Does anything say summer more than lemonade? Does anything say princess more than pink?
Well then there is nothing more fitting this summer for my pink obsessed princess than Pink Lemonade Cookies! These are for you Braelyn Boo.
She was quite ecstatic when I told her we were going to make cookies from her leftover pink lemonade mix from her princess party a few months ago. I pretty much forgot about the mix that was sitting in the back of my pantry and I don’t make lemonade for my kids very often. I just don’t like them drinking that much sugar. If you’re going to have that much sugar you might as well eat a cookie, right? Right!
I wanted to make a cookie that really packed a summery punch, and I love the tartness that lemonade has. I figured it should be pretty easy to substitute most of the sugar in a sugar cookie with pink lemonade mix to get a slightly tart, slightly tangy PINK cookie.
And do you even need to ask what I would top it with??? Pink lemonade frosting for sure. It you’re going all out, then go all out!
These cookies were so good you didn’t even need the frosting, but they are just so dang pretty with the extra touch of pink sprinkles that I just couldn’t resist.
Plus, Braelyn’s favorite part of baking is decorating, specifically adding sprinkles. How could I deprive her of that coveted job?!
I wanted these cookies to be a bit crispy, so I baked them a tad longer than I normally would have. They came out soft and chewy in the middle with a slightly crisp outside.
If you prefer a softer cookie, just pull them out 1 minute earlier. Either way they are quite yummy.
The best part of making these beyond girlie cookies was serving them to our neighbor boys.
We had invited some friends over for dessert and games and it didn’t even dawn on me until they showed up that their little boys may not be as excited about the pink sprinkle cookies as Braelyn was. Oh well, they didn’t seem to mind too much!
- For Cookies:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 egg
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup Country Time pink lemonade mix (dry)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup white rice flour
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- ½ cup potato starch
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- For Frosting:
- 3 tablespoons Country Time pink lemonade mix (dry)
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ¼ cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- Pink sprinkles (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer cream the butter, egg, granulated sugar, powdered sugar and pink lemonade mix together for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift together white rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, almond flour, salt, baking soda and xanthan gum.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Beat for additional 2 minutes.
- Drop 1 inch balls with cookie scoop 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake one pan at a time at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until lightly browning on edges.
- Immediately slide parchment paper, with cookies, onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- While cookies are cooling, prepare frosting. Mix 3 tablespoons of pink lemonade mix with 3 tablespoons of milk. Stir to dissolve and set aside. Beat ½ stick of butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add lemonade mixture and pinch of salt and beat until incorporated. Add remaining cup of sugar and beat until combined. Add additional milk (thinner) or sugar (thicker) to reach desired consistency.*
- Spread icing/frosting on top of cookies and add sprinkles. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
- Store leftover cookies in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for 3 months.
