Christmas Cookie
intro
Buttery, crisp-tender cut-out cookies decorated with colorful royal icing, perfect for festive Christmas gifting, tree trimming, and fun family baking sessions.
Ingredients
Steps
Cream butter and sugar
In a large mixing bowl, beat 226 grams of softened unsalted butter and 150 grams of granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale, light, and fluffy with no visible sugar grit. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing to ensure even incorporation.
Mix the cookie dough
Add 1 room-temperature large egg and 5 ml of pure vanilla extract to the creamed butter mixture, beating on low speed for 30 seconds until fully combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together 340 grams of all-purpose flour, 2 grams of baking powder, and 1 gram of fine salt. Gradually add the dry ingredient mix to the wet ingredients on low speed, mixing only until no dry flour remains—do not overmix, as this will produce tough cookies.
Chill the dough
Divide the finished dough into two equal, 2.5cm (1 inch) thick flat disks, wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 60 full minutes. Chilling solidifies the butter in the dough, preventing cookies from spreading and losing their crisp shape during baking; do not skip this step.
Cut cookie shapes
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a clean work surface, roll one chilled dough disk to a uniform 6mm (¼ inch) thickness, and press holiday-shaped cookie cutters (pine trees, stars, snowmen, candy canes) into the dough to cut shapes. Place cutouts 2.5cm (1 inch) apart on the prepared baking sheets, re-rolling dough scraps only once to cut additional shapes to avoid tough cookies.
Bake the cookies
Bake one sheet at a time on the oven’s middle rack for 8 to 9 minutes, until the cookie edges are just barely light golden—cookie centers will look slightly soft, but will fully set as they cool. Let cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature (approximately 20 minutes) before decorating.
Make royal icing
In a clean, dry mixing bowl, whisk 360 grams of powdered sugar, 15 grams of meringue powder, and 45 ml of warm water together on low speed for 1 minute, then increase to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until the icing is thick, glossy, and holds a soft peak when the whisk is lifted. Divide the icing into small bowls, tint with gel food coloring to desired holiday shades, and stir in 1-2 extra drops of warm water if needed to reach a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Decorate the cookies
Use small offset spatulas, disposable piping bags, or toothpicks to spread or pipe the colored icing onto fully cooled cookies. Add sprinkles, edible glitter, or small candy decorations while the icing is still wet, then let decorated cookies sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the icing to set completely before serving or gifting.
Tips
2.Do not overbake your cookies: if the entire cookie top is golden brown, it will be overly hard and crisp once cooled; aim for just barely golden edges for the perfect tender-crisp texture.
3.If your kitchen is warmer than 24°C (75°F) while cutting shapes, chill the tray of cut-out cookies for 10 minutes before baking to help them retain their sharp, detailed holiday shapes instead of spreading.
OMG these are SO good! I made them for my kid’s class holiday party yesterday and every single cookie got eaten. The buttery flavor is perfect, not too sweet, and they held their shape perfectly when I cut out reindeer and snowflake shapes. Total game changer for my annual Christmas cookie swap! 10/10 will make every year from now on.
Super easy recipe even for a baking newbie like me! I’ve never successfully made cut-out cookies without them turning into blobs, but these came out perfect. I skipped the fancy royal icing and just dusted them with powdered sugar and they were still a hit at my family’s Christmas Eve dinner.
Made these last weekend with my niece when she visited, we had so much fun decorating them with sprinkles and red/green icing. The dough was super easy to roll out, didn’t stick to my counter at all even when we re-rolled scraps a couple times. Will definitely be adding this to my permanent holiday rotation.
Wait, has anyone tried making these ahead and freezing the dough? I want to prep for my neighborhood potluck next weekend but don’t have time to bake the day of. Worried the texture will be off!
These are exactly the Christmas cookies my grandma used to make! I’ve been searching for a recipe that has that same soft, buttery, not-too-crispy texture for years and this nailed it. My whole family got emotional when they tried them at our Sunday dinner.
Made these with my three kids on a snow day last week. Mess level was high but fun level was higher. The cookies tasted great even though the kids dumped way too many sprinkles on every single one. Would make again, just maybe lay down more parchment paper next time to catch the sprinkle avalanche.
Help! I followed the recipe exactly but my cookies spread a ton in the oven and lost all their shape. Did I do something wrong? I used salted butter instead of unsalted, would that do it?
Has anyone tried making these with vegan butter? My daughter is dairy free and I want her to be able to enjoy Christmas cookies with the rest of the family this year.
Brought these to my office holiday potluck yesterday and I had three people ask me for the recipe before I even left. The texture is perfect – not crumbly, not too hard, great for decorating. I added a tiny bit of almond extract like my mom always did and it paired so well with the buttery base.
Okay I was skeptical because a lot of cut-out cookie recipes are tough or tasteless, but these are chef’s kiss. The dough comes together in like 10 minutes, no fancy equipment needed, I just used a hand mixer. My roommates and I decorated them while watching Christmas movies last night and we ate half the batch before we even finished icing.
This recipe is a total staple for me! I’ve used it three years in a row for my family’s annual cookie decorating contest, and my snowman cookies won first place two years running thanks to how easy they are to decorate. Pro tip: roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper so you don’t have to add extra flour which can make them tough!
Made these for my grandma’s retirement party/early Christmas gathering down in Fort Lauderdale last weekend. Everyone raved about them, even my super picky great uncle who says all modern cookie recipes are “too sweet”. He ate three! I did a light lemon glaze on top and it was chef’s kiss.
Super easy to make with pantry staples I already had on hand, no random trip to the grocery store needed! I made star and Christmas tree shapes, dipped half in white chocolate and added crushed candy canes on top. They look like they came from a fancy bakery but took almost no effort.
How long do these stay fresh for? I want to bake them on Sunday for my kid’s school party on Friday, but don’t want them to be stale by then. Do I need to store them in an airtight container?
I was worried these would be too plain since they’re just butter cookies, but wow the flavor is so rich and delicious. I used salted butter because that’s what I had, added a tiny extra splash of vanilla, and they were perfect. My husband ate 6 in one sitting after I pulled them out of the oven.
Best cut-out cookie recipe I’ve ever tried, no cap. The dough doesn’t get sticky when you’re rolling it, it doesn’t spread, the flavor is perfect. I brought them to a friend’s ugly sweater party last weekend and everyone was begging for the link to the recipe. Already shared it to my whole family group chat.
I was worried the high altitude here in Phoenix would mess these up, but they came out perfectly! I usually have to adjust every baking recipe for the dry heat, but I followed this exactly (even did the full hour chill!) and they didn’t spread or get dry at all. So impressed.
Just pulled my first batch out of the oven and they smell incredible! I’m waiting for them to cool so I can ice them with my little sister when she gets home from school. Quick question: can I use gel food coloring in the dough itself to make colored cookies instead of just icing?