Rainbow Sugar Cookie Bowls

It seems like anything rainbow has taken the internet by storm. I feel the same way about cookie dough bowls. I wanted a way to infuse both into a fun recipe, which is how I created these rainbow sugar cookie bowls. I will be totally upfront – this recipe was a ton of trial and error. And I’ll be even more honest – those cute little Tasty videos where they just pop the dough over the muffin tins, pull it out of the oven and those puppies pop right off….IS CRAP. ABSOLUTE CRAP. I threw away so much crumbled, crusty messes in all my attempts to make these perfect, because no such popping occurred regardless of how nicely greased (attempts with PAM, butter, coconut oil were all made) and none of them worked. Thankfully, I was trouble shooting with my mom who finally suggested using foil. It worked like a gift from God above. Moms are good like that, don’t you think? So, let’s dive into these beautiful and delicious rainbow dessert bowls shall we?

Rainbow Sugar Cookie Bowls

Before I share the recipe that actually worked, let’s work through a few things that DIDN’T work. The first time I attempted these cookies, I used this recipe, which is a tried and true sugar cookie recipe in my family. I divided it into 4 equal parts and dyed it using these food colorings that are my very favorite for all recipes. I greased half my flipped over muffin pan with PAM and half with butter (can you tell I was hesitant about the sticking?!). The end result was a flipping mess. Dough everywhere, cups melting into one another and then…the sticking. In my mind, I would just be able to trim the ones that stuck to one another, but HECK NO. They weren’t even lifting off the freaking pan. Okay, so that whole batch got tossed. It was heartbreaking.

Jaded by my first attempt, I bought a cheap roll of cookie dough at Target thinking – maybe it’s my recipe?! Surely, Pillsbury wouldn’t steer me wrong, right? So I brought it home and divided it up into four equal parts again. This time, I greased the inverted pan with coconut oil, because it unsticks everything (even my makeup at night, LOL), so come on – it has to be perfect for these. So I got all excited, popped them into my oven (this time on top of a baking sheet because I didn’t want anymore dough leaking out all over my oven) and waited. Not only were these a wreck too, but the baked dough looked dark. Not that it even mattered, because they were so stuck to the pan that it took 3 days of intense soaking and scrubbing to resolve the mess I had created.

I felt defeated and in my mind, I was like – this is stupid who even cares? I casually mentioned it to my mom and she was like “no no, try it again! You can do it! Add a little more flour, make sure it gets ROCK HARD in the refrigerator and cover your muffin tin with tinfoil.”

I was like okay mom, I will give it one more try. But I waited two days, because I was so disgusted with the amount of time I had already wasted on this project that appeared to be going nowhere. You guys – this is the part where you thank my mom. Because otherwise this post wouldn’t have happened. The tinfoil, recipe modification and a little of my own patience is all this recipe needs. Are you ready to get started?

Rainbow Sugar Cookie Bowls

You Will Need:

3/4 cup shortening or butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2.5 cups flour (I use Cup4Cup – cheapest here)

1 t. baking powder

food coloring gel

Rainbow Sugar Cookie Bowls - Rainbow Recipe - Cookie Dough Bowls - Easy Recipe For Kids - Dessert Ideas - Unicorn Party - Rainbow Dessert - Recipe - Communikait by Kait Hanson

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Divide into 4 equal parts and dye using gel. You can use whatever colors you like!

3. Roll each color into hot-dog shape and set dough in the refrigerator and let chill OVERNIGHT! *this is CRUCIAL*

4. When you remove it from the refrigerator, you need to move quickly! Start by gently rolling the dough logs together.

**IMPORTANT TIP: DO NOT MIX THEM TOO MUCH OR YOU WILL GET GREY!

5.Roll flat on a floured surface with a rolling pin and use a 4-inch circle cutter (or a glass from your bar in my case) and cut out circles.

**IMPORTANT TIP: You will get 2, MAYBE 3 “re-rolls” of this dough before it looks disgusting, so cut your circles WISELY!

6. Make sure your inverted muffin pan is wrapped securely with tinfoil and place each circle on top of the circles.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until dough begins to harden. Do not bake them too long or the bowls will get too crunchy! You want them to be a little bit soft.

8. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Easily peel off tinfoil and remove bowls.

9. Fill with ice cream, top with your favorite sprinkles or sauces and enjoy!

Even though in the depths of this project I felt a little bit annoyed, I could not be happier with the final product! They turned out so well and after modifying the recipe a bit and a simple kitchen hack, they were an absolute breeze to put together! I think this would be a fun project to do with kids, for a birthday party or even just to enjoy and treat yourself.

Of course, I love the rainbow, but I think this would be equally fun to modify colors for holidays, sport-themed parties, or wedding/baby showers. You don’t have to fill them with ice cream, either! I think putting strawberries and whipped cream or even apple pie filling in them would be SO FREAKING TASTY. If you decide to make these sugar cookie bowls, I hope you enjoy them!