This jello cookie recipe is so fun and colorful! The kids will love making these easy jello cookies with only a few simple ingredients.
My kids and I love to bake all types of desserts together! Other favorites include Rolo pretzels, funfetti cake mix cookies and homemade cosmic brownies.
Table of Contents
Easy and Colorful Jello Cookies
These jello cookies are perfect for baking with kids because they’re easy, colorful and double as playdough! Talk about a win-win for cookies :)
Although my famous homemade playdough recipe is still our go-to, the texture of this cookie dough is super soft and squishy. Wash the kid’s hands (and counter of course) and then let the kids imaginations go wild! My kids have so much fun smashing the dough and building BIG towers with all the colors.
Then once they’re done playing, simply roll it into balls, dip them in jello sugar and bake! They taste soft like a sugar cookie, but with a more tart and sweet flavor like my raspberry cookie recipe.
These cookies are also a fun recipe to make during the holidays with the kids. We love to make red and blue versions for 4th of July or red and green jello cookies for Christmas. They are also great for Cinco de Mayo. Simple, festive and delicious!
Favorite Jello Mix Flavors
Below are some of the jello mix flavors that you can use to make these cookies. Feel free to switch it up depending on the time of year or the holiday!
- Red: Strawberry, cherry, watermelon, raspberry, tropical fusion or cranberry
- Orange: Orange, apricot, mango or peach
- Blue: Berry blue
- Green: Lime
- Others: Grape (purple) and lemon or island pineapple (yellow)
How to Make Jello Cookies
Scroll down for the printable recipe.
- Preheat oven and cream butter and sugar together. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Then blend in egg and vanilla.
- Mix dry ingredients with wet mixture. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tarter in a separate bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
- Divide into sections. Divide the dough into four sections. Sprinkle two tablespoons of jello mix into each section and then knead until combined. Add food coloring for a more vibrant color.
- Roll into balls. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet about two inches apart. Flatten the dough with the bottom of a cup to allow the cookies to cook evenly.
- Bake and let cool. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
TIP: For a sweeter cookie, roll your cookie dough balls into the extra jello mix powder or sugar prior to baking.
Baking Tips
Don’t these jello cookies just scream SUMMER?! I love all the bright colors! It was fun to taste all the different flavors too. The kids loved them!
- To enhance the colors, use a couple drops of food coloring in each section.
- You can use sugar-free jello mix if preferred.
- For a sweeter cookie, roll the cookie dough balls into the extra jello powder or sugar prior to baking.
- Use the bottom of a cup or bowl to flatten the cookie dough balls so that they bake evenly.
- You could use a cookie press if preferred. Or even roll the dough out and use cookie cutters.
- Freeze the dough and bake them later! Simply roll the dough into balls and place in a zip top bag in the freezer. Before baking, let them thaw out on a baking sheet.
These festive cookies are so fun to make during the holiday baking season! These Oreo Christmas cookies are another favorite.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
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Jello Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
- 12 ounces jello mix (4 packages)
- food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tarter. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
- Divide the dough into four sections. Sprinkle two tablespoons of jello mix into each section and then knead the dough until combined. You can add a few drops of food coloring in, if you’d like the color to be more vibrant.
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls. If desired, you may roll the balls into the extra jello powder or sugar for a sweeter cookie. Then place dough onto the baking sheet about two inches apart. Flatten the dough with the bottom of a cup or bowl to allow the cookies to cook evenly.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Cookies, Desserts, Holiday Cookies, Kid-Friendly
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
These look amazing! Such a great idea. I can’t wait to make them :)
These DO scream summer. I will have to make them for my kids who LOVE jello. They are very pretty.
These will be great for the lorax party I am having next month. Can’t wait to make them.
Can you replace the jell-o with Kool-Aid?
I haven’t tried, but I would think that would work good too! Try it and let me know how it goes. :)
I think my teenagers would love making those jello cookies. They are bright and fun looking.
These look so cute and I can’t wait to try them with my son! I was wondering if anyone has tried baking them without flattening them because I love the way they look on the cookie sheet when they’re still balls! I assume they will flatten out somewhat but I’m probably going to try it.
Made these last night for a cookie exchange and they are DELICIOUS!!! I DEFINITELY would recommend using food coloring as the Jello alone put NO color into the dough but LOVE the scent of biting into them after they were rolled in the Jello. You smell the sweet Jello flavor but the Jello DOES NOT over power the cookie!! they were a big hit!
Can this dough be rolled out and used with cookie cutters? Was thinking of using this for Christmas cut outs if possible
These have been a hit everywhere I’ve taken them and I love them! These were the first cookies I ever baked from scratch and it was so much fun. Thank you for posting this!
which Jello to use? regular Jello or the pudding Jello ????
How could I make these cookies gluten free?
How wonderful!! is perfect for a fun and yummy activity with the kids, greetings from Peru!
xx
Love this idea! Going to make them today but am curious about how much sugar to use? I see someone mentioned 1 cup? Is that correct? Thanks in advance! :)
great ideal was looking for cooking ideal to do with my class i have never heard of jello cookies i will be doing this with my kids thanks
These look so good! I found the recipe through reddit and will be sharing with everyone!! :) You should like up your great recipes some time at my weekly recipe hop (here is the link to this week if you are interested:
I just made these.. I put the powder into my tablespoon and only got one Tblspn. So I thought maybe I am supposed to actually put the mix in the cup of water so I did it that way. Which I assumed was wrong because you’re supposed to roll it in the extra jello powder. Am I missing something?
Thanks for sharing! My mother makes these at Christmas. They are really tasty and I love the endless flavor possibilities.
How far ahead can I make these for an event?