Christmas Cutout Cookies

Baking Christmas cutout cookies is an annual holiday tradition in many households. I grew up baking Christmas cutouts with my mom and sister, filling the table with multiple baking sheets full of cookies. And getting to decorate my own cookies with plenty of frosting and sprinkles? Priceless. Those are easily some of my favorite childhood memories.

This recipe for decorated Christmas cookies is very similar to the one I remember, making use of a simple sugar cookie dough to create holiday magic. Once the dough is made, chilled, cut into shapes and baked, the cooled cookies become canvases for creativity. Christmas cutouts are perfect to enjoy while decorating the tree, to leave out for Santa or to pack up for a holiday cookie exchange to share with others.

Ingredients for Christmas Cutout Cookies

• Butter: For this Christmas cutout cookie recipe, start with softened butter to get the best results. Here are our Test Kitchen’s favorite butter brands.
• Sugar: Sugar is key to creating the proper texture and adding a touch of sweetness to these Christmas cutouts. Creaming the butter with the sugar aerates it for a light, fluffy texture.
• Eggs: Eggs play multiple roles in baking. In this recipe, they help bind the ingredients while also adding moisture and fat for proper texture and flavor.
• Vanilla extract: Even though there’s plenty of sugar in this Christmas cutout cookie recipe, you’ll want to add a splash of vanilla for that bakery-quality finish.
• All-purpose flour: Flour lends structure to the dough, helping the cookies maintain their cutout shape.
• Baking powder: To prevent your Christmas cutout cookie recipe from falling flat, use baking powder.
• Frosting, sugars and sprinkles: The frosting and decorations needed will all depend on the cookie cutters you’ve chosen to use for your decorated Christmas cookies. Pick a variety of colors for the frosting or royal icing, along with edible sanding sugars and sprinkles.

Directions

Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well.

Step 2: Add the dry ingredients

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, and mix well until the dough comes together. Chill the dough for at least one hour until firm.

Step 3: Cut out the cookies and bake

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Using a floured spatula, transfer the cookies to greased baking sheets.

Bake the Christmas cutouts for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks.

How to Decorate Christmas Cutout Cookies

Step 1: Make your frosting or icing

While your cookies cool, prep the decorations. You can choose to use either royal icing or a thicker frosting for these decorated Christmas cookies. Royal icing is thinner and offers a glossy look, while buttercream frosting is fluffier. Make your icing or frosting, and add food coloring to create as many colors as you’d like to use to decorate.

Step 2: Frost the cookies

Dip the cookies, pipe on royal icing or use small spatulas to frost the cookies. Learn more about decorating sugar cookies here.

Step 3: Add additional icing or sprinkles

Use other colors to add accents to parts of your decorated Christmas cookies. Place nonpareils or sprinkles on top for further decoration.

How to Store Christmas Cutout Cookies

Baking cookies ahead of time for a cookie exchange or have leftovers? Store your cookies in an airtight container to preserve their texture and flavor. Create a single layer of cookies, or use parchment to separate multiple layers. Store the cookies at room temperature or in the fridge up to one week.

Can you freeze Christmas cutout cookies?

If you are baking multiple batches of decorated Christmas cookies or are hoping to get a head start on holiday baking, you can bake our Christmas cutout cookie recipe and freeze the Christmas cutouts. You can choose to either frost them or leave the cookies unfrosted. Either way, be sure to store them in an airtight container with parchment layered in between the cookies to prevent sticking. Find out how to avoid other cookie storage mistakes here.

This sugar cookie dough can also be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer. Make the dough and wrap it in a layer of storage wrap before putting it in an airtight freezer bag. Freeze the dough for up to three months. When you plan to use it, transfer the dough to the fridge to thaw for several hours or overnight.

How long do Christmas cutout cookies last?

Undecorated and decorated Christmas cookies can last the same amount of time. Properly stored cookies will last at room temperature or in the fridge up to one week and in the freezer up to three months.

Christmas Cutout Cookie Tips

How do you prevent sugar cutout cookies from spreading?

Chilling the dough is the key to decorated Christmas cookies with proper shape. Our Christmas cutout cookie recipe calls for a chilling time of one hour, which shouldn’t be skipped. This helps resolidify the butter in the dough to prevent spreading.

What other flavors can you use for Christmas cutout cookies?

The Christmas cutout cookie recipe uses granulated sugar and vanilla extract for a simple sugar cookie dough, but to switch up the flavor, you could easily replace the vanilla extract with almond extract or any other type of extract, such as peppermint for a unique flavor twist. Want to incorporate citrus? Add a bit of lemon or orange zest to the dough.

How do you make even cuts with cookie cutters?

After you’ve let your dough chill and rolled it out with a rolling pin, dust your cookie cutter with flour before pressing it into the dough for nice, even Christmas cutouts.