I’m not a health food blogger—I love sugar, sprinkles, and bold colors. But bright artificial food dyes often leave an off taste in frostings. I used to avoid intense color for that reason, until our resident baker Theresa showed us these vivid, natural food colorings made from whole ingredients. The results are bright, beautiful, and free of that chemical aftertaste. If you want colorful frosting without artificial dyes—or you prefer to be mindful about what goes into your treats—this method delivers. And since today is National Sugar Cookie Day, we’re making sugar cookies topped with naturally dyed frosting. Enjoy!
Click through for the recipes!
Naturally Dyed Sugar Cookie Frosting (Makes about 25 cookies)
For the sugar cookies:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Sift together the flour and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Divide the dough into 1 to 1½ inch balls, roll each in sugar, and place about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 7 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool completely before frosting. Yields about 25 cookies.
For the frosting:
6 cups powdered sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Natural food colorings (recipes below)
Cream together the powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth. The frosting will be thick. Divide into bowls according to how many colors you plan to make. Add natural food coloring a teaspoon at a time and stir until you reach the desired shade. You can mix the three base dyes—green, yellow, and fuchsia—to create additional shades: mostly fuchsia with a touch of yellow makes red; mostly yellow with a hint of fuchsia makes orange; and so on.
Fuchsia (from red beet)
1 red beet
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cream
Peel and dice the beet. Place the pieces in a microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup water, cover, and microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute to soften slightly. Transfer the beet and its cooking water to a blender with the cream and blend until smooth, adding a little more water if needed. Press the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. The strained liquid is your fuchsia food coloring.
Yellow (from golden beet and turmeric)
1 golden beet
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cream
Peel and dice the golden beet. Place it in a microwave-safe dish with the turmeric and 1/4 cup water, cover, and microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute to soften. Blend the beet, turmeric, and cream until smooth, adding water if necessary. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to collect the yellow liquid. This strained liquid is your yellow food coloring.
Green (from matcha and spinach)
1 to 2 tablespoons matcha powder
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup cream
Combine 1 tablespoon matcha, the spinach, and cream in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more matcha for a deeper green if needed. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to extract the green liquid. This strained liquid is your green food coloring.
Photos by Jeff Mindell | Recipe by Theresa Rountree | Styling + Creative Direction by Kelly Mindell
I wondered whether the beet or spinach flavors would come through in the frosting, but the taste is extremely subtle. The natural dyes blend into the frosting without leaving an obvious vegetable flavor, and the cookies remained delicious—my household taste tester loved them. These natural colorings are an easy way to achieve vivid, pleasant-tasting frostings without artificial dyes.
Have you tried making natural icing? What ingredients or colors do you like best?