Gorgeous frosted Christmas Sugar Cookies all season long without stress? Yaaaasss! With a little planning and these handy tips, you can too!
I’ve made these light buttery roll-out cookies for decades. These are hands down the best Christmas Sugar Cookies I’ve tasted. They’re light and delicate, crunchy and pair perfectly with buttery frosting. Divine with coffee! (Warning: these are addictive!)
Say goodbye to thick, heavy roll-out cookies. These taste every bit as good as they look. Change up the cookie cutter and they work for any holiday. Individually wrapped, these cookies make a beautiful party favor.
Here are some baking tips that work for me:
Mix dough.
Chill in refrigerator for an hour, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
Roll out and cut with just one cookie cutter. (I chose Christmas trees because they fit nicely on a round platter and need only two frosting colors.) Use plenty of flour on your rolling mat so they won’t stick.
Once rolled, dough should be thin, but not translucent. (If too thick, they’ll puff and lose shape. If too thin, they over brown.) To give you an idea, the cookies in above picture should be rolled just a tad thinner.
Use a very thin metal cookie spatula to carefully transfer cut-outs onto parchment lined baking sheet. Space adequately as they do spread some. Very important: Each pan of cookies should be refrigerated for 5-10 min. before baking. (This helps butter cookies retain their shape while baking.)
Watch closely at the six minute mark, they can over brown in seconds. Bake until edges are just browning.
Bake a pan of tiny embellishment cookies to decorate with. For tree toppers, I sprinkle baby stars with colored sugar before baking so I won’t have to frost later. (Yep, I like sparkle.)
Cool and freeze unfrosted cookies in airtight containers. I put cookies in stacks to minimize breakage. (I don’t freeze in plastic bags, the cookies are too fragile.)
Make frosting. Divide and color frosting to coordinate with your cookies. (Less is more in the food coloring department.) Store in the refrigerator ’til use. For best results, use at room temperature with a decorating bag and tip.
Pull cookies from the freezer individually and frost for cookie platters as needed all season. They’re more fragile when frozen, but thaw in just minutes.
Decorate on large cookie sheet to minimize mess. Experiment and perfect your frosting technique on one, then repeat the design. The repetition on the cookie platter is stunning. (Once you’ve mastered a design, you can frost mindlessly and concentrate on more important things…. singing Rudolph and composing your naughty/nice list!)
Transfer cookies to serving platter. Once frosting sets, add more cookie layers, with parchment paper in between.
Decorated Christmas Roll Out Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Butter Cream Icing:
- 1/8 cup butter
- 1/8 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 tablespoons cream or half and half
Instructions
Cookie Dough:
- Cream butter.
- Add sugar to creamed butter.
- Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Sift flour with baking powder and salt. (Or mix well with a fork like I do!)
- Stir dry ingredients into creamed ones.
- Chill dough, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 hour.
- Roll out thin.
- Transfer cut out cookies to parchment lined baking sheet.
- Refrigerate pan of cookies 5-10 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees, until just browning on the edges. Watch closely at the six minute mark.
Butter Cream Icing:
- Cream butter.
- Add in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time.
- Mix in vanilla and cream, 'til it's the consistency you want.
- Use a decorating bag and frosting tip for fine details.
Notes
Refrigerate cookies on baking pan 5-10 minutes before baking.
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Jonathan says
These are delicious!
Barbara Child says
These are the BEST and your tips are so helpful! Thanks!
Jon says
Ditto. These never last long in our house unless a note threatening bodily injury is attached. They are a coveted gift by friends as well…
Nancy says
They’re also beautiful to behold before you bite!
Denise says
The best cookies in the world!
Julie says
It’s hard to eat just one…
Sarah Geoffroy says
I remember making these as a young teen at your house one year around Christmas. Delicious they were! Yummmmmmm, I’ll be making some this year!
Allie Taylor says
awww Sarah…such sweet memories. XO
Jacob says
I had 3 in one sitting…
Allie Taylor says
Where was your mother, Jacob???
[email protected] says
haha
jen says
These are so pretty and sound divine! One question–HOW MUCH powdered sugar do you use for the Buttercream icing??
Allie Taylor says
Phew! Thanks for catching that cousin! 2 cups
Linda Jenkins says
Love this recipe, Allie. It is going into the folder with all of your other blog materials.
Beckie Manley says
These look amazing! I am going to try this recipe. Thanks for posting! Yum-me! : )
Aunt pinkie achor says
They look great – is parchment paper essential? I’ll have to get some!
Susie says
Hee-hee…I love Jacob’s comment and then yours following, Allie. =D
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
Argh, why didn’t I read your baking tips last year? I had so much trouble with dough over the weekend! These look amazing and the perfect result 😀
Catherine says
Dear Allie, your sugar cookies are beautiful!! The stars are the best idea. I am looking forward to making up some holidays cookies…pinning for later. Wishing you and yours a beautiful and blessed holiday season dear. xoxo, Catherine
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
I have coffee – but I don’t have these cookies and now I want these cookies because that coffee just isn’t gonna get drunk otherwise! 🙂
These are adorable Allie – and the perfect base for that fluffy frosting!
P.S. GAH – my coffee now tastes bitter after looking at these cookies…so not fair!
Tracy says
I have the recipe!! Yay! Love these cookies. Thanks for sharing. The pictures make me want a cookie now!
Aly says
These look delicious – perfect for the holidays! Great baking tips – I need to remember to chill the dough before baking.
Megan Keno says
These are so cute, I’m sure Santa is going to love these!
Michelle | A Dish of Daily Life says
Those are beautiful, Allie! I can pretty much guarantee mine would NOT look as pretty. I need your dough tips too. 🙂
Anita says
This recipe looks so delicious! Hi, I’m Anita visiting from Foodie FriDIY.
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
Am sorry but I couldn’t resist commenting again – Allie, guess what my daughter asked for this morning? She was making her cup of tea and said “mom, can we make some simple sugar cookies tonight?” Lady, your recipe is so perfectly timed! I don’t have flour (GASP Who am I eh?!) but I might sub in some spelt flour which I have plenty of and see how this turns out.
I hope you and all your boys have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas!
xoxo
Molly says
I remember having these last year with your family! They are so good! I would recommend them to everyone! And they are super cute too?
Carina says
Yummmy, these look like the perfect Christmas cookies! Thanks, Allie.?☃️⭐️
Denise Q. says
These are the best cookies eva! They are so good that after you make them you should do a mic drop!
Kathy says
Wow, Thanks for the great post, Allie! I’m a huge sugar cookie fan, and normally use a thich shortbread dough for my cookies. Your tips and photos are VERY helpful! I look forward to trying your recipe. LOVE the glittering gold stars to top the Christmas trees!! Merry Christmas!
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
I adore sugar cookies like anything. And these Christmas cookies roll out look so festive and pretty, Allie. Your baking tips are wonderful. Cheers my friend.
Adina says
I make similar cookies every year together with the kids and we always decorate them with sugar colorful streusel. They love to make and eat them and I am sure they would love this version as well. Such pretty trees and I love the sound of that icing. I wish a very Merry Christmas and all the best for you and your boys.
Maria says
Do you have to use buttercream frosting on these cookies? Could you use flood icing instead? Or would this soften the cookie??
Nancy says
New baker here. Do you use unsalted butter?
Allie says
Hi Nancy, I generally use unsalted butter when baking, especially if the recipe has salt as an ingredient.