Welcome to the ultimate guide for crafting the most delightful and perfectly formed Christmas Sugar Cookies! This beloved recipe promises tender, buttery, and truly irresistible cut-out sugar cookies that not only taste incredible but also hold their intricate shapes flawlessly during baking. The holidays are a magical time for baking, and these easy sugar cookies are designed to bring joy and festive cheer to your kitchen. When my dear friend, Kaye, first shared this recipe, I instantly knew it was a treasured find – a game-changer for anyone who loves baking holiday treats.
There’s something uniquely special about Decorated Sugar Cookies during the festive season. They offer an incredible canvas for creativity, allowing you to customize shapes and frosting colors to perfectly match any holiday or occasion. From classic Christmas trees and stars to playful snowflakes and gingerbread figures, the possibilities are endless. And let’s not forget the essential touch of sprinkles – they transform simple Frosted Cookies into dazzling, edible works of art, guaranteed to bring smiles to faces of all ages.
Why You Must Make These Best Sugar Cookies
This best sugar cookie recipe stands out for many reasons, making it a must-try for your holiday baking endeavors:
- Unforgettable Flavor: My family absolutely adores these sweet, buttery cookies. They disappear quickly from the dessert table, a true testament to their deliciousness.
- Effortless Decorating: Forget complicated piping bags or expensive specialty tools. This recipe encourages stress-free cookie decorating. All you need is a small knife or an offset spatula to spread the frosting, making it perfect for bakers of all skill levels, even those new to cookie artistry.
- Shape Retention Excellence: One of the most frustrating aspects of cut-out cookies can be them spreading in the oven. With this recipe, your holiday cookie shapes will remain perfectly defined and beautiful, ensuring your festive designs stay intact.
- The Secret to Tenderness: The addition of cream cheese to the dough is a game-changer. It contributes extra fat and moisture, resulting in incredibly soft, delicate, and tender cookies that practically melt in your mouth.
- Incredibly Versatile: While perfect for Christmas, these cookies are a chameleon! I’ve used this same reliable dough to create treats for every occasion imaginable – from basketballs for sports parties, to pink hearts for Valentine’s Day, to festive shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, and beyond. They adapt beautifully to any celebration.
- Beginner-Friendly: With clear instructions and simple techniques, even novice bakers can achieve stunning results, boosting confidence and spreading joy in the kitchen.
Ingredient Notes for Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
High-quality ingredients are the foundation of exceptional cut-out sugar cookies. Here’s what you’ll need and some tips for each:
- Kitchen Staples: You’ll start with essential items like granulated sugar and all-purpose flour.
- Unsalted Butter: Always use unsalted butter for baking to control the salt content of your recipe. Ensure your butter is at room temperature. This is crucial for proper creaming with the sugar and cream cheese, leading to a light and fluffy dough.
- Cream Cheese: Like the butter, cream cheese should be at room temperature for easy, lump-free mixing. This special ingredient is key to tender cookies, adding richness and a subtle tang that balances the sweetness.
- Egg: A single large egg, also at room temperature, helps bind the dough and adds moisture, contributing to the cookies’ soft texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Opt for real vanilla extract, not artificially flavored substitutes. A high-quality vanilla extract like Nielsen-Massey will elevate the overall flavor profile of your cookies.
- Baking Powder: This leavening agent helps the cookies rise slightly without losing their shape. It is crucial to note that baking powder is not the same as baking soda. Baking powder can lose its potency over time. To check if it’s still active, place a spoonful in a cup of hot water; it should bubble vigorously. If it doesn’t, replace it before starting this recipe.
- Powdered Sugar (Confectioners’ Sugar): For the smoothest, silkiest frosting, sift your powdered sugar. This removes any lumps, ensuring a beautiful, even coating on your frosted cookies.
- Milk: I typically use 2% milk, but any whole milk will work wonderfully to achieve the desired consistency for your frosting.
- Light Corn Syrup: This ingredient is integral to achieving a beautiful, glossy finish on your frosting, making your decorated sugar cookies shine.
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds a delightful, sophisticated flavor to the frosting. If almond is not to your taste, you can substitute it with an equal amount of vanilla extract, or use half vanilla for a more subtle flavor.
