If you’re looking for a festive treat for 4th of July, look no further than this Gluten Free American Flag Cookie Cake. It’s made of a gluten free sugar cookie topped with cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit. It’s a real crowd pleaser!
I love to decorate cookies and cakes for special occasions, but sometimes I want to make something beautiful without all the effort. That’s where this gluten free cookie cake comes in.
Cookie cakes (or dessert pizza) are great for parties of all kinds because they don’t take a lot of effort, yet they’re visually stunning and taste delicious. By using colorful toppings you can create a festive dessert without any previous decorating skills!
Everyone loves this American Flag Cookie Cake recipe. It’s a beautiful 4th of July dessert that tastes just as good as it looks!
Table of Contents
What is a Cookie Cake or Dessert Pizza?
What makes this American Flag Cookie Cake Gluten Free?
How can I make this cookie cake recipe dairy free?
What if I don’t want to make my cookie cake look like a flag?
How to Store American Flag Cookie Cake
How to Make Ahead This Gluten Free Cookie Pizza
Ready for 4th of July? Try These Other Gluten Free Patriotic Recipes:
- Vegan Red, White and Blue Cookie Cups are a fun, portable gluten-free treat for the 4th of July!
- 4th of July Sugar Cookies are decorated with royal icing and so festive!
- Beat the heat with these Red, White and Blueberry Popsicles
- For adults over 21, these Stained Glass Jello Shots are so beautiful with their vibrant colors!
- Looking for some beverages that don’t contain alcohol? Try these 4th of July Mocktails!
American Flag Sugar Cookie Cake Recipe
This easy, festive 4th of July dessert is quite the show stopper. And it’s delicious! Cream cheese frosting tops a sugar cookie base and is decorated with fresh fruit for this Gluten Free American Flag Cookie Cake recipe. It’s a great party dessert!
Gluten Free Flag Cookie Cake
Ingredients
For the Cookie:
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2/ tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum - if your blend doesn't already contain it
- 1/2 cup butter - softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese - softened
- 2 tbsp butter - softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
To Decorate:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup strawberries - sliced
- 1 cup raspberries
Instructions
For the Cookie:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a quarter sheet pan or 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on all sides.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the baking powder, salt, gluten free flour blend and xanthan gum (if using) until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add softened butter and granulated sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Then gradually mix in the flour mixture, until no white streaks remain.
- Scoop the cookie dough out on onto the prepared pan. With your hands, press the dough into the pan until you get an even layer that covers the whole pan. It helps to slightly wet your hands so the dough does not stick to your hands.
- Bake the cookie at 350F for 15-18 minutes, until the cookie is lightly browned, being sure not to over bake. Let cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the softened cream cheese and butter in a medium size bowl.
- With an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Then, stir in the vanilla extract until combined.
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar, mixing in between each addition, until combined. You can add additional powdered sugar until you reach your preferred consistency.
To Decorate:
- When the cookie is completely cool, pour the cream cheese frosting onto the cookie.
- With an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth the frosting to cover the entire cookie.
- Starting with the blueberries, make a box in the upper left hand corner of the cookie. I did a row of 7 blueberries across and 5 blueberries down.
- Next, create a line along the top with the sliced strawberries, letting them slightly overlap.
- Leave about an inch space of white frosting, and then create another horizontal line, this time with the raspberries.
- Continue alternating lines of strawberries and raspberries (leaving white space in between) until you reach the bottom of the cookie cake.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: This post was originally posted on July 4, 2012 and updated on June 22, 2019 with updated photos, recipe and tips and tricks to help you make this gluten free treat perfectly every time!
These are all so cute!
Why thank you miss jodie ๐
Gorgeous cake Meg! Love the star cookies too. Pinned them to my Red, White and Blue Pinterest board!
xo
Mary
Thanks Aunt Mary!
When you say to โpourโ the dough mixture into the pan, there is no โpouringโ. It is very thick and doesnโt seem like enough dough for a 9×13 inch sheet cake. Are the portions correct? Am I missing something?
Hi Debra, By pour I just meant to dump it all onto the pan. And then you press it into the baking sheet until flat. It’s not a cake, very much a thin cookie cake. I’d say 1/3″ high. But yes, the batter should be thick, like cookie dough.
I followed the recipe to the letter and the cookie cake looked alright, yet the cookie totally fell apart. I didn’t get an opportunity to try the fun decorating part. I can’t imagine what I could have done to cause this–as cookie was totally cooled.
Hi Kariene, It sounds like you had just a bit too much flour if it crumbled apart. I can think of two things that may be the reason, either the flour blend or the measuring method for the flour. Which gluten-free flour blend did you use? How do you measure your flour in the measuring cup? If you scoop the measuring cup into the flour, you may be compacting it a bit too much and it can result in too much flour. You should get 175g of flour from 1.25 cups. Hope this helps!
Delicious!! Even non-gluten free people loved it. I doubled it for a 1/2 sheet pan and will definitely make again!!
So glad you enjoyed this, Laura! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is outstanding! My daughter said it didnโt taste gluten free and was better than a crumbl cookie! Will definitely make again!
Thanks so much Heather! I’m so glad your daughter enjoyed it! Her saying it’s better than a crumbl cookie makes my day! ๐
Made thus and turned out sooo good!!