Take a break from the Christmas madness to make Christmas Cookies! These sugar cookies are classic vanilla biscuits that are made for cutting out shapes because they hold their shape perfectly when baked.
NO CHILL time, make them soft OR crispy. Ice them my EASY way, dip in chocolate, dust with icing sugar or serve them plain!
Christmas Cookies
What I call “Christmas Cookies” are simply vanilla biscuits cut out in Christmas shapes and iced with colourful festive frosting. They taste like shortbread cookies, but not quite as buttery or crumbly. They are as classic as vanilla biscuits can be.
This particular biscuit recipe is made for cutting out shapes – in this case, Christmas shapes. Most cookies spread snd puff up so they bear little resemblance to the shape you expected!
But these hold their shape perfectly – as you can see by the sharp ridges and corners in the photo below.
What you need for Christmas Cookies
The nice thing about these Christmas Cookies is that they’re made with pantry staples – so there’s no need to add to your ever growing Christmas grocery shopping list!!!
How to make Christmas Cookies
Unlike most cookie doughs suitable for cutting out shape, there’s no chill time required for this recipe. Ain’t nobody got time for chilling during Christmas madness – right??!
Bonus: the dough is easy to handle and can be scrunched up and rolled up again over and over until you’ve used up every scrap.
Because these are sweet vanilla biscuits, they are flavoured enough and sweet enough to serve plain. But if you are inclined to ice them, pop over to my Icing for Christmas Cookies (PS I also share my quick ‘n easy way to ice them!)
So. Many. Cookies.
A sight that will catapult anyone into serious Christmas spirit!!
Make these for Santa, your family, or (if you’re really feeling the holiday spirit) maybe even to gift to someone.
And don’t worry. This is a big batch recipe. Nibble away, no one will miss one or two or five!! 😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Christmas Cookies (Vanilla Biscuits / Sugar Cookies)
Ingredients
- 225g / 1 cup unsalted butter , softened (or use salted, skip salt)
- 1 cup caster/superfine sugar (granulated/ordinary white sugar ok too)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (55-60g / 1.9-2oz)
- 3 cups flour , plain / all purpose
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
Icing for Sugar Cookies
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy (1 minute on speed 5)
- Add egg and vanilla, beat until completely combined.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Start mixing slowly, then beat until the flour is incorporated – it will be clumpy.
- Dust work surface with flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Pat together then cut in half, then shape into 2 discs.
- Roll out to 0.3cm / 1/8" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or 0.6cm / 1/4" (for thicker, softer cookies), sprinkling with flour under and over the dough so it doesn't stick.
- Use cookie cutters to press out shapes and use a knife or spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets. (Keep dough that doesn’t fit in the oven in the fridge).
- Bake for 10 minutes, swapping trays halfway (Note 2), until the surface is pale golden and the edges are just beginning to turn light golden.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on trays (they will finish cooking on the trays).
Decorating options:
- Icing – see Icing for Christmas Cookies recipe.
- Melt chocolate then dip the surface into chocolate.
- Dot with icing sugar and decorated with silver balls
- Dust with icing sugar
- Serve plain! They are sweet vanilla biscuits so they are wonderful eaten just as they are!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published 2019. Reviewed and refreshed as needed every year or so. No change to recipe, it’s a classic!
Life of Dozer
When Dozer got his very own personalised Christmas cookie!!
Best cookies ever!! Decided to try last minute, so happy I did…quick, easy and crispy. I have never commented on a recipe before, that’s how good they are!
I haven’t baked a cookie in 40 years because I’m blessed to have some great cooks in my life that keep me out of the kitchen. This year my family moved to Thailand and my culinary support crew are on the other side of the globe. These were easy to make on short notice for the holidays and came out great. 🙏
I was skeptical but the cookies turned out Perfect!!!!! It was soooo good even without icing that I ate a good amount before the icing made it on. The one thing I would say is when I added all the ingredients together it was incredibly crumbly but then I added a smidge of soft butter and a smidge of egg whites and continue mixing and it eventually turned into a rough lump. Still crumbly but workable. Thanks so much for this super easy and delicious recipe!
Made these cookies with my little daughter yesterday during Chritsmas Eve and they were easy to make and delicious. Love the icing too. However, I added few drops of lemon to the icing to make it less sweet.
I can’t cook to save my life. And I hate the kitchen but it’s Christmas so… these came out PERFECT!!!
I hate cooking… I hate baking. I hate the kitchen. I cannot and hate following recipes…. I said alright let’s do this. These came out PERFECT!!!
Hi Nagi,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. Big hugs for Dozer!
I also have a golden, she’s 11. I don’t feed her sugar for obvious reasons. They are precious our dogs. I have two other lil dogs.
Hey, do you think this cookie mix would be ok if I froze it. ?
Something’s come up and I need to postpone making them, I’ve just made the mix and would rather freeze it than storing the cooked cookies
I’ve just prepared the mix, not sure what I did wrong..(?) Followed proportions..its a little crumbly. If its still crumbly when i go to cook them, what do I add to stop that?
I’ve popped it in the freezer
Please forgive me.. This is my first time!! But.. My cookie batter turned into a big crumbly mess! I think I melted the butter too much instead of it being “softened” but not sure if that’s the problem..? But the batter won’t stick together or roll without crumbling. Any suggestions?? Or do I need to start over?? Thanks!!
hi i am 7 and i love your baking is so good . today i am making the vanilla cookies with my mom and my dad and my sister i love your recipes hope see you one day
These are our ‘go to’ Christmas cookie recipe that we bake as a family together and have a decorating competition. Thanks Nagi!
How so very few pantry staples can combine into a beautiful rolling cookie dough in minutes, and then bake in the oven for 10 minutes, to create the most delicious cookie I’ve ever tasted, is a Christmas miracle! I’d like to say will have some cut outs left over to decorate tomorrow, but at this gobble rate I’ll probably need to make a second batch. Yay! Thanks again, Nagi. Much joy and light to you and Mr D!
This was actually my first time to ever make Christmas cookies. They were absolutely delicious and couldn’t have turned out more perfect! Thanks for an easy to follow and fun recipe. I’ll definitely be saving this one for future use!
Hi Nagi. Can I use margerine instead of butter? If so, should I use the same ratio?
Hello, I would think that margarine would work fine, if not better. Margarine is softer and is easier to beat, just make sure not to overbeat!
It was very easy to make
Hi Nagi
Would this recipe work to make mini houses?
Thank you for your time.
Maybe if you make thinner, harder cookies they could work, but I don’t think so, cookies are too crumbly and soft.
Hi nagi this recipe is sooooo
Delious. They have the perfect crunch. thankyou !!!!😀
Perhaps it’s because I was much lower on sugar than I thought, but the dough was not compatible with cookie cutters… or shaping at all. My sugar was a combination of the last bits of regular cane sugar, last bits of turbinado, and a few sprinkles of brown sugar to get the correct weight. Cookies came out absolutely delicious! I could barely work with the dough to even shape dough balls because it was so melted-y. I’m 99% sure it’s just because of the warm kitchen and my impatience (didn’t want to chill dough). Taste is wonderful, the crisp level is PERFECT.
Nagi – just made this recipe but substituted gluten free flour for my son and husband — the cookies are amazing – held their shape, sharp edges and are delicious! Thank you!!
Good to know Heather! Thanks! N x
Hi I was just reading through your recipe for the sugar cookies and looking forward to trying it. I think you might mean roll out the cookies to 3 mm or 6 mm rather than cm or they will be pretty thick cookies lol
Hi Sue! It’s written as .3 or .6 cm (so between a third to just over a half a cm)..Thanks! N x
do you treat tray prior to baking?
Hi Ron – I use baking paper as per Step 1 of the recipe. N x
Can you use wax paper if you don’t have parchment?
Hi Nagi! A great opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! Thank you so much for all your hard work and yummy recipes throughout the year. Much appreciated! 5 stars in advance because I know all your recipes that I’ve tried turn out perfect and delicious! Have a wonderful 2022, hugs to Dozer and looking forward to having your cookbook on my kitchen bench! Ho! Ho! Ho! 🎄🎅🏼
Thank you Sev! Happy holidays!! N x