Yes, these shamrock sugar cookies are the perfect treat to serve at a St. Patrick’s Day party, but here’s a little secret we’ll let you in on: Use a different cookie cutter and a different food coloring—or leave out the food coloring entirely—and you’ll have a cookie that’s a welcome sweet any time of year.
Indeed, what we have here is a shamrock cookie recipe that’s really just a great sugar cookie recipe when you swap out the peppermint extract. Use this sugar cookie recipe as a starting point for other cookies, and feel free to experiment. But first, go ahead and enjoy these cookies for St. Patty’s Day—let’s get cooking.
Shamrock Cookie Ingredients
- Shortening:Â Shortening is really almost any fat that’s safely stored at room temperature. For this shamrock cookie recipe, a vegetable shortening is the best choice.
- Confectioners’ sugar:Â Use a full cup of this sweet, powdered sugar.
- Egg: You need one large egg at room temperature for this recipe; if your eggs are small, use one egg plus the white of a second.
- Peppermint extract:Â As noted, you can swap peppermint extract out for another, like almond or vanilla extract, to make different sugar cookies.
- All-purpose flour:Â The sweetness of the cookies comes from sugar, but the heart of the cookies is the flour.
- Green paste food coloring:Â Yes, the food coloring is always optional, but it’s a cute touch, no?
- Green colored sugar: Ditto the green sugar—you can also sprinkle on regular sugar or no additional sugar at all.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, cream the shortening and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, three to four minutes. Next, beat in the egg and extract, then gradually add the flour and salt. Tint the batter with the food coloring, then cover and refrigerate it for one hour or until it’s easy to handle.
Step 2: Roll out and cut the cookies
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out the cookies with a lightly floured 2-inch shamrock cookie cutter, then place the cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle each cookie with colored sugar.
Step 3: Bake and enjoy
Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool for one minute on the cookie sheets before removing them to wire racks to cool fully.
Shamrock Cookie Variations
- Skip the coloring:Â As noted, food coloring is never needed. You can still use a shamrock cookie cutter and make these cookies St. Patrick’s Day appropriate without any added colors.
- Use a different extract:Â The peppermint extract is a great choice for St. Patty’s Day cookies or Christmas cookies, but using almond or vanilla extract is a great choice for other occasions and seasons, and you can leave the rest of the recipe as is.
- Spruce up the decorations: Colored sugar is all well and good, but these shamrock sugar cookies are great with sprinkles, frosting or even chocolate chip bits too.
How to Store Shamrock Cookies
If you’re probably going to eat these cookies within two or three days at the most, store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, like the pantry. They will also keep for up to a week if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Can you freeze sugar cookies?
Absolutely. These cookies will store in the freezer for four to five months. Thaw them in the fridge for three or more hours before enjoying them.
Shamrock Cookie Tips
Can you freeze the raw cookie dough?
Yes, and you should! If you know you’ll have extra cookies on hand, freeze them while cut out of the dough but still raw, not baked; the raw dough will freeze safely, and once thawed, it can be baked for a fresh cookie taste.
Can I use something as a shortening substitute?
If you don’t have any shortening on hand, just use softened butter or margarine in its place, and the cookies should come out just fine.
Can I make the batter ahead of time?
For fresh cookies that are ready when you need them, make and chill the batter and cut out the cookies ahead of time, place them on cookie sheets, then coat them in airtight wrap and pop them in the fridge. They will bake up fresh the next day.
