Soft, sweet, and easy to eat – these are my absolute favorite Christmas sugar cookies! They’re guaranteed to bring holiday joy with every bite!

Aerial view of a wire cooling rack filling with decorated christmas sugar cookies.

Christmas Cookie Recipe

The second the air starts to chill, I launch into holiday prep mode! Making lists of Christmas presents for kids and scheduling out dates for our holiday traditions – I just can’t help it. And while there are a lot of good festive activities, my *very favorite* Christmas tradition is making Christmas sugar cookies with my kids. This recipe for frosted sugar cookies is soft with the perfect amount of sweetness, but won’t make you want to rip your hair out when baking with little sous chefs.

Paired with the easiest sugar cookie frosting, you won’t ever need another Christmas cookie recipe. This is one you’ll bookmark (or even print out) to make year after year. And yes, the thought of this becoming your new Christmas tradition makes me absolutely giddy.

Christmas sugar cookie dough rolled out onto the counter with christmas cookies cut out of it.

What Ingredients are in Frosted Sugar Cookies?

Salted butter – I always, always use salted butter. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use unsalted and add an extra pinch of salt to the dough.
Granulated sugar – Equal parts butter and sugar in this recipe gives it just the right amount of sweetness- especially when topped with a sweet frosting!
Egg
Vanilla extract – I like to flavor my cookies with vanilla, but feel free to use whatever flavoring you’d like! Almond extract (I would only do 1/2 tsp of almond extract since it is especially potent!) would be delish. Or cake batter would also be super yummy!
All-purpose flour – Just all-purpose flour for this cookie- nothing special needed!
Baking powder – The baking powder helps the cookie keep its shape while retaining softness.

Frosting

Salted butter, room temperature – If you’d like the frosting to crust so they can be packaged in baggies without everything spreading, use half butter / half shortening.
Powdered sugar
Heavy whipping cream, room temperature – You can use milk in place of the heavy cream, but you will need significantly less because milk is thinner.
Clear vanilla extract
Food coloring, as desired – I like to use food coloring gels!

A sheet pan with sugar cookies on it just baked.

How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar for a full 2 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture is light in color and fluffy.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the egg and vanilla, mixing until mostly combined.
Add the flour and baking soda. Mix until a soft dough forms. (This may take a minute, just trust the process! It will come together.)
Feel the cookie dough in your hand, it should feel soft, like play-doh. If it is too dry and stiff, add 1 tsp of water at a time until getting that soft consistency.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface – using a rolling pin slowly roll the cookie dough out until desired thickness. If your dough sticks to your rolling pin, coat the pin in a little flour and that should do the trick. Note: The cookies will not spread or rise while baking. Roll out to how thick you want your finished cookie to be.
Use desired Christmas cookie cutters to cut the cookie dough. Place cut out cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet or a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Wet hands with water and then gather the scraps together and repeat, rolling and cutting.
Bake at 350° F for 7-10 minutes – depending on size and shape. Pull them out of the oven once they have puffed up slightly and no longer look wet and glossy in the center. Do not let the cookies turn brown.
Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting.
To make the frosting, cream the butter until smooth on the mixer’s lowest setting.
Add one cup of powdered sugar and then just enough heavy cream to bring the powdered sugar and butter together.
Repeat this step until all powdered sugar has been added, continuing to mix on the lowest setting. The frosting should be very thick at this point.
Add in the vanilla extract, mixing until evenly distributed.
Now, adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding small amounts of heavy cream at a time while mixing on the lowest setting until you have reached your desired consistency.
Portion into small bowls and color with gel food coloring.
Add to piping bags and decorate the cooled cookies or spread onto the cookie with a knife. Pro tip: using a piping bag will allow you to create more intricate and impressive designs!
Enjoy!

Close up of frosted christmas sugar cookies on a wire cooling rack.

Can I prepare sugar cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it before baking?

Yes, you can, but it tends to dry out if you do that. I suggest baking the cookies ahead of time and freezing them!

Can I freeze sugar cookies for later use?

Absolutely! I freeze just the cookies and frosted cookies all the time. I have a post all about how to successfully freeze cookies for more tips.

How long can I store decorated sugar cookies?

Store your decorated cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days!

Can I make these cookies gluten-free?

You sure can! Just replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour substitute. I love the King Arthur GF 1:1 replacement.

Close up of frosted christmas sugar cookies on a wire cooling rack. Across the top it says "christmas sugar cookies" with an additional text box that says "no chill, no spread"

More Christmas Cookies to Love