This little 3-ingredient slow cooker flag day cookie treat is the kind of make-do dessert I wish I’d thought of years ago. It was born out of one of those moments when the sugar cookie dough broke apart on me, and instead of fussing with it, I just tossed the raw broken chunks into the slow cooker with a couple of pantry staples. A few hours later, I had a warm, gooey cookie cobbler that tasted like the Fourth of July potlucks of my childhood, dressed up in red, white, and blue for Flag Day. It’s simple, cozy, and perfect for when you want something festive without turning on the oven or dirtying half the kitchen.
Spoon this warm cookie treat into bowls and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream so it melts down into all the nooks and crannies. A few extra patriotic sprinkles over the top look pretty on a picnic table. It pairs nicely with iced tea, lemonade, or coffee after a cookout. If you’re serving a crowd, set the slow cooker on warm and let folks serve themselves, keeping a bowl of berries on the side for anyone who wants a little fruit with their dessert.
Slow Cooker Flag Day Cookie TreatServings: 6-8
Ingredients
1 (16–18 oz) package raw sugar cookie dough, broken into bite-size chunks
1 cup red, white, and blue candy-coated chocolate pieces (or similar patriotic candies)
1/3 cup red, white, and blue sprinkles (jimmies or confetti style), divided
Directions
Lightly grease the bottom and lower sides of a medium slow cooker (about 4–6 quarts) with a bit of butter or nonstick spray so the cookie treat releases easily.
Break the raw sugar cookie dough into rough bite-size chunks and scatter them in an even layer over the bottom of the slow cooker. You should see pieces of dough covering the base with a few small gaps here and there.
Sprinkle the candy-coated chocolate pieces evenly over the raw broken sugar cookie dough chunks, letting some candies fall between the pieces so they melt into the cookie as it cooks.
Scatter about half of the sprinkles evenly over the dough and candies, saving the rest for garnishing the finished dessert.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid. Cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours, or until the cookie dough is set around the edges, lightly golden, and the center is mostly set but still a little soft and gooey. Try not to lift the lid more than once toward the end to check doneness, as that releases heat and can slow cooking.
Once done, turn the slow cooker to WARM or turn it off. Let the dessert sit, covered, for about 10 to 15 minutes so it can firm up slightly and cool down from piping hot to pleasantly warm.
Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining sprinkles over the top for a fresh burst of red, white, and blue color. Serve the cookie treat warm, scooping it out with a large spoon into bowls. Add ice cream or whipped cream if you like.
Variations & Tips
If you don’t have patriotic candies, you can use any color candy-coated chocolate pieces and matching sprinkles to fit another holiday—pastels for Easter, orange and black for Halloween, or classic rainbow for birthdays. You can also stir in up to 1/2 cup chopped nuts (like pecans or walnuts) along with the candies for a little crunch, as long as everyone enjoys nuts. For a slightly less sweet version, reduce the candies to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. If your slow cooker tends to run hot, check the dessert after about 1 hour and 45 minutes so the edges don’t overbrown; all cookers are a bit different. Line the bottom of the slow cooker with a fitted piece of parchment for easiest cleanup and to help lift out larger portions. For food safety, keep the cookie dough refrigerated until you’re ready to put it into the slow cooker, and do not leave raw dough sitting out on the counter for long periods. Cook on LOW only, and make sure the dessert reaches a safe temperature and is fully cooked through at the edges before serving; it should not look like raw dough in the center, just soft and gooey like a cookie bar. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a covered container and reheat portions gently in the microwave or a low oven until warm.
