The Best Christmas Cookie Recipe

4.94 from 123 votes
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The BEST Christmas Cookies EVER begin and end with this soft, chewy, simple sugar cookie recipe. Decorate them with royal icing and you have the perfect gift for neighbors and friends!

Six Christmas Sugar Cookies with bagged royal icing.
Featured with this recipe
  1. Ingredients in Christmas Sugar Cookies
  2. Supplies Needed to Decorate Christmas Sugar Cookies
  3. What Are Rolled Cookies?
  4. How to Roll Our Your Sugar Cookie Dough Evenly
  5. How to Get Neat Edges on Christmas Sugar Cookies
  6. Christmas Sugar Cookie Icing
  7. Decorating Christmas Cookies
  8. How to Freeze Sugar Cookies
  9. How to Store Christmas Sugar Cookies
  10. Frequently Asked Questions
  11. More Delicious Christmas Cookies
  12. How to Make the Best Christmas Cookies
  13. The BEST Christmas Cookies EVER (and How to Decorate Them) Recipe

Baking a big batch of traditional Christmas cookies is one of our favorite family holiday traditions. It just doesn’t seem like Christmas until we’ve pulled out the cookie cutters and created these Christmas classic delights with our kids. There’s no need to buy them from the store; save lots of money and make them yourself! It’s such a fun way to spend a cold, winter afternoon with the littles (or not-so-littles).

In addition to being fun to make, the flavor of these holiday cookies is incredible! Give these Christmas sugar cookies a try. Trust us, Santa loves them! He can never take just one bite.

cute girls decorating Christmas cookies


Ingredients in Christmas Sugar Cookies

  • All-purpose flour – Chef’s flour and baking flour can also be used
  • Cornstarch – helps with the neat edges
  • Salt – just a pinch to even out the sweetness
  • Butter – Keep the butter COLD for this recipe, the cookies will come out much better using cold butter
  • Granulated sugar
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract (check out our tutorial on how to make your own vanilla extract)
  • Almond extract
  • Royal icing
  • Christmas sprinkles
Flour, sugar, butter, crisco, vanilla, eggs, sprinkles, cookie cutters, sprinkles and dry ingredients for Christmas Sugar Cookies.

Supplies Needed to Decorate Christmas Sugar Cookies

  • Christmas Cookie cutters – Candy canes, Santa hats, sleighs, stars, Christmas trees, snowflake, and ornaments are all great cooking cutter shapes to have on hand.
  • Icing bags (reusable or disposable)
  • Icing tip couplers
  • Decorating tips – I used a Wilton #3 round piping tip for the outlines- you can get them on Amazon (here) for about $1 or any craft store
  • Gel food coloring
  • Squeeze bottles – These can be found on Amazon, at Walmart or any craft store for about $1 a piece.
  • Toothpicks – These are to help you fill in the tiny little gaps and smooth over the icing
  • Christmas Sprinkles – Get creative and have fun with any kind of sprinkles you can find!

What Are Rolled Cookies?

Rolled cookies are cookies that are made by rolling out a stiff dough and then using a cookie cutter to cut various shapes. Shaped sugar cookies (like the recipe below) and gingerbread cookies are an example of rolled Christmas cookies. Rolled cookies are the easiest to decorate because they stay nice and flat, even after baking. In my opinion, they are the most traditional Christmas cookies and most fun to decorate. Follow our guide and tips below to make these cookies perfectly every time!

Use a rolling pin with guides to help roll out your dough to a perfectly even thickness (this rolling pin is my favorite). I like the ones where you can adjust the thickness by removing and replacing the different-sized rings. That way you can make them any thickness you want. I like mine on the thicker side, so I like to use the ⅜ ring when rolling out my cookie dough.

Floured surface with a disc of Christmas Sugar Cookie dough next to a rolling pin.

How to Get Neat Edges on Christmas Sugar Cookies

I WISH I could take credit for this one because it is such an awesome baking hack. Full credit goes to Allie over at Baking a Moment. She suggests adding in some cornstarch to get the edges just right. She is the first person I have ever heard of who has done this and it worked beautifully! I swapped out a ½ cup of flour in my original sugar cookie recipe (our original recipe calls for 3 ½ cups of flour) for some cornstarch and it worked like a dream. I will always make cut-out cookies this way from now on! Full credit for this genius idea goes to Allie, and I also highly recommend checking out her site for more genius baking hacks (and INCREDIBLY delicious-looking desserts and treats).

Cut out of Christmas cookie shapes in dough.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the perfect sugar cookie: thick, creamy frosting atop a soft cookie, or shiny silky royal icing smoothly covering the cookie’s surface. For those shiny, beautifully decorated cookies, we recommend decorating Christmas cookies with royal icing. This recipe is so easy to make, and is enough to decorate dozens of your favorite Christmas cookies (see more on how to do this below).

Royal icing in a bowl and in piping bags with sugar cookies
Royal Icing
4.99 from 50 votes
Royal Icing can turn regular sugar cookies into little works of art! Smooth and shiny, royal icing and flood icing are actually simple to make and decorate with too!
View This Recipe
Red, pink, yellow, light green, dark green, blue and white bags of Royal Icing.

If you’re not so much worried about presentation, but want to sink your teeth into a thick, creamy cookie, use our favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s so good, you could eat it by the spoonful! Top your Christmas sugar cookies with this luscious frosting to taste, add some sprinkles or candies, and call it a day!

Mixing whisk with Cream Cheese Frosting over a mixing bowl.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
5 from 5 votes
This is the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting recipe! Creamy, sweet, slightly tangy, and so easy to make. Delicious on cakes, cookies or even by the spoonful!
View This Recipe

Decorating Christmas Cookies

You can decorate Christmas cookies like a pro– it’s easier than it looks! To decorate the Christmas Cookies like we did, use royal icing and flood icing. Flood icing is just royal icing that is watered down a little bit.

Decorating Steps

  1. For sake of ease, we usually keep the royal icing white and use that for the outline, but you can use any color. Place the icing in a piping bag with a #3 round tip and outline the cookies. Then, thin the remaining icing out, place it in separate bowls, and add the food coloring.
  2. Once you have it thinned and colored, pour the icing into individual squeeze bottles or individual icing bags. Fill in the outlines on the cookies with the flood icing.
  3. Then, use a toothpick to fill in any little gaps (see pictures to get an idea of how this is done). You can do the swirl designs by adding dots of different colors over your base color and swirling with a toothpick.
  4. Add sprinkles for more dimension and design. Be creative and have fun!
Decorated ornament, sleigh and tree Christmas Sugar Cookies with royal flood icing.

How to Freeze Sugar Cookies

One of the biggest perks of making these Christmas cookies is the ability to make them ahead of time. Here are a few tips for freezing cookies:

  1. Make sure to freeze them individually, like on a cookie sheet, until they’ve cooled completely.
  2. Once frozen, you can layer them in a freezer safe container using wax paper or freezer paper in between the layers.
  3. It’s best if you freeze the unfrosted cookies, then frost before serving. But if you want to decorate the cookies with frosting, freeze completely, not touching, until frozen solid. Then, you can layer as directed above.

How to Store Christmas Sugar Cookies

Once you’ve decorated your masterpieces, these yummy goodies will stay fresh when stored in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap on the counter for about three days. You can also chill them in the refrigerator (I love my sugar cookies chilled before eating). If you freeze them, keep them in an airtight container or a freezer bag and they’ll stay nice and edible for up to a month in the freezer.

Decorated candy cane and Santa hat Christmas Sugar Cookies with bags of royal icing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance can you make Christmas sugar cookies?

You can make them up to a month in advance and freeze them! Keep them in an air-tight container or in a freezer-safe zip-top bag.

Do you put sprinkles on sugar cookies before or after baking?

We always put sprinkles on after baking, especially with these sugar cookies. The colors won’t bleed and they will stay put better on the icing.

What is the most popular Christmas cookie?

It really depends on what part of the country (or the world) you are from. These Christmas sugar cookies are the most popular Christmas cookie here on Favorite Family Recipes. Want to check them all out? Here’s a list of the best Christmas cookie recipes.

Can You Take Cookies On a Plane?

If you’re planning to fly the friendly skies this holiday season, here’s a friendly reminder from our TSA friends: you can definitely bring homemade goodies like cookies, pies, or cakes on an airplane in your carry-on bags, as long as you allow it to be inspected by officials. So you can share your baked treats with loved ones no matter how many miles separate you.

Can You Ship or Mail Christmas Sugar Cookies?

Yes! Put the cookie tin or airtight container in a heavy-duty cardboard shipping box and make sure the cookies are surrounded with shipping peanuts or newspaper. To keep your cookies soft and chewy, add a small piece of bread or slice of apple to the container, which helps keep their freshness.

Plate of Christmas Sugar Cookies next to bags of royal icing and sprinkles.

More Delicious Christmas Cookies

In our professional opinion, the more Christmas cookies during the holidays the better! We love our other Christmas treats including Christmas Charcuterie, Christmas Tree Cupcake Pull Apart, Homemade English Toffee, Chocolate Orange Cookies, Christmas Popcorn Recipe, Christmas Apples, and our Homemade Caramels Recipe. Here are some more of our favorites to make this time of year:

Read more: The BEST Christmas Cookies – Quick and Easy Recipes

How to Make the Best Christmas Cookies

Plate of Christmas Sugar Cookies next to bags of royal icing and sprinkles.

The BEST Christmas Cookies EVER (and How to Decorate Them)

4.94 from 123 votes
The BEST Christmas Cookies EVER begin and end with this soft, chewy, simple sugar cookie recipe. Decorate them with royal icing and you have the perfect gift for neighbors and friends!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour
Total Time 20 minutes
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Servings 24 cookies

Video

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir until well combined. 
    Bowl of dry ingredients for Christmas Sugar Cookies.
  • Cut COLD butter into cubes (they don't need to be perfect) and add to the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl if you are using a hand mixer). Add sugar and mix together until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
    Mixing bowl of creamed sugar and butter for Christmas Sugar Cookies.
  • Add 1 egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until well combined. Add the flour/cornstarch mixture in and mix on low speed until crumbles form (if you are at a higher elevation and the crumbles seem a little too dry you can add a tablespoon or two of water, not too much though, you want it to be crumbly, not sticky). 
    Mixing bowl of eggs, butter and sugar for Christmas Sugar Cookies.
  • Remove crumbles from mixer and knead into a ball.
    Mixing bowl with a ball of Christmas Sugar Cookie dough.
  • Place between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to about 3/8-1/2" thickness (however thick you want the cookies to be is how thick you want to roll it out– these cookies aren't going to rise very much, if at all). 
    Floured surface with a disc of Christmas Sugar Cookie dough next to a rolling pin.
  • Use Christmas cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough.
    Cut out of Christmas cookie shapes in dough.
  • Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment paper.
    Baking sheet of unbaked cut out Christmas Sugar Cookies.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool COMPLETELY before icing with royal icing or cream cheese frosting, (see links below for icing/frosting recipes)
    Cooling rack of baked cut out Christmas Sugar Cookies.

Notes

  • Try our Royal Icing Recipe and Flood Icing Recipe by clicking the link (This is the icing we used in the pictures above. Royal icing is ideal for beautiful, detailed decorating.)
  • Or try our Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (Cream cheese frosting is great for those who care less about the fancy decorating and instead prefer thick, creamy frosting that you can eat by the spoonful)
  • Store these cookies for up to a month in the freezer. When ready to eat, bring to a cold temperature – not all the way to room temperature. They are best eaten cold.
 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 217kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 137mgPotassium: 25mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 245IUCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.8mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

  1. OMG Randi, mine taste like short bread and are very dry, as well, and this is after I added several TSBP of water AND several TBSP of butter! I will be using a different recipe next time : (

  2. 4 stars
    Mine taste like shortbread cookies (but maybe a little more dry).
    Is that the flavor they’re supposed to have?
    I followed the recipe to the letter… should they taste “dry”?
    (I haven’t done the icing yet)

    1. Do you live at a higher elevation? Sometimes if we are baking these at high elevation we have to add a little water to the dough.

    1. We usually mix up our own colors with a combination of colors. Our favorite brands are Americolor (found on Amazon) and Sunny Side Up Bakery (found at Hobby Lobby).

  3. 5 stars
    Love to make sugar cookies with the family this time of year, favorite Christmas tradition! The cornstarch is amazing, worked like a charm. Thanks. Great recipe!!

  4. 5 stars
    These cookies are the cutest, delicious and fun to decorate. I had my grandkids over for an afternoon and we had so many laughs decorating these cookies. Oh yes, we loved eating our works of art!!! The cookies are sooooo good. Thanks

  5. 5 stars
    These ARE the best sugar cookies ever. Takes a bit of time to make and decorate, but when I am done, I am pleased with my accomplishment. Tastes really good too!

  6. 5 stars
    I am so happy to have found this recipe for sugar cookies! My twin grandbabies are just the right age to make cookies this year with their grammy! It was so much fun! They loved the cookies!!!!

  7. 5 stars
    this is a great recipe, only thing is i can’t stop making different colored royal icing! Y’all need to give this cookie recipe a try, very good !

  8. WOW! Your cookies look amazing, just beautiful!! I’m saving this recipe. Any ideas to decorate without frosting/icing?

  9. 5 stars
    Awesome recipe and easy to make!!! Glad I found this recipe as my other one I used was too complicated. Thanks for saving Christmas!

  10. 5 stars
    My daughter and I have been looking for a “go-to” sugar cookie recipe and this is it!!! Yummy and easy are two of my favorite words! Thank you…you are making me better in the kitchen!❤️

  11. 5 stars
    I made these on the first snow of the year…they were fun to make and my kids gobbled them up as soon as they finished decorating them!

  12. 5 stars
    Christmas isn’t complete without sugar cookies. This is a wonderful recipe.
    Kids love to help decorate these. It’s fun to see their creations.

  13. 5 stars
    I love making cookies with my grandchildren. Watching them create their own designs and seeing their faces. Best time of years

  14. 5 stars
    There’s nothing better than a good sugar cookie and this is it. Your instructions and tutorial are the best that I’ve ever read. Thank you for this kind opportunity!

  15. 5 stars
    I lost my Christmas cookbook that was filled with recipes passed down all the way from my grand mamares and great aunts, grandmothers, aunts and my mom. Mist of the recipes I could get back but could get the sugar cookie recipe of my Granny’s so I tried your. I must confess your recipe tasted better. I love this site for discovering more exciting recipes.

  16. 5 stars
    Turned out beautiful. Reminds me of Christmas cookie baking with my mom and grandmother!!! Such good memories revisited.

  17. 5 stars
    After suffering through all the fancy Christmas cookie recipe ridiculousness, I knew the minute I hit your page ladies that this was the recipe I need. Thank you!

  18. 5 stars
    TRULY the BEST COOKIE RECIPE EVER! Ever since using this recipe, our cookies come out wonderful, delicious and they keep their shape so that we can decorate. Thank you for giving us wonderful family memories every Christmas; this recipe is a game changer!

  19. 5 stars
    Thanks for the tip about higher elevations! Made these in Calgary, AB, Canada, (1045 masl) and added 1 tbs of water – they turned out fabulous! Will definitely be making them again!

  20. 5 stars
    I made these last year and gave them out to my family and friends along with several other baked goodies. These were by far the biggest hit! And so beautiful! I couldn’t believe how pretty they came out on my first try, even without piping bags! Although I regretted that choice and will definitely use them this year. Cannot recommend this recipe enough! So simple and delicious.

  21. I have never had any luck with other sugar cookies recipes keeping the shape once baked. They always spread into blobs. Do you have any advice or tips?

    1. Keeping the dough cold is super important to the cookies keeping their shape. I would recommend putting the cookies back in the freezer for a few minutes right before you bake them. If your kitchen is warm, sometimes handling the dough to get it in the right shape and onto the cookie sheet can warm it up too much. One last tip – instead of greasing your cookie sheet, use a silicon baking mat or parchment paper instead. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays!

      1. I do not see anywhere in the instructions that we are supposed to chill the dough first, how long are we supposed to chill it before we cut the cookies out?

        1. Thanks for catching that. I got this recipe mixed up with another. I have edited the comment for clarity.

  22. To be honest, I haven’t baked the cookies yet. But I just have to say, you have the most beautiful, well organized, informative web site ever! Kudos to your web master! Can’t wait to jump in and bake! The recipe rating is an estimate since I haven’t actually baked them yet. But based on my experience, it looks great!

  23. 5 stars
    Delicious
    Very tender cookies, good plain, but frosting added takes it to the top level.
    Thanks for sharing

    1. How long ahead of time can you make the royal icing? How long does it keep? Hours days? Also, I’m going to make these for some teachers how far in advance would you say I can bake the cookies and frost later?

      1. Royal icing lasts about 2-3 days in the fridge. As far as the cookies, you can make them up to 3 months in advance if you store them in the freezer.

  24. 5 stars
    I’ve never made sugar cookies from scratch before but your recipe has inspired me to try! I love all of the decoration ideas too! 🙂

  25. 5 stars
    These look so cute and festive! I know my nieces will love making these with me, they look like such a fun activity to do with kids!

  26. 5 stars
    I think I’m a thick cream chees frosting ‘you can eat by the spoonful’ gal. YUM! Love all your tips and thanks for including two different icing options! This post is a great holiday resource!

    1. When we say cream in that instruction we are referring to “creaming” the butter and sugar together. Creaming means to mix it together until it is light and fluffy. Sorry for the confusion!

      1. 5 stars
        Finally a dough that isn’t so sticky it’s impossible to use! These came out wonderful. They taste great too; perfect amount of sweetness. Rolling between parchment paper is great tip. This will be my go-to recipe for Christmas sugar cookies.

      1. When we say cream in that instruction we are referring to “creaming” the butter and sugar together. Creaming means to mix it together until it is light and fluffy. Sorry for the confusion!

  27. 5 stars
    Thank you!!!!! You make my life better by sharing your gift of making the kind of food that is so ☆FUN to make and wonderful to eat 🙂 merry christmas!

        1. Plain, all-purpose flour! And cornstarch is the starch derived from corn kernels. You can find it in the baking aisle!