The Best Christmas Sugar Cookies | Christmas Cut-Out Cookies
These Christmas sugar cookies are the best we’ve ever made! We call them Christmas cut-out cookies because we use cookie cutters to cut them out.
Post Updated December 2022. Original Publish Date: December 2013
When my children were little, I started a tradition of making sugar cut-out cookies with cookie cutters at the change of each season.
My kids all love this tradition, and even though they’re older now, they still look forward to this special family tradition!
Related: Family Christmas Traditions to Start This Year
Now though, they can make this recipe all by themselves! If I’m not careful to be in the kitchen at just the right time, sometimes I miss the event altogether!
Every year we all look forward to making these delicious sugar cookies. And eating them!
We also like to double the batch so we have enough to share with family and friends. They look great on a cookie tray with Chocolate Star Cookies, Rice Krispie Presents, and M & M Pretzel Hugs.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
When I first decided I wanted to start a tradition of making sugar cookies every year, I set out in search of the best sugar cookie recipe.
It took many, many tries to finally find the right one!
But when we finally found it, we were so happy. The search was over!
We’ve now been using this Christmas sugar cookie recipe for over ten years, and we’ll probably never switch. It’s just what we wanted!
How to Make the Best Sugar Cookies
What makes these the best sugar cookies we’ve ever tasted? It has so much to do with texture. In our opinion, Christmas sugar cookies shouldn’t be crunchy.
This recipe makes cookies that are just right. They’re soft (not crunchy!) and they hold the cut-out shape nicely.
I’m also including our favorite sugar cookie icing recipe because it’s part of what makes this recipe so perfect!
The sugar cookie icing recipe dries hard on the cookies, which makes them easier to store and perfect for gifting or taking to get-togethers!
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Sugar Cookie Supplies Needed
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- butter, at room temperature
- granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- vanilla extract
Directions
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, by hand, in a medium mixing bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes, until creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium speed until blended.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until blended.
- Divide the dough into half. Press each mound of dough into a flat disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets with butter.
- Sprinkle your work surface with some flour. Unwrap 1 chilled disk of dough and place it on the floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little more flour.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle more flour under and over the dough as needed so it doesn’t stick.
- After rolling out dough, cut out shapes, and place the shapes on cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until light brown around the edges.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet set on a baking rack for 15 minutes, and then transfer the cookies off of the cookie sheet and onto the cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour and a bit extra for rolling out
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, by hand, in a medium mixing bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes, until creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium speed until blended.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until blended.
- Divide the dough into half. Press each mound of dough into a flat disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 baking sheets with butter.
- Sprinkle your work surface with some flour. Unwrap 1 chilled disk of dough and place it on the floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little more flour.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it's about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle a bit more flour on the dough as needed so it doesn't stick.
- After rolling out dough, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and place the shapes on the greased cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until light brown around the edges.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet set on a baking rack for 15 minutes, and then transfer the cookies from the cookie sheet to the cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Icing
This recipe makes enough to ice approximately 36 sugar cookies.
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons warm water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (we use honey, since we don’t keep corn syrup on hand)
- food coloring and sprinkles, if desired
- In a medium bowl, use a wire whisk or an electric mixer on medium-low speed to beat the confectioner’s sugar, warm water, and corn syrup until smooth.
- Add the food coloring if you’re using it.
- Decorate the cookies. (The decorating icing hardens eventually.)
Christmas Sugar Cookie Decorating Icing
Ingredients
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons warm water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
- food coloring and sprinkles if desired
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, use a wire whisk or an electric mixer on medium-low speed to beat the confectioner's sugar, warm water, and corn syrup until smooth.
- Add the food coloring if you're using it.
- Decorate the cookies. (The decorating icing hardens eventually.)
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These soft, iced, cut-out sugar cookies are adorable, and look easy enough for even me to make. So, I’m going to try them. I’ve also been looking for a type of sugar cookie that is thin, holds its shape, and has a tender texture without being soft. It doesn’t crumble… it snaps off most pleasingly when you bite the cookie. It has an almost brittle sound, yet the cookie isn’t crunchy or tough, and it is ever so delicately sweet. You can make them topped with a little plain or colored sugar, decorate with icing touches if you want, or enjoy them just as they are. If ANYONE has a recipe like that, or a lead in that direction, I’d love you to share. That would be a great addition, along with this yummy-sounding soft sugar cookie recipe that was shared here today. Having two favorite Christmas sugar cookie recipes in the arsenal would be awesome!
Thank you! We just made a double batch of these this week!
These cookies sound amazing!! I am visiting you from the blog hop and so thankful to find this recipe today! Many blessings to you!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Cheryl!
I’ve been looking for a great sugar cookie recipe, thank you!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy!