespoons of water, using the whisk attachment and beat for a minute on low. Continue to add water one tablespoon at a time until the icing drizzles slowly from the whisk when lifted.
If you find the icing is too hard, add more water one drop at a time. If the icing is too runny, add more icing sugar one teaspoon at a time. Altering in small amounts will allow you to find the perfect consistency without over correcting. Separate the icing into small mixing bowls and add desired food coloring. For this project you will want red and two shades of green, one light and one dark. Mix well. Add icing into piping bags or icing bottles as shown.
How to Make Watermelon Cookies
To keep things extra easy, we made these watermelon sugar cookies with a refrigerated cookie dough. Combine dough and 1/4 cup of flour. Roll to approximately a ¼” thickness. Cut out cookie shapes using a wedge and donut cookie mini cutter or use a small circle cutter and cut each one in half. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 8 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
How to Decorate Watermelon Sugar Cookies
Line around the edge of the design with red icing, leaving a gap around the bottom edge for the rind and fill the middle with additional red icing. 
Use a toothpick to poke bubbles or direct icing. Allow each design area to dry before moving on.
Allow to dry and add darker green icing to rounded edge of the cookie for the outside of the rind leaving a space between the two icing colors. (Reminder, allow each design area to dry before moving on.)
Once dry, fill in the gap between the red and dark green areas of the cookie with the lighter green royal icing.
Once the icing is completely dry, at room temperature for at least four hours, use a black edible color marker to add watermelon seed details to the top.
Five seeds were drawn on each watermelon cookie. I recommend placing one in the center of the cookie and then adding two more on either side for an even look.
And that is all there is to making fun watermelon sugar cookies!
Watermelon Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tube 16.5 oz Pillsbury Ready To Bake Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough*
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
Royal Icing Ingredients
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 8-12 tablespoons room temperature water
- Gel food coloring red dark green, light green
- black edible food pen
Instructions
-
Combine dough and flour. Roll to ¼” thickness. Cut out cookie shapes using a wedge shaped cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Cool 2 minutes then remove from cookie sheet.
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In a stand mixer combine sugar and meringue powder. Add 8 tablespoons of water, using the whisk attachment, beat for 1 minute on low. Continue to add water one tablespoon at a time until the icing slowly drizzles from the whisk when lifted.
-
Once prepared if the icing is too hard, add more water one drop at a time. If icing is too runny, add more icing sugar one teaspoon at a time.
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Separate the icing into three small mixing bowls, adding red to one, and two shades of green to the other two bowls. (One dark green and one lighter lime green works well). Mix well. Scoop the icing into piping bags or icing bottles.
Decorating Watermelon Cookies:
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Line around the edge of the wedge cookie design with red icing approximately 3/4 of the cookie and fill the middle, leaving a gap at the rounded half of the cookie for the watermelon rind. Use a toothpick to poke bubbles or direct icing into holes.
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When the flooded red area dries, add a dark green line to the very top rounded edge of the cookie for the outside of the watermelon rind. Allow to dry again before flooding the gap between the dark green top edge and red area with the light green royal icing, once again using a toothpick if necessary.
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Once completely dry (ideally four hours), draw five watermelon seeds to each watermelon wedge with an edible black marker. Start with one in the center and add two more to each side.
Recipe Notes
This recipe uses a 2 inch mini cookie cutters in a wedge/bowl shape. You can alternatively use a round cookie cutter and cut each cookie dough circle in half before baking.
*Can substitute your favorite sugar cookie recipe for the refrigerated cookie dough.
Summer Dessert Recipes
Looking for more fun summer dessert recipes?
- This pool party dessert is on a stick and sure to be a hit. These rice krispie treats look like popsicles but won’t melt so fast in the sun!
- Need a way to cool off? Try this tropical mocktail that is the perfect summer blender drink complete with umbrella.
- Calling all chocolate lovers! Try these dirt cupcakes with gummy worms, perfect for a birthday party or just for some summer fun.
- These easy frozen s’mores combine two of my very favorite summer time treats: s’mores and frozen desserts!
- Beat the heat with homemade ice cream in a bag. It is so easy that kids can make it themselves. Learn how to make vanilla or chocolate ice cream and get great tips for making this recipe even easier.
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