- Food Coloring: Essential for customizing your frosting to match any holiday theme or occasion. Gel food colorings offer more vibrant hues with less liquid, making them ideal for frosting.
How to Make the Perfect Christmas Sugar Cookies
Creating these delightful Christmas sugar cookies is a straightforward process. Follow these visual steps for success:
How to Decorate Your Holiday Sugar Cookies
Decorating these holiday sugar cookies is where the real fun begins! You don’t need to be an expert to create stunning results:
- Simple & Festive Frosting: My decorating style leans towards simplicity. I love tinting this Christmas cookie icing with vibrant food coloring and spreading it smoothly onto the cooled cookies using an offset spatula. A generous shower of festive sprinkles adds that instant holiday sparkle, making them look professionally done with minimal effort.
- Elevated Royal Icing (Optional): For those who enjoy a more intricate design, you can make a batch of royal icing. Use it to pipe a precise outline along the edge of each cookie, then “flood” the middle with a slightly thinner consistency of icing that spreads easily to create a smooth, even surface. However, I often find the simpler method perfectly charming and less time-consuming for these frosted Christmas cookies.
- The Magic of Sprinkles: Regardless of your chosen frosting method, the key to perfect sprinkle adhesion is to add them while the frosting is still wet. This ensures they stick beautifully and become an integral part of your cookie’s design. There’s a vast array of sprinkles, colored sugars, and edible glitters to choose from to match any theme.
- Cookie Cutter Simplicity: I often reach for a basic Christmas tree cookie cutter. Its straightforward shape makes it incredibly easy to decorate, whether you’re spreading icing or adding delicate details.
- Family Favorite: These easy sugar cookies are universally adored by the entire family – and that’s a rare occurrence in many households! They are a fantastic project for kids and adults alike, creating cherished memories alongside delicious treats.
Expert Tips for Your Best Sugar Cookies
Achieve bakery-quality results with these expert tips, refined over years of baking:
- Taste Test Approved: This very recipe won a sugar cookie taste test among my girlfriends. Interestingly, we found that the better-tasting raw dough didn’t always translate to the best baked cookie, proving the importance of the final product!
- Quality Ingredients Matter: For truly superior results, invest in the best quality ingredients you can find. Brand-name butter (or even European butter for extra richness), Philadelphia cream cheese, and real vanilla extract are paramount. Keep an eye out for sales around the holidays to stock up!
- PRO-Tip: Butter Consistency: Be aware that generic and store-brand butter often contain a higher percentage of water compared to more expensive brands. This can cause cookies to spread more during baking, affecting their shape. Investing in higher-fat butter can make a difference.
- PRO-Tip: Room Temperature Ingredients: Always ensure your butter, eggs, and cream cheese are at room temperature. This allows them to cream together smoothly and evenly, creating a cohesive dough that bakes beautifully.
- Minimal Flour for Rolling: When rolling out your dough, use a minimal amount of flour on your surface and rolling pin. Excessive flour can toughen the cookies, making them less tender.
- Alternative Rolling Method: For an even softer touch, try using powdered sugar instead of flour to roll out your cookies. This avoids introducing extra gluten into the dough.
- Easy Cleanup: A large silicone baking mat, such as a Silpat Roul’Pat, is excellent for rolling out dough. It prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze.
- PRO-Tip: Achieving Desired Thickness: Roll your cookies to an approximate thickness of ⅛ inch for a crisp yet tender texture. If you prefer a crisper cookie, roll them a little thinner. For a chewier cookie, aim for ¼ inch thickness. Thicker cookies also work wonderfully for creating Christmas tree ornaments – just make a good-sized hole at the top before baking and re-open it gently after they come out of the oven if needed.
- Baking Time Matters: Baking for a minute or two longer will result in a crisper cookie, while slightly under-baking will yield a softer cookie. Monitor closely!
- Parchment Paper for Easy Release: Always bake your cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. This prevents sticking and makes transfer effortless, plus you can often reuse the parchment for several batches.
- PRO-Tip: Preventing Sticking Cutters: If your dough begins to stick to your cookie cutter, dip the cutter in a bit of flour or powdered sugar before each use. Re-chilling the dough for a few minutes can also help significantly.
