These Jello cookies are my favorite kind of colorful baking project to tackle with my kids. They’re so much fun to make (hello, messy hands!), they turn out brilliantly vibrant, and they taste amazing, too! Unlike regular sugar cookies that rely only on food coloring, my Jello sugar cookies get both their bold color and real fruit flavor from actual Jell-O mix. They bake up soft, fluffy, and just gorgeous every time.
Cookies Made with Jello
My cookies made with Jello aren’t just cute, they’re genuinely delicious. I divide the cookie dough into five portions, each with a different Jell-O flavor and matching gel color. The result is a rainbow of cookies that actually taste like what they look like: strawberry, lime, lemon, orange, or berry blast. The Jell-O powder gets fully mixed in, so every bite has bright color and sweet fruit flavor all the way through.
You can even mix colors for a fun marbled effect, or freeze the dough balls for easy bake-ahead treats. With a simple chill, these Jello cookies bake up soft, tender, and beautifully bright every time–no fading or browning!
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Chill the Dough for Perfect Cookies
For perfectly round and fluffy Jello sugar cookies, I have found that chilling the dough before baking is key. Freezing the shaped dough balls for 15 minutes allows the cornstarch to soften the dough, prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, and helps lock in their vibrant color.
Jello Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- 2 Baking Sheet(s)
- Cookie Portion Scoop
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter slightly melted (2 sticks)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons dry Jell-O mix *
- Gel food coloring **
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside for now.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- In a separate large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until well combined and light in color, about 2 minutes.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla into the butter mixture and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on low just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the cookie dough into 5 separate bowls. This works out to be about 187 grams of cookie dough for each of the 5 bowls.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the dry Jell-O powder into each bowl (one tablespoon of strawberry into one bowl of dough, one tablespoon of lime into a different bowl of dough, one tablespoon of orange into a different bowl of dough, etc.).5 tablespoons dry Jell-O mix
- Add food coloring into each bowl (red for strawberry, green for lime, orange for orange, yellow for lemon, and blue for berry blast).Gel food coloring
- Use a spatula to stir Jell-O powder and food coloring into cookie dough.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a 2-tablespoon sized cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. The cookie dough balls will be about 30 grams each. You’ll end up with 6 cookies in each of the 5 colors. Use your hands to roll cookies into smooth balls.
- Place the tray of unbaked cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes to help them firm up.
- While the cookies chill, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper, take some cookies out of the freezer, and place them on the baking sheet 3 inches apart. The remaining cookies should stay in the freezer until they are ready to be baked.
- Place one tray of cookies into the preheated oven. Bake each tray of cookies for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will still look a bit soft in the middle, but they’ll continue to bake on the hot tray after you remove them from the oven.
- Let cookies cool for 15 minutes on tray before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure the flour using the spoon-and-level method to avoid dense, dry cookies.
- You can use whatever colors you’d like in this recipe. Just keep in mind that, in total, the recipe will need 5 tablespoons of Jell-O powder.
- You can use any flavors of Jell-O you like for these cookies. Cherry, mango, pineapple, peach, blackberry, apricot, watermelon, raspberry, or blueberry pomegranate would all be delicious. You can also use sugar-free Jell-O flavors.
- To cut back on food coloring, use Jell-O Simply Good or try natural food colorings, like beet juice, butterfly pea powder, and matcha powder. You can also leave out the food coloring altogether, but your cookies will be less vibrant and more pastel-colored.
- Do not overwork the cookie dough, or else you will end up with rubbery cookies.
- These cookies stay softer when they are slightly underbaked. Plus, it helps the colors stay more vibrant, as browning would dull the bright colors.
- If your cookies get too brown on the bottoms, you can gently shave the browned bottoms off with a box grater or microplane.
How to Make Jello Sugar Cookies Step-by-Step
Prep: Gather the list of ingredients for this cookie recipe. Slightly melt the butter by microwaving it on high for 30 seconds.
Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt together. Set aside for now.
Mix the Wet Ingredients: In a separate large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat 1 cup of slightly melted unsalted butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar until well combined and light in color, about 2 minutes. Add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract into the butter mixture and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Divide the Dough: Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on low just until combined. Be careful not to overmix. Divide the cookie dough into 5 separate bowls–this works out to be about 187 grams of cookie dough for each of the 5 bowls. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the dry Jell-O powder into each bowl (one tablespoon of strawberry into one bowl of dough, one tablespoon of lime into a different bowl of dough, one tablespoon of orange into a different bowl of dough, etc.).
Color the Dough: Add a drop of gel food coloring into each bowl (red for strawberry, green for lime, orange for orange, yellow for lemon, and blue for berry blast). Use a spatula to stir the Jell-O powder and food coloring into the cookie dough. You can get right in there with your clean hands to really make sure each bowl of cookie dough is combined well with the Jell-O powder and food coloring. My kids love helping with this part, but the vibrant gel food coloring can stain hands or clothes, so I keep wipes handy and use aprons for easy cleanup!
Shape and Chill the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. The cookie dough balls will be about 30 grams each. You’ll end up with 6 cookies in each of the 5 colors. Use your hands to roll cookies into smooth balls. Place the tray of unbaked cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes. Freezing the cookies before baking helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
Bake the Cookies: Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper, take some cookies out of the freezer, and place them on the baking sheet. The cookies should be 3 inches apart. The remaining cookies should stay in the freezer until they are ready to be baked. Place one tray of cookies into the preheated oven–it’s important to only bake one tray of cookies at a time to ensure even baking. Bake each tray of jello cookies for 12-13 minutes. They will still look a bit soft in the middle, but they’ll continue to bake on the hot tray after you remove them from the oven. You don’t want to bake them for too long, or the cookies will be dry and crunchy instead of light and chewy. Let cookies cool for 15 minutes on the tray before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Store
Store these colorful Jello cookies in an airtight container or Ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Freeze in a single layer until solid, then transfer to a Ziplock bag for longer storage. Let thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
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