I've always had an adoration for cookies of any kind; chocolate chip, sugar, snickerdoodle, you name it and I'll probably devour it. While not much competes with my love for cookies, my love for summer is definitely ranked just as high, and maybe even higher than my cookie obsession. That's why these rainbow shortbread cookies are so magical! Not only do these tender, buttery cookies only take three ingredients, but they are created to look like colorful rainbows, the perfect symbol of summer. These cookies are such a great option for when you're asked to bring a dessert to a party and you have no idea what to make or if you want a simple yet fun summer project to try! But, no matter your reason for making these cookies, it's almost a fact that they'll be devoured rapidly.

Supplies

Ingredients for the Cookies

-3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

-1 cup of powdered sugar

-3 cups of all purpose flour

-Food coloring in the colors of the rainbow (I chose red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet)

Tools Needed

-Spatula

-Sharp knife

-Plastic wrap

-Stand mixer

-Sheet Pan

Step 1: Making the Dough

The first step in starting these delicious cookies is to combine the three ingredients for the dough: the butter, sugar, and flour. Begin by creaming the butter on medium speed until the butter is smooth with no lumps. Add in all of the powdered sugar and beat that on medium speed until it has been fully combined into the butter. Finally, beat in half of the flour and cream the mixture until it is smooth. Add in the rest of the flour to complete the dough. The cookie dough should resemble the texture of "Play-Doh", it shouldn't be sticky but it also shouldn't be crumbly and dry.

Step 2: Coloring the Dough

To make the dough look like a rainbow, it needs to be dyed with food coloring! Begin by separating the dough into a different bowl for each color. Since I am using six colors, I'm using six bowls. Once the dough has been separated evenly, put a few drops of food coloring into the bowls and stir the coloring into the dough until all of the dough has been dyed in every spot. Be careful that there are no streaks in the dough and that no spots in dough have not yet been dyed.

Step 3: Finishing the Dough

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap onto your working surface, it should be about 15 inches long, but there is no need to be exact, the cookies will taste great regardless! Begin by rolling out the red dough to the length desired (around 15 inches), try to keep the width of the dough consistent throughout. Lay the dough onto the plastic wrap and then begin rolling out the orange dough to match the length and width of the red dough. Place the orange dough next to the red, and gently press them together. Repeat this process with each color. Then, tightly roll the plastic into a log so all of the doughs are touching each other. Refrigerate the dough for at least two hours to ensure that the dough will not spread when it is placed into the oven, refrigerating the dough also makes it easier to cut it into rounds. Once the dough has been refrigerated, gently take the plastic wrap off of the dough and cut the dough into small rounds about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Step 4: Baking the Cookies

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the dough on a baking sheet about two inches apart from each other. Bake the cookies for fifteen minutes, then allow them to cool for five minutes. Enjoy these delicious summer treats!