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Quick and easy Christmas Sugar Cookies are perfect for the holiday season; soft, buttery, and just the right amount of sweet. Whether you enjoy them plain or decorated with royal icing, they’re always a hit.
This Christmas cookie recipe is foolproof: the cookies hold their shape beautifully in the oven, taste incredible, and come together without a big mixer. If you’re looking for easy sugar cookies that double as the prettiest (and tastiest) homemade Christmas cookies, this is the one to keep on repeat all December long.
What Makes These Sugar Cookies Work
Soft in the center with lightly crisp edges, these Christmas Sugar Cookies are satisfying on their own and perfect for decorating with royal icing, sprinkles, or colored sugar.
What really sets them apart is how versatile and reliable they are. Whether you’re baking for a holiday party, gifting a tin of treats, or setting out cookies for Santa, this Christmas cookie recipe delivers every time. No fuss, no spreading, no guessing—just truly easy sugar cookies that look as good as they taste.
What Goes Into These Christmas Cookies
These Christmas Sugar Cookies use simple pantry staples and come together quickly—no fancy tools required. The dough is soft but sturdy, perfect for cutting into festive shapes, and the royal icing adds a smooth, glossy finish for decorating fun.
- Unsalted Butter: Provides richness and helps create that soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cookies while also helping them hold their shape when baked.
- All-Purpose Flour: The structural base of the dough, giving the cookies a tender but stable bite.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds warm, classic flavor that makes these sugar cookies truly irresistible.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements
How To Make Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour a clean surface for rolling the dough later.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar: In a mixing bowl, use a spoon or electric beaters to cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy.
- Add Vanilla and Egg: Beat in the vanilla and egg, mixing until combined and becomes light and creamy in texture.
- Start the Dough: Add 2 cups of flour along with the baking powder and salt. Stir until the dough begins to come together.
- Finish the Dough: Mix in the remaining cup of flour until a stiff cookie dough forms. It should be thick and slightly crumbly but hold together well.
- Knead and Chill: Turn the dough out onto your floured surface and knead gently with damp hands until it forms a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll and Cut: Divide the dough in half and roll out one portion at a time to about 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to shape the dough, then place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or up to 9 minutes for lightly golden edges. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.
- Prepare the Icing: In a small bowl, mix the royal icing powder with water until thick and smooth. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a #5 round tip.
- Decorate the Cookies: Outline and flood each cookie with the icing, then let set. Add details with a #1 tip or top with sprinkles, pearls, or edible glitter. Icing sets in 20 minutes in the fridge or 2 hours at room temp.
These Christmas Sugar Cookies are the ultimate sweet treat to round out your holiday celebration. Enjoy them after a cozy dinner of Basil Pesto Chicken Spaghetti or alongside a festive feast featuring Crispy Beer Roast Turkey. Their buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture is the perfect finish to a savory meal.
For drinks, keep things classic with a mug of Hot Chocolate or a chilled glass of milk—Santa-approved, of course. If you’re putting together a dessert spread, pair these cookies with other holiday favorites like chocolate crinkle cookies or peppermint bark. They also make a delightful edible gift when wrapped with a few candy canes for extra cheer.
Recipe FAQ’s
What sets this recipe apart is using only a little baking powder and no baking soda. Too much leavening causes cookies to puff up and lose their shape in the oven. We also chill the dough before rolling, which firms it up and makes it easier to cut, lift, and bake clean-edged cookies every time.
Yes, chilling is essential. It prevents the cookies from spreading too much and helps them keep their clean, defined edges when baked. A 30-minute chill is all you need.
You can! Just reduce the added salt in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon. The flavor will still be delicious and buttery.
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Christmas Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 3 cups all purpose flour or plain flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Royal Icing:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon royal icing mix or more, the consistency should be thick and creamy
Instructions
Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F | 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with a thick wooden spoon or electric beaters, and beat until smooth (for about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla and the egg.
- Add in 2 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined. Then add the rest of the flour until the mixture becomes a stiff cookie dough. Turn dough out onto a clean surface. Lightly wet your hands and knead the dough until it forms a soft ball. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Divide dough in half, then roll out about 1/4-inch thick onto a lightly floured surface. Cut using any cookie cutter shape you like, and transfer immediately onto baking sheet.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes or until just set. For crispier golden edged cookies, bake for up to 9 minutes. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet (they should be soft) for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Royal Icing:
- Mix the water with the royal icing mix in a small bowl. Pour into a small piping bag with a round icing tip #5, outline and flood the cookies with silver or grey. Allow to set. Then, using round icing tip #1, pipe any other decorations you like over the top, or add edible pearls, edible cachous, edible balls, sprinkles, edible glitter, or whatever you like!Icing will completely set in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or about 2 hours at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today for my class ( valentine cookie decoration activity) and it was delicious! My son had a first try and he loved it! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I used it without absolutely fine.
If your using grams the measurements are.
225 butter
375 flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
200 sugar
Was brilliant
I thought the exact same thing!
Hello Karina, I super like this recipe of yours. I think I will not be using this recipe only at Christmas. I will be trying this for different shapes and decorations as well. Not only is it easy to bake but delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.