To me, Christmas sugar cookies are the first cookie I think of during the holidays. It’s what my mom always made, and my sister and I to help decorate with sprinkles. They are simple but delicious and just sing Christmas to me. I love lots of cookies during the holidays. Everything from Chocolate Chip Cookies to Shortbread are welcome in my house.
But you gotta have a stand by for Christmas sugar cookies! So, I asked my mom about the recipe she used to make after trying and tasting many other kinds. I developed this recipe from hers, so it feels nostalgic but also modern. It’s slightly spiced and bright but still buttery. A little bit soft, a little bit crisp, and perfect for holding it’s shape when cut. They can be decorated pre-baking with sprinkles or post baking with frosting or icing. Or, enjoyed plain. All ways are equally delicious.
I got some of the cutest cookie cutters on an etsy shop (including these light bulb shaped ones above). Holly Fox Design has tons of cute ones and you could adapt these to any shape and style.
Now these may be called Christmas sugar cookies but they really are just a roll out sugar cookie that can be made any time. I have made these outside of Christmas for Halloween, Easter, birthday parties or just because and they always receive many compliments. It’s easy and delicious, and takes hardly any time.
I have tons of other cookies if you search cookies on my site, but here some other particularly festive options for the holidays:
Christmas Sugar Cookies Key Ingredients
- Salted Butter – I chose to use salted butter in these in lieu of the traditional salted to add a little extra saltiness and moisture. Salted butter generally has a slightly higher water content than unsalted. I personally prefer to use European salted butter when making these to add a little more richness from the added butterfat.
- Orange Zest – We only add a little bit of zest to add a little brightness to the cookies. If you frost your cookies you won’t taste the orange at all but you will taste what it adds to the cookie.
- Cinnamon – Like the orange zest, we aren’t adding enough cinnamon to make this a cinnamon flavored cookie, it’s going to add a little depth to the cookie. It also could be subbed for something like cardamom or allspice.
Ingredients
- 1 small Orange for zesting
- 135 g Granulated sugar ⅔ cup
- 227 g Salted butter 1 cup, room temperature
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- ⅛ tsp Almond extract
- 300 g AP Flour
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
- Measure out your flour and add cinnamon. Mix to combine and set aside.
- Measure out your sugar into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Zest about ½ a teaspoon of orange zest into the sugar, mixing it throughout. If you'd like the orange flavor to be stronger, rub the zest into the sugar. This will infuse the oils from the zest into the sugars.
- Add your butter to the sugar and zest and mix on medium-low for about 2-3 minutes, it will be creamy and a little fluffed.
- Add in your egg and extracts and mix until well combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so everything is incorporated.
- Add your flour mixture in and mix on low until dough just comes together. It will look like big chunks. Use a rubber spatula or your hands to push the chunks together into a ball shape.
- Gather the dough and place it onto a piece of parchment or plastic cling wrap. Press out into a disc shape and wrap completely.
- Place your dough in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 1-2 hours to overnight.
- After your dough has chilled, remove from the refrigerator and line baking sheets with parchment or silpat mats.
- Flour your work surface generously. Let your dough sit out for about 5 minutes and the roll out to somewhere between ⅛" for thin cookies and ¼" for thicker cookies.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies, transferring to the baking sheet. Any scraps can be pushed together and rolled out to repeat.If decorating with icing cookies are ready to bake. If decorating with sprinkles, place sprinkles on pre-baking.
- Place your baking sheets in the refrigerator to chill for 30-60 minutes before baking. Preheat your oven before pulling them out of the refrigerator.
- Bake your cookies on the center rack of your oven for 10-12 minutes. The edges will be turning a light golden color. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Allow cookies to cool before icing with buttercream or royal icing. Store in an airtight container. Cookies are freshest for about 3-5 days after baking. Enjoy!
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