Mardi Gras Sugar Cookies Recipe with Rum Frosting
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Mardi Gras and rum go hand in hand, so why not make a batch of these Mardi Gras Sugar Cookies to enjoy? They’re topped with a rum-flavored frosting and covered in purple, gold, and green sugar sprinkles.
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Mardi Gras Sugar Cookies
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions; to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required, and to understand the steps and timings involved.
These cookies are the flavor and colors of Mardi Gras!
Simple sugar cookie dough gets an infusion of rum extract and then when cooked and cooled, are covered with dark rum frosting and covered with gold, purple, and green sugar sprinkles.
Make a batch of these to celebrate Mardi Gras at home and let the good times roll!
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients (and equipment) needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online. The full list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Powdered Sugar – also known as Confectioner’s Sugar or Icing Sugar.
- Rum Extract – some extracts are just the flavor of rum, some contain traces of alcohol. Check the packaging before use if this is a concern for you.
- All-Purpose Flour – also known as Plain Flour.
- Baking Soda – also known as Bicarbonate of Soda.
- Baking Powder
- Dark Rum – see my tips if you want to make these cookies alcohol free.
- Purple, Green, and Yellow Sanding Sugar – or you could use regular sprinkles if you prefer.
- Medium-sized Ice Cream Scoop – for dividing the cookie dough.
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog! I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
More Cookie Recipes
Looking for more cookie recipe inspo? Check these recipes out next:
More Mardi Gras Recipes
Looking for more Mardi Gras recipe inspo? Check these recipes out next:
- How To Make Chocolate & Rum Mardi Gras Cakesicles!
- Mardi Gras Hot Cocoa Bombs
- Easy Mardi Gras Cupcakes + Free Printable Cupcake Toppers
Recipe Tips
- You can make these cookies alcohol free by replacing the rum extract and the dark rum with pure vanilla extract instead. In the frosting, check for taste before adding too much.
- If you want to keep the rum flavor you could use imitation rum extract which has the flavor of rum, but not the alcohol. Check the bottle that you purchase for substitution ratios. The McCormick brand says “2 tablespoons of rum extract equals 1 tablespoon of dark rum”. Therefore you may have to adjust the amount of powdered sugar in the frosting.
How Do I Make Mardi Gras Sugar Cookies?
Just check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients, and instructions. Pictures are not printed to save on your ink.
Mardi Gras Sugar Cookies with Rum Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp rum extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the Rum Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 oz 100g cream cheese, softened
- 2 Tbsp dark rum
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 2½ cups powdered sugar icing sugar
To Decorate
- Purple sanding sugar sprinkles
- Green sanding sugar sprinkles
- Gold sanding sugar sprinkles
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line the two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick baking sheet.
- Using an electric handheld or stand mixer, beat together the butter, powder sugar, egg, and rum extract until combined.
- In another bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder until combined.
- Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet until a dough forms.
- Use a medium-sized ice cream scoop, scoop out some dough onto the cookie sheet.
- Gently press the dough down into a thick mound.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown around the edge.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Using an electric mixer again, beat all frosting ingredients together until smooth and stiff.
- Scoop some frosting out onto the cookies and gently spread evenly.
- Decorate the top of the cookies with the sanding sugar sprinkles.
- Allow the frosting to set before serving.
- Enjoy and Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
- Appetizer: Baked Coconut Shrimp with Avocado-Lime Dip
- Main Dish: Sweet & Spicy Bourbon Steak Kebabs
- Side Dish: Carolina Red Rice
- Beverage: King Cake Cocktail
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!