Watermelon cookies are sure to be the hit of your summer gathering or watermelon birthday party! Use refrigerated sugar cookie dough to keep things simple or use your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Don't be intimated about using royal icing with these step-by-step instructions, perfect for beginners.
Course
Dessert
Keyword
dessert table, kids birthday party, party ideas, royal icing, sugar cookies, summer, summer cookout, summer dessert, summer party food, watermelon cookies, watermelon party
Prep Time45minutes
Cook Time16minutes
Drying Time5hours
Ingredients
1tube16.5 oz Pillsbury Ready To Bake Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough*
¼cupall purpose flour
Royal Icing Ingredients
4cupspowdered sugar
3tablespoonsmeringue powder
8-12tablespoonsroom temperature water
Gel food coloring reddark 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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.