Christmas Sugar Cookies

By December, most of us aren’t looking for a new baking project so much as the one that reliably works when the kitchen is busy, the kids want to help, and there are cookies promised to three different people. These Christmas sugar cookies are that recipe: a buttery, roll-out dough that holds its shape through cutting and baking, topped with a glossy frosting that sets firm enough to stack and gift.

What makes them dependable is the dough. It rolls out smoothly without cracking, and the cookies keep their edges instead of spreading into blobs, so a snowflake still reads as a snowflake after it bakes. I’ve made a lot of holiday cookies over the years, and the ones worth repeating are the ones that survive being handled by a six-year-old.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, if you purchase through those links, I earn a commission. Thank you!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The dough holds sharp edges, so your cutter shapes come out of the oven looking like what you cut, not spread into each other.
• One dough can give you two cookies: roll it thin for something crisp, or leave it thicker for a softer bite, without changing the recipe.
• The frosting uses corn syrup for a glossy finish that sets firm, so decorated cookies can be stacked and boxed without smudging.
• One batch makes about 30 cookies, which covers a cookie exchange and still leaves some at home.
• Undecorated cookies freeze for up to three months, so you can bake ahead in a quiet week and frost closer to the day.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

• All-purpose flour. Three cups gives a dough firm enough to roll and cut cleanly. You’ll also want a little extra for dusting the surface and the rolling pin.
• Unsalted butter. Softened to room temperature, not melted. Cold butter won’t cream properly and gives you a dense dough that fights the rolling pin. If you’ve made our soft spiced gingerbread cookies, it’s the same principle: the butter has to be soft before it meets the sugar.
• Granulated sugar. One cup, creamed with the butter. This is what gives the cookie its structure and pale golden color.
• Vanilla extract. It goes in twice, once in the dough and once in the frosting, so the flavor carries all the way through.
• Confectioners’ sugar. Three cups is the base of the frosting. It’s also sold as powdered or 10x sugar, and any of those is the right thing.
• Corn syrup. Two tablespoons in the frosting. This is what makes a white sugar frosting glossy and gives it a smooth set rather than a chalky one.
• Whole milk. Thins the frosting to a pipeable consistency. You add it a little at a time, so start with what the card says and adjust from there.
• Gel food coloring. Optional, but gel keeps the frosting thick where liquid coloring would loosen it. Good for pastel Christmas sugar cookies or bold reds and greens.

How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookies

A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

Combine the Dry Ingredients

Heat the oven to 350°F and line your baking sheets with parchment or a silicone mat. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl and set it aside, so the leavening is evenly distributed before it meets the butter.

Cream the Butter and Sugar

Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until creamy, then add the vanilla and egg, beating until fully combined. This is the step that decides your texture, so give it a minute rather than rushing it.

Bring the Dough Together

Add the dry ingredients gradually until the dough is smooth and comes together. Dust your surface with flour, turn the dough out, cut it in half, and shape each half into a disc with your hands. Working with half at a time keeps the rest from warming up while you roll.

Roll and Cut

With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/8 inch for a crisp cookie or 1/4 inch for a thicker one, dusting with flour so nothing sticks.

Cut your shapes and lift them onto the lined sheet with a spatula or a knife. Keeping the thickness even across the batch means they all bake in the same time.

Bake the Cookies

Bake for about 10 minutes, turning the sheet halfway through, until the edges are just turning light golden and the centers still look pale. Pull them then. They firm up on the hot sheet as they cool, and that carryover is why you don’t wait for them to look fully done in the oven.

Make and Pipe the Frosting

Stir the confectioners sugar, corn syrup, two tablespoons of milk, and vanilla together until smooth. You want it thick but pipeable; if it’s too stiff, add milk one teaspoon at a time.

Split it between bowls to color it, then pipe it onto fully cooled cookies and let it set completely before you stack or box them.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

• Soften the butter completely. Room-temperature butter creams evenly with the sugar. If it’s still cold from the fridge, the dough turns dense and harder to roll.
• Be generous with flour on the surface and the pin. It stops the dough tearing when you lift the cut shapes, and a little flour on the cutter itself gives cleaner edges.
• Pull them while the centers still look pale. These cookies keep cooking on the hot sheet after they leave the oven, so waiting for the whole cookie to color means an overbaked, brittle result.
• Fix frosting that’s too thin by adding sugar, not by piping it anyway. Too thin and it runs off the edges; too thick and it tears as it comes out of the bag. A teaspoon of milk at a time is the safe workaround.

Recipe Variations

• For a citrus version, beat a teaspoon of orange or lemon zest into the butter and sugar. That’s an untested variation here, but the zest goes in during the creaming step, so it shouldn’t change how the dough rolls or bakes.
• Almond extract in place of half the vanilla gives a more traditional bakery flavor. Use 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and 3/4 teaspoon almond, since almond is the stronger of the two. It’s a common substitution, though not one I’ve tested in this recipe.
• You can skip the piping and dip the tops straight into the frosting for a smooth flooded look, then add sprinkles before it sets. I haven’t tested a full royal-icing swap here, and because that sets much harder and behaves differently, I’d treat it as its own recipe rather than a drop-in change.

How to Store Leftovers

To bake ahead, freeze the cookies undecorated: wrap them individually and keep them in freezer bags for up to three months, then thaw at room temperature before you frost. This is the easiest way to spread the work out across December rather than doing it all in one day.

Layer the frosted cookies with parchment paper between them in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for up to 1 week. The parchment matters here, because the frosting sets firm but stacking decorated cookies without a barrier will still mark them.

What to Serve With Christmas Sugar Cookies

These belong on a mixed holiday cookie plate more than at the center of one, so I like to put out something with a bit of novelty for the kids alongside them.

My adorable snowman cookies are the ones children want to help decorate, which frees you up to handle the piping on these. If you’re building a full dessert table, a mug of hot chocolate alongside a plate of these finishes it off.

FAQs

More Holiday Cookies Worth Baking

If you’re making a batch of these, here are a few more from my December rotation that go on the same cookie plate.

• Christmas tree sugar cookies. They take the same buttery sugar-cookie idea, bake in one pan, and slice them into triangles, so there’s no rolling or need for shaped cookie cutters.
• Sugar cookies without butter. For a soft, one-bowl dough with no dairy, this is the version I make when I’ve run out of butter.
• Easy reindeer Christmas cookies. The sharing favorite, and another good one to make with children.
• Santa whoopie pies. If you want something a little different on the plate, these are a soft, cakey holiday bake rather than a cut-out cookie.