Christmas is the perfect time for baking festive cookies. These sugar cookies are simple, fun to make with family, and taste delicious. With buttery, tender dough and bright royal icing, they’re a holiday favorite that disappear fast at parties or make lovely homemade gifts.
This post includes tips and tricks. If you’re short on time, use the “Jump to Recipe” in the recipe box below.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Festive and attractive: Bright icing and sprinkles make these cookies look as good as they taste.
- Family-friendly: The steps are easy enough for kids to help—mix, roll, cut, and decorate.
- Delicious and giftable: They taste great fresh and make charming homemade presents when packaged.
Ingredients and notes
For the cookies you’ll need: unsalted butter, granulated sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
For the royal icing: sifted powdered sugar, egg whites, lemon juice, a bit of water, and gel food coloring.
Have holiday cookie cutters on hand to shape the cookies. Comfort-grip cutters make pressing through chilled dough easier when you’re making large batches.
Notes and variations
- Powdered sugar substitution: If needed, blitz granulated sugar to a powdered texture, but note commercial confectioners’ sugar contains a bit of cornstarch which helps icing adhere.
- Skip or swap the icing: The cookies are tasty plain or you can use a simpler glaze. Colored sugar or sprinkles added while the cookies are warm are another quick option.
- Leavening choice: This recipe uses baking powder for a light rise; baking soda tends to spread more and can produce thinner, crisper cookies.
- Extra flavor or color: Add almond extract or other flavors to the dough, or tint the dough itself with food coloring for fun variations.
Make amazing Christmas sugar cookies
Plan ahead: Chill time is important. The dough needs to chill before cutting to prevent spreading, and iced cookies need time for the icing to set—ideally 24 hours for best results.
Make the cookie dough
Cream the softened butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer until soft and fluffy—about 4 minutes at medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix just until combined.
Whisk the dry ingredients—flour, salt, and baking powder—in a separate bowl. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients gradually (about 1/4 cup at a time) and mix until incorporated. Avoid overmixing; you want a smooth, slightly tacky dough, similar to soft play dough.
Tip: You can knead a small amount of gel or liquid food coloring into the dough now for colored cookies.
Divide the dough in two, flatten each portion between sheets of parchment or plastic wrap, and roll or press to an even thickness. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight—chilling helps the cookies keep their shape while baking.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment. Remove the wrap, cut shapes with cookie cutters, and space them evenly on the prepared sheets.
Bake about 8 minutes, or just until the edges turn light golden. Avoid overbaking to keep the centers tender. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Make royal icing
In a medium bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar with egg whites and stir until roughly combined. Add lemon juice and beat on low speed for about five minutes until the icing holds firm peaks.
Divide the icing into small bowls, tint with gel coloring a drop at a time, and cover to prevent drying. Use a little water to thin icing for flooding large areas, or add powdered sugar to thicken for outlines and detail work.
Decorate the cookies
Once cookies are completely cool, transfer icing to piping bags, zip-top bags with a corner snipped, or squeeze bottles for easier control. Pipe outlines, flood centers, and add sprinkles while the icing is still wet if desired.
Let the decorated cookies dry completely—at least three hours, ideally overnight—before stacking or packaging to avoid smudging.
Top tips for perfect Christmas sugar cookies
These practical tips help ensure consistent, attractive cookies every time.
- Use room-temperature, quality ingredients. Good butter and properly measured ingredients make a difference.
- Don’t overmix the dough. Overworking flour develops gluten and makes cookies tough.
- Roll the dough before chilling. Rolling between parchment prevents sticking and speeds up cutting.
- Chill thoroughly. Cold dough holds its shape and bakes with crisp edges.
- Use gel food coloring. Gel adds vibrant color without thinning icing.
- Check icing consistency. Royal icing should be pourable but not runny for flooding; thicken for details.
- Adjust with powdered sugar or water. Tweak texture before adding color or extracts, and add sprinkles before the icing sets.
- Make sure cookies are completely cool before decorating.
- Use squeeze bottles for ease. They’re simple for kids to use and work well for both outlining and flooding.
- Allow 24 hours for icing to fully set if you plan to package cookies.
Troubleshooting FAQs
Too much flour is the usual cause. Measure carefully and add flour gradually. Adding it all at once can make it hard for the wet ingredients to combine.
Some tackiness is normal. If the dough is overly soft, the butter may be too warm or it needs more chilling time. Chill longer or add a tablespoon of flour at a time until manageable.
Yes. Cookie dough can be frozen for months and thawed before rolling. Royal icing keeps in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
The FDA advises against eating raw dough due to the risk from raw flour and eggs. Bake before consuming.
Serving and storage suggestions
Refrigerate: Finished cookies keep 3–4 days in an airtight container, though they rarely last that long.
Freeze dough: Portion and wrap discs of dough tightly; freeze for 2–3 months. Thaw fully before rolling.
Freeze baked cookies: Decorated or plain cookies freeze for 2–3 months. Layer with parchment between rows to prevent sticking and thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
If you enjoy this recipe, try other holiday cookies for variety and gifting.
- Holiday Butter Cookies
- Yellow Cake Mix Cookies
- Danish Butter Cookies
- Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it!
Pin
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Holiday cookie cutters
- Squeeze bottles or piping bags
- Dough roller or rolling pin
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Royal Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 egg whites
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Water, as needed to thin
- Gel food coloring
Instructions
Make Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar until soft and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until just combined.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add dry ingredients gradually to the wet mixture and mix until a smooth, slightly sticky dough forms.
- Divide the dough, flatten between parchment or plastic, and chill for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll chilled dough, cut shapes, and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Make Icing
- Combine sifted powdered sugar and egg whites, stirring to combine.
- Add lemon juice and beat on low until firm peaks form, about five minutes.
- Divide into bowls, tint with gel colors, and cover to prevent drying.
Decorate
- Place icing in bags or squeeze bottles. Pipe outlines, flood centers, and add sprinkles if desired.
- Allow icing to set at least three hours, ideally overnight, before stacking or packaging.
Notes
- Use room-temperature ingredients, especially butter.
- Stop mixing as soon as ingredients are combined to avoid tough cookies.
- Roll dough between parchment to prevent sticking and make cutting easier.
- Chill dough thoroughly to keep shapes crisp while baking.
- Use gel food coloring to protect icing consistency.
- Adjust icing thickness with powdered sugar or water before coloring.
- Decorate only when cookies are fully cooled to prevent melting the icing.
- Allow at least 24 hours for icing to fully harden if packaging cookies.
Nutrition
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Carbohydrates: 46 g
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Protein: 2 g
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Fat: 10 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
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