Classic Decorated Xmas Cookies
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt just until a soft dough forms, chill it 1 hour, then roll to 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 F for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges look set, cool fully, then decorate with royal icing and sprinkles.
Classic Decorated Xmas Cookies are the ones I make every December without fail. The dough rolls out smooth, cuts into sharp trees and stars that actually keep their shape, and bakes into pale, tender cookies with crisp edges. The royal icing dries hard and glossy, which makes them perfect for stacking in gift boxes and for letting kids go wild with the sprinkles.
Why you’ll love it
- The dough is firm and forgiving, so it rolls, cuts and rolls out again without tearing.
- Cookies hold sharp shapes in the oven, with crisp edges and soft centers.
- Royal icing dries hard enough to stack, so they travel well in cookie boxes.
- One batch makes 24 cookies, plenty for a decorating afternoon with kids.
- The plain cookies freeze beautifully, so you can bake now and decorate later.
Ingredient notes
Butter: softened but not melty. It should dent when you press it. Melty butter makes a greasy dough that spreads, while cold butter never creams smooth.
Flour: all purpose, measured by spooning into the cup. Extra flour for rolling is fine on the surface, but do not work it into the dough or the cookies turn tough.
Baking powder: just 1 teaspoon. More would puff the cookies and round off the sharp cutter edges you worked for.
Meringue powder: the backbone of the royal icing. It whips up glossy, pipes clean lines and dries hard enough to stack the cookies without smudging.
Powdered sugar: sift it before whisking the icing. One small lump clogs a piping tip and ruins a smooth flood.
The chill that keeps your shapes sharp
Everything about sharp cookies comes down to temperature. Chill the dough until it is firm, roll it on a cool surface, and if your kitchen runs warm, slide the pan of cut shapes back into the refrigerator for 10 minutes before they go in the oven. Cold butter takes longer to melt, and that delay is what keeps a tree looking like a tree instead of a blob. The same rule applies to scraps: gather them gently, press them together and chill the disk again before rolling, because warm dough rolled a second time spreads the most. Bake until the edges look set but the tops are still pale, since color is a sign you went too far. Pale means tender.
Variations
- Chocolate xmas cookies: replace 1/2 cup of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder for dark, rich cookies that look stunning with white icing.
- Citrus twist: add 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange zest to the dough with the vanilla for bright cookies that pair beautifully with plain white icing.
- Stained glass: cut a small shape from the center of each cookie before baking, fill the hole with crushed hard candy and bake as usual for jewel toned windows.
- Sandwich cookies: bake plain rounds, then sandwich two together with a thick layer of buttercream for a soft, bakery style treat.
What we learned testing it
- I tested rolling at 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch. The thinner cookies baked crisper but cracked when decorated, so 1/4 inch is the sweet spot for sturdy, tender cookies.
- Meringue powder beat plain egg white icing in the side by side test. The powder version dried harder and brighter, and it piped cleaner lines.
- Baking two sheets at once worked fine with a swap halfway through. Without the swap, the bottom sheet browned too much on the undersides.
Read how we test recipes.
Classic Decorated Xmas Cookies
Makes 24 cookies · 1 hr 35 min total · Medium
Ingredients
Equipment
Large mixing bowl · Electric mixer · Rolling pin · Cookie cutters · Baking sheets · Parchment paper
Instructions
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Make the dough and chill it well
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping the bowl once. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low just until a soft dough comes together. Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, wrap and chill for 1 hour. Cold dough cuts into clean shapes that keep their edges.
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Roll the dough and cut your shapes
Heat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disk to 1/4 inch thick, turning the dough a quarter turn between rolls so it does not stick. Cut into trees, stars, snowmen or bells, and place the shapes 1 inch apart on the sheets. Gather the scraps, press together gