- Dolly Parton’s limited-edition Star Spangled Sugar Cookie Mix bakes up with crisp edges, chewy centers, and classic vanilla flavor.
- The cookies are delicious on their own—but they're even better turned into make-ahead ice cream sandwiches for your Fourth of July celebration.
- A handful of star sprinkles and a little freezer time transform this easy boxed mix into a party-worthy summer dessert.
As the United States gears up to celebrate its 250th birthday, it feels only fitting that America’s sweetheart has a festive new dessert to match. Dolly Parton has steadily built a grocery empire that includes cake mixes, brownie mixes, frosting, frozen meals, and more.
Her latest launch is perfectly timed for Fourth of July celebrations: Star Spangled Sugar Cookie Mix, complete with red and blue sprinkles baked right into the dough. The limited-edition mix joins Duncan Hines’ Baking with Dolly collection just in time for summer entertaining.
It’s basically Dolly in cookie form—sweet, festive, and ready for a party. So of course, I had to see whether it deserves a spot at your cookout.
Everything you get inside the box
Inside you’ll find one bag of dry sugar cookie mix with blue and red star sprinkles already mixed into the batter. Just know the sprinkles aren’t packaged separately, so your finished cookies won’t look exactly like the ones on the box—but don’t worry, I’ve got an easy trick to recreate that look.
You’ll need:
- ½ cup melted butter (I used unsalted)
- 1 large egg
Mix everything together in a bowl, scoop the dough onto baking sheets, and bake.
You can make either:
- 14 large cookies, or
- 24 regular-size cookies
How do the cookies taste?
They taste exactly like the sugar cookies you hope they will: The edges bake up lightly crisp while the centers stay pleasantly chewy. Flavor-wise, they’re buttery with plenty of classic vanilla—comforting, nostalgic, and just what you want from a summer sugar cookie. The patriotic sprinkles don’t dramatically change the flavor, but they do make every cookie look instantly celebration-ready without requiring any decorating skills.
The real move? Turn them into ice cream sandwiches
As good as the cookies are on their own, I actually liked them even more as ice cream sandwiches.
The cookies are soft enough that you can bite through them without launching the scoop of vanilla ice cream out the sides—a problem I’ve had with plenty of homemade cookie sandwiches. Instead, everything stays together for the perfect bite. The vanilla ice cream also amplifies the cookie’s buttery vanilla flavor, making the whole thing taste a little richer and a lot more special. Honestly, if you show up to a Fourth of July barbecue with a tray of these, they’ll disappear faster than the fireworks finale.
For a Dolly-approved extra flourish
If you want to make them look how they appear on the package, grab a container of star-shaped sprinkles.
Sprinkle the stars on top of your cookies before baking, then roll the edges of your ice cream sandwiches in the sprinkles for a bakery-worthy finish. You could also sandwich the cookies together with Dolly’s vanilla frosting instead of ice cream, though fair warning: the frosting is every bit as sweet as Dolly herself.
Want Dolly-worthy cookies? Start here
Where to buy
The limited-edition mix is available now at Walmart stores and Walmart.com while supplies last, with additional retailers, like H-E-B, Hy-vee, Martin’s, and Instacart, carrying it in select markets.
My verdict
This is exactly the kind of baking mix summer is made for. It’s easy enough to whip up before a pool party, picnic, or backyard barbecue, and the cookies taste genuinely good—not just “good for a boxed mix.”
But if you only take one recommendation from this review, make it this: Turn them into ice cream sandwiches.
Wrap each one individually in wax paper and stash them in the freezer ahead of your party. You’ll have a grab-and-go dessert that’s festive, nostalgic, and guaranteed to make everyone feel like a kid again.
Now that’s a sweet way to celebrate America.
