Homemade Christmas Cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 14

Icing and Resting Time: 3

Total Time: 3 29

Servings:

Calories: 486kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

These sugar cookies are easy to make and are the perfect sweet treat for the holiday season. Be sure to let the royal icing completely set before serving. These cookies will stay fresh for 2 to 3 weeks.

Print Recipe

Equipment

Stand mixer or hand mixer
2 cookie sheet pans
2 silicon mats or parchment paper
holiday cookie cutters
frosting bottles

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature, 8 oz
⅔ cup sugar
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder

For the Royal Icing

4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoon meringue powder
½ cup hot water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Beat the butter with the sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer) until light and creamy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
2 sticks unsalted butter, ⅔ cup sugar
Beat in the vanilla and then the egg.
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
With the mixer on medium-low, slowly add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat until fully mixed.
2½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Remove the dough and smooth it into a ball with your hands. Divide the dough into three discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Working 1 portion at a time, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ to ½-inch thickness. Cut the cookies with the cutters. Gather the scraps and reroll to cut more cookies. Place the cookies on two sheet pans lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn a light brown, about 13 to 15 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before icing them.

Make the Royal Icing

In a large bowl, add the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, hot water, and vanilla extract.
4 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoon meringue powder, ½ cup hot water, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Use an electric mixer on medium speed and beat until thick, about 7 minutes. You'll know it's ready when you can drag a spoon across the top of the icing and a ribbon remains on the surface.
Divide the icing and stir in desired food coloring gels. Ice cookies with a small spatula, coffee stirrer, or toothpick. Decorate with icing bottles.

Video

Notes

See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Bake the cookies until the edges are just starting to brown. Depending on your oven, this can take anywhere between 10 and 16 minutes. Keep an eye on them and switch the pans in the oven about halfway through baking. Be sure to allow the cookies to completely cool before icing them.

It takes at least a couple of hours for the royal icing to fully set and become hard.

The cookies will stay fresh in an air-tight container for 2 to 3 weeks, but are best served within a few days of baking them.

Nutrition

Thank You! https://growth-bridge.live/homemade-christmas-cookies/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-38236":{"type":"food","name":"Homemade Christmas Cookies","slug":"wprm-homemade-christmas-cookies","image_url":"https:\/\/howtofeedaloon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Homemade-Christmas-Cookies-IG.jpg","rating":{"count":1,"total":5,"average":5,"type":{"comment":1,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"2","unit":"sticks","name":"unsalted butter","notes":"room temperature, 8 oz","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":24784,"id":3386,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"sticks","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"sticks","unitParsed":"sticks"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"\u2154","unit":"cup","name":"sugar","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23259,"id":4384,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u2154","unit":"cup","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u2154","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"1\u00bd","unit":"tsp","name":"vanilla extract","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23264,"id":4295,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\u00bd","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\u00bd","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1","unit":"large","name":"egg","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23271,"id":4292,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"large","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"large","unitParsed":"large"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23259,"id":4286,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"tsp","name":"salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23264,"id":4531,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"tsp","name":"baking powder","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23264,"id":4840,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"4","unit":"cups","name":"confectioners' sugar","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23258,"id":6127,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"4","unit":"cups","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"3","unit":"tbsp","name":"meringue powder","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BJ94p2","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23263,"id":24779,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"tbsp","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"tbsp","unitParsed":"tbsp"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"hot water","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23259,"id":15089,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"tsp","name":"vanilla extract","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23264,"id":4295,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1766772056000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}}],"originalServings":"8","originalServingsParsed":8,"currentServings":"8","currentServingsParsed":8,"currentServingsFormatted":"8","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"type":"recipe","recipeId":38236,"name":"Homemade Christmas Cookies","image":"https:\/\/howtofeedaloon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Homemade-Christmas-Cookies-IG-360x360.jpg","servings":8,"servingsUnit":"","parent_id":"38229","parent_url":"https:\/\/howtofeedaloon.com\/homemade-christmas-cookies\/","cachedAt":1766772056,"modifiedAt":1765708482}}}