- PRO-Tip: Keep Dough Cold: Maintaining a cold dough temperature is critical for ensuring your cut-out cookies hold their shape beautifully in the oven. Always refrigerate any leftover dough before reusing it. For an extra safeguard, you can even place your baking sheet, filled with unbaked cookies, in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking.
- Complete Cooling Before Frosting: It is imperative that your sugar cookies are completely cooled before you even think about frosting them. Warm cookies will melt your frosting, creating a sticky, messy disaster.
- Glossy Frosting Insights: The icing in this recipe is a simplified version of royal icing. It achieves a beautiful sheen without the fuss of egg whites or intricate piping techniques. The secret ingredient for its lovely glossy finish is corn syrup.
- PRO-Tip: Corn Syrup Alternative: If you prefer not to use corn syrup, you can still achieve a delicious frosting. Simply add a little more milk or even some heavy cream to thin the frosting to your desired consistency. While it won’t be quite as glossy, it will still taste absolutely delicious!
- Sprinkle Adhesion: Always dust your cookies with sprinkles while the frosting is still wet. This ensures they adhere firmly and don’t fall off once the frosting dries. Place frosted cookies on a wire rack to allow the frosting to set and harden properly.
- Minimize Sprinkle Waste: To efficiently garnish with sprinkles, place your newly frosted sugar cookies on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. As you add sprinkles, any excess will fall through the rack onto the sheet below, allowing you to easily collect and reuse them if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sugar Cookies
The secret to wonderfully soft sugar cookies lies in adding extra fat and avoiding over-baking. In this recipe, the addition of cream cheese significantly boosts the fat content, resulting in a tender crumb. Furthermore, baking them just until the edges are barely golden, rather than fully browned, will ensure a soft interior.
To achieve truly flavorful sugar cookies, start with high-quality ingredients. Use real butter (not shortening or margarine) for a rich, authentic taste. A good quality vanilla extract is essential. For an extra flavor boost, consider adding a small amount of almond or lemon extract in addition to, or as a partial substitute for, the vanilla. Citrus zest can also add a bright note.
Yes, sugar cookies freeze remarkably well, both baked and unfrosted, or even just the dough! It’s best to freeze unfrosted sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, simply defrost them, then frost and decorate. If you freeze frosted cookies, there’s a slight risk of sprinkles bleeding as the cookies defrost. To minimize this, freeze frosted cookies in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until solid. Once frozen, stack them in an airtight container with parchment paper separating the layers. Always defrost frosted cookies in the refrigerator to control condensation.
Freshly baked sugar cookies are at their peak flavor and texture if eaten within 3-4 days when stored properly in an airtight container at room temperature. However, unfrosted cookies, when correctly frozen, will maintain their quality for up to 3 months, offering excellent make-ahead convenience for busy holidays.
Corn syrup serves a dual purpose in this frosting: it not only contributes to the sweetness but, more importantly, it gives the frosting a beautiful, shiny, and smooth finish. This allows for a lovely glossy appearance without the need for traditional royal icing, which typically uses egg whites.
The timing for adding sprinkles depends on whether your cookies will be frosted. If you plan to frost your homemade sugar cookies, add the sprinkles to the freshly applied, wet frosting. If you prefer to add sprinkles before baking for a more integrated look, simply sprinkle them on top of each unbaked cookie on the baking sheet and apply gentle pressure to help them adhere before placing them in the oven.
Yes, sprinkles do have expiration dates, and surprisingly, they can go rancid if stored well past their prime. If you have older sprinkles lingering in your pantry, always give them a sniff test and even a quick taste if you suspect they might be old. Rancid sprinkles can unfortunately ruin the taste of an otherwise perfect cookie recipe. A big thank you to my friend Sue, the blogger behind The View from Great Island, for this valuable tip!
Essential Tools for Making Cut-Out Christmas Cookies
Having the right tools can make all the difference in your holiday baking experience. The items listed below were used to make and frost a batch of these wonderful holiday cookies, all performing beautifully. (All links are affiliate links, supporting this site at no extra cost to you.)
- Wilton Christmas Cookie Icing Set – These convenient squeeze bottles are a lifesaver for easy decorating. Warm them gently in the microwave, then knead to ensure the icing flows smoothly for a mess-free application.
