These pansy-shaped flower sugar cookies are the cutest addition to your springtime cookie jar.
I Made the Viral Pansy-Shaped Flower Sugar Cookies, and Now I’m Ready for Spring
Published on Mar. 19, 2025
Sugar cookies can sometimes be seen as the vanilla ice cream of cookies: too plain. But what I love most about sugar cookies is the versatility they offer. Their flavor can easily be adjusted, and they can be turned into just about anything. Sugar cookies are one of the easiest spring desserts, but when you have a little extra time, you can turn the basic dough into pansy flower sugar cookies!
We’ve been obsessed with pansy sugar cookies ever since TikTok creator Lauren Dozier shared a viral video showcasing her artistic treats. But just how, exactly, can you pull them off at home? With this step-by-step guide to making the ideal sugar cookie dough and a method for forming the pretty spring cookies, you can make a plate of them for yourself. The flower-shaped sugar cookies take a bit of time and effort, but the payoff is certainly worth it.
Ingredients for Flower Sugar Cookies
- Butter: Unsalted butter serves as the base of this cookie dough recipe, playing a role in flavor and texture. For the best cookies, start with softened butter.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds balanced sweetness and gives the cookies a tender texture.
- Egg: Just one egg is all you need to help bind ingredients and make the cookies rise while baking. Start with a room temperature egg for easier incorporation.
- Vanilla extract: One teaspoon of vanilla extract goes a long way in adding flavor to these cookies. If preferred, you can replace it with almond extract or even lemon extract.
- All-purpose flour: Flour is key to providing structure for the pansy sugar cookie dough.
- Baking powder: A small amount of baking powder is incorporated into the dough for a tender cookie.
- Baking soda: Baking soda helps the cookies to rise and properly spread.
- Salt: A touch of salt balances the sweetness in these cookies.
- Gel food coloring: What gives these flowers their beautiful color? Gel food coloring in hues of purple, pink and yellow. Gel food coloring is a better option than liquid food coloring because it provides a more vibrant hue.
Directions
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until they’re pale and fluffy, about five minutes. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients to finish the dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, mixing until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into even sections for each color you plan to use. You can choose to only make two colors of dough, or you can mix and match for plenty of different flower types.
Step 3: Color and chill the dough
Use gel food coloring to color each section of dough. Form each portion into a log and wrap it with storage wrap. Place the dough in the fridge to chill for at least two hours.
Step 4: Create the cookie dough logs
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove the dough logs from the fridge and cut each in half. Using a rolling pin, roll out one section of dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Unwrap another log of dough and roll it into a thinner rope. Place the rope of dough on one end of the rolled-out dough. Roll and wrap the dough so one color serves as the exterior with another as the interior. This will become the double-colored petals. Keep some of the dough logs as-is; they’ll become the single-color petals.
Step 5: Form the pansy flowers
Slice the double-colored dough log into 1/4-inch-thick coins. Using your fingers, form each piece into a small petal. Form each pansy flower with three multicolored petals, two single-colored petals and a small ball of dough for the center. Chill the assembled pansy flower sugar cookies for at least 10 minutes before baking them.
Step 6: Bake the pansy flower sugar cookies
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are set. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Flower Sugar Cookies Tips
What is the best food coloring for pansy flower sugar cookies?
Gel food coloring will provide the most vibrant hue, and won’t fade as the cookies are baking. You can find gel food coloring at most craft stores and in some grocery stores. Liquid food coloring will still work for this recipe, but the color of the cookies may not be as vivid.
Why did my flower sugar cookies spread?
Working cookie dough too much will cause the butter in the mixture to warm up. Once the heat of the oven hits the softened dough, the cookies are more likely to spread and lose their shape. Chilling the dough before forming the cookies and again before baking them is crucial in preventing cookies from spreading.
Can I change the flavor of flower sugar cookies?
Vanilla extract enhances the flavor of the sugar cookie dough in this recipe, but you can certainly switch up the flavors. Replace the vanilla extract with almond extract, lemon extract, orange extract or even mint extract depending on your flavor preferences.
