St. Patricks Day Sugar Cookies (Printable)

Tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookies decorated with sweet green icing and colorful sprinkles for festive occasions.

# What You'll Need:

→ Cookie Dough

01 - 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - ½ teaspoon baking powder
03 - ¼ teaspoon salt
04 - ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1 cup granulated sugar
06 - 1 large egg
07 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
08 - ½ teaspoon almond extract

→ Icing & Decoration

09 - 2 cups powdered sugar
10 - 2–3 tablespoons milk
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 - Green food coloring
13 - Green and gold sprinkles

# Step-by-step:

01 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined.
02 - Beat softened butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, approximately 2–3 minutes.
03 - Add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the butter mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.
04 - Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
05 - Divide dough in half and shape into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
06 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
07 - On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut shamrock or round shapes using cookie cutters.
08 - Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets with 1 inch spacing. Bake for 8–10 minutes until edges are just turning golden.
09 - Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
10 - Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add green food coloring to achieve desired shade.
11 - Spread or pipe icing onto cooled cookies. Add sprinkles immediately while icing is wet. Allow icing to set completely before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The dough practically asks to be rolled out and played with, making it the perfect excuse to get kids or friends involved in the kitchen
  • That hint of almond extract makes these taste like something from a fancy bakery, even if you\'re decorating them with tired hands after work
02 -
  • I once tried to skip the chilling step because I was in a rush, and my shamrocks puffed into unrecognizable blobs—learn from my impatience and let that dough rest
  • If your icing is too thick to spread, add milk literally one drop at a time because it goes from \"spreadable\" to \"runny disaster\" in seconds
03 -
  • Rotate your baking sheets halfway through cooking time if your oven has hot spots, so all the shamrocks brown evenly
  • If you don\'t have shamrock cutters, use a round cutter and pipe little green hearts in clusters of three to make shamrocks after icing

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