Description
These Soft Christmas Cookies are buttery, sweet, and full of delicious vanilla flavor. They hold their shape beautifully when baked, making them perfect for festive cookie cutters, colorful icing, and holiday decorations. Best of all, there’s no chilling required, so you can enjoy homemade Christmas cookies without waiting!
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup caster sugar or superfine sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
For Decorating:
- Sugar cookie icing
- Melted chocolate (optional)
- Silver decorating balls or sprinkles (optional)
- Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 320°F (160°C) for a fan oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar for about 1 minute until creamy and smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until everything is fully combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl.
- Mix slowly at first, then continue mixing until the flour is incorporated and the dough becomes slightly clumpy.
- Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough from the bowl.
- Gently bring the dough together, divide it in half, and shape each portion into a flat disk.
- Roll out the dough to approximately ⅛ inch thick for thinner cookies or ¼ inch thick for thicker, softer cookies. Sprinkle flour underneath and over the dough to prevent sticking.
- Use Christmas cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes such as stars, trees, gingerbread people, and snowflakes.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets using a spatula.
- Refrigerate any dough that cannot fit in the oven while the first batches bake.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes, swapping the baking trays halfway through, until the surface is pale golden and the edges are just beginning to turn lightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets because they will continue setting as they cool.
- Decorate with icing, melted chocolate, sprinkles, or powdered sugar. You can also enjoy them plain!
Notes
- Serving: Arrange the cookies on a festive platter with hot chocolate, coffee, tea, or a glass of milk.
- Decorating: Use colorful royal icing, holiday sprinkles, melted chocolate, or edible glitter to create beautiful Christmas designs.
- Room temperature storage: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 5–7 days.
- Refrigeration: Refrigeration is generally unnecessary for plain cookies. If decorated with perishable toppings, follow the topping’s storage requirements.
- Freezing baked cookies: Place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between layers and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Freezing cookie dough: Wrap the dough disks tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2–3 months.
- Make-ahead tip: Prepare the dough a day ahead and refrigerate it if you want to divide your holiday baking into multiple days. Let it soften slightly before rolling.
- Keep cookies soft: Avoid overbaking. Remove them when the edges are just beginning to turn light golden.
- Prevent sticking: Lightly flour your work surface, rolling pin, and cookie cutters when necessary.