Beach Ball Sugar Cookies That Are Perfect for Summer Parties
Beach Ball Sugar Cookies are the ultimate way to bring a little sunshine and fun to any party!
This colorful and cheerful cookie recipe is perfect for beach-themed birthdays, pool parties, summer picnics, or just a sweet way to brighten up someone’s day.
They’re easy to decorate, super kid-friendly, and guaranteed to steal the show on your dessert table.
Plus, you don’t have to be a professional baker to pull off the adorable beach ball design — a little frosting and a splash of creativity is all it takes!
It’s way easier than it sounds to make Beach Ball cookies once you get started — just scroll to the bottom for the full printable recipe with all the steps.
You’ll start by making a soft sugar cookie dough with butter, sugar, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, flour, and a little baking soda.
Don’t skip the 30-minute chill time — it helps the cookies hold their shape when you bake them.
Be sure to lightly flour your surface, rolling pin, and even your cookie cutter to prevent sticking before rolling it out.
After chilling the dough, roll it out to an even 1/4″ thickness so your cookies bake uniformly, then cut out 3-inch circles and bake until the bottoms are just lightly golden.
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, you’ll make a simple royal icing, divide it into fun bright colors, and then decorate!
If you’re new to royal icing, practice on a piece of parchment paper first to get the feel for it!
You’ll outline and fill sections to create that cute beach ball look, layering the white seam last to give it a pop of dimension.
Tips for Decorating Beach Ball Cookies:
- When piping royal icing, hover slightly above the cookie and let the icing fall into place — don’t press it onto the surface!
- Outlining: Instead of outlining the white section first, draw and immediately fill it in to create a smoother look. Still double-layer the center “bump” for dimension.
- Icing Consistency: Check your royal icing with the “10-second test” — if it blends into itself in about 10 seconds, it’s ready for flooding!
- Make-Ahead Tip: You can prepare royal icing the day before, store it properly, and pipe the next day if needed.
- When dividing icing into 5 colors, aim for a little more than 1/2 cup each to account for the extra white you’ll need.
Let the icing “flood” naturally and use a toothpick to gently guide it if needed. The icing should sink into itself within about 10 seconds if it’s the right consistency.
Give the cookies at least 8 hours (or overnight) to fully dry before stacking or packaging.
You can freeze the baked (but undecorated) cookies. Just wrap them well and thaw completely before decorating.
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If you’re loving the idea of these Beach Themed Sugar Cookies, you’ll definitely want to check out these other fun and festive ideas too!
- Make a splash at your next celebration with easy and colorful pool party desserts everyone will dive right into!
- Bring the taste of summer to your table with beach party desserts that are just as fun to look at as they are to eat.
- Add a magical touch to your summer baking with cute summer sugar cookies like mermaid cookies, perfect for beachy vibes and birthday parties!
Want to make sure your cookies stay soft and delicious? Learn how to keep your cookies fresh with a few easy tips!
Beach Ball Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 6 cups all purpose flour plus more for rolling
- 1 tsp baking soda
Royal Icing:
- 1 lb Powdered Sugar
- 3 tbsp meringue powder
- 10 tbsp water
- gel food coloring
Instructions
Cookies:
- Add butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy, about five minutes.
- Scrape the bowl down halfway through beating.
- Add sour cream, eggs and vanilla and beat well until combined.
- Add 3 cups of flour and baking soda and beat just until combined.
- Add remaining 3 cups of flour and beat until just combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle flour onto a flat surface and add a small amount of dough (a little bigger than tennis ball size) to the surface and use a rolling pin, also dusted in flour, to roll the dough into 1/4" thickness.
- Use a 3" round cookie cutter to cut the dough into cookies and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let stand on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing cookies from the baking sheet and placing them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Repeat until you have all of the dough rolled and cookies made.
Icing:
- Add powdered sugar meringue powder and 5 tablespoons water to a heavy duty mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Beat on low speed until mixture forms a large ball.
- Slowly add 1 additional tablespoon water and continue to beat for 7 minutes, mixture will be thick and probably like a ball.
- Continue to add 1 tablespoon water and beat on low until you have the desired consistency.
- The best consistency for flooding icing is to dip your spatula into the bowl and let the icing drip into the bowl. If the icing completely sinks and blends in with the icing in the bowl within 10 seconds, it's ready to be flooded.
- Divide icing into 5, about 1/2 cup bowls. Cover each bowl with damp paper towel to prevent the icing from drying out.
- Place one bowl of icing, white, into a pastry bag and twist the bag shut. Color remaining icing with color gels, and add to a pastry bag until you have 5 colors.
- Once cookies are completely cooled, make sure you are working on a flat surface and snip the tip of the icing bag open, to about 1/8". Start small and increase the opening if necessary.
- Beginning with the white icing, draw an oval off center to create the beach ball seam. Draw section lines on the cookie to create the color areas, making sure the icing is hovering over the cookie rather than touching the cookie.
- Fill each area with white icing. Set the icing aside and cover the open tip of the pastry bag with a damp paper towel.
- Begin adding additional colors to the beach balls by filling in the blank spaces with the other icing. Use a toothpick to help fill the void areas when you pipe the icing onto the cookies.
- Once all colors are added, return to the white icing, add a second layer on the oval of the beach ball so it's more dimensional and creates more of a 3D shape.
- Let stand until completely dry. This could take 1 or more hours depending on the humidity in the room.
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