- Wilton Nonpareils Christmas Sprinkles – These classic tiny balls add a wonderful texture and a pop of festive color to your freshly frosted cookies.
- Wilton Holiday Assortment Sprinkles – A fantastic variety pack that provides different shapes and colors to enhance the festive appeal of your cookie collection.
- Wilton Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter – A medium-sized, classic cutter that produces a charming tree shape, perfect for easy decorating (as seen in the process shots above).
- Wilton’s The Really Big Spatula – This oversized spatula is incredibly useful for gently removing cookies of any size from the baking sheet without breakage.
- Rimmed Baking Sheet – A versatile kitchen essential, perfect for baking cookies, roasting vegetables, and countless other tasks.
- Parchment Paper – An indispensable aid that ensures your cookies don’t stick to the baking sheet and makes cleanup incredibly simple.
You May Also Like: More Holiday Baking Ideas
If you’ve enjoyed making these Christmas sugar cookies, explore some of my other favorite recipes perfect for the holiday season and beyond:
- Four Christmas Cookies from One Basic Dough from The Gunny Sack – Discover how to create an array of festive cookies from a single, simple dough base.
- Candy Cane Blossom Cookies – A delightful twist on classic blossoms, featuring festive candy cane flavors and colors.
- Stained Glass Cookies – Beautiful, jewel-toned cookies that capture the light and add an elegant touch to any holiday platter.
- Toffee Noel Nut Balls – Rich, nutty, and bursting with toffee flavor, these bite-sized treats are perfect for sharing.
- These Lofthouse Cookies – Learn to make these soft, cake-like cookies that can be customized and decorated for any holiday or theme throughout the year!
- Plus, don’t miss my comprehensive guide on How to Host a Cookie Exchange – perfect for sharing your baking talents with friends and family.
- Explore even more of the Best Holiday Recipes on my site for endless inspiration.
Stay in touch through social media @ Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Don’t forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes! And if you love the results, please give it a 5-star rating in the recipe card below.
Note: I received an assortment of Wilton tools for making Christmas cookies. I used them to make a batch of this sugar cookie recipe but was not compensated for doing so. The cookie cutters and large cookie spatula were featured in my process shots above. All opinions are mine alone.
Best Sugar Cookies Recipe
30 minutes
9 minutes
39 minutes
36 cookies
The best iced sugar cookies! Perfect for the holidays. This simple yet incredible recipe, shared by my friend Kaye, yields beautifully tender and perfectly shaped cut-out cookies.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Frosting (I usually double this recipe):
- 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar), sifted
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (2% or whole)
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (for a glossy finish)
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract (or ½ tsp vanilla for alternative flavor)
- Food coloring of your choice (gel recommended)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, room-temperature cream cheese, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated. Gradually add the flour and baking powder, mixing on low speed until the dough just comes together. Be careful not to overmix.
- Transfer the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Flatten it into a disk, wrap it tightly, and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour (or up to 2 days) to firm up.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface or a silicone baking mat, roll out half of the chilled dough to an even thickness of about ⅛ to ¼ inch. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated until you are ready to use it.
- Using your desired cookie cutters, cut out shapes from the rolled dough. Carefully transfer the cut-out cookies to the prepared baking sheets, ensuring they are spaced at least an inch apart.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies just begin to turn light golden brown and the centers are firm. Avoid over-baking for a softer cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This is crucial before frosting.
- To prepare the frosting, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, and almond extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Start with 1 tablespoon of milk and gradually add more milk and/or corn syrup, a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency for spreading. Stir in food coloring if using.
- Once cookies are completely cool, spread frosting evenly over each cookie using an offset spatula or small knife. Decorate with sprinkles while the frosting is still wet, then allow them to set on a wire rack until the frosting hardens.
Notes
Total time listed does not include the essential chilling time for the dough, which is at least one hour.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Roul’Pat silicone counter sized silicone mat
- Rolling pin
- Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets Non-Stick Parchment Paper
- USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36 cookies
Serving Size:
1 cookie
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 94Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 37mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 1g
There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked Christmas sugar cookies filling your home during the holidays. This recipe offers a simple path to creating beautiful, delicious, and memorable treats that will be cherished by everyone who tastes them. Happy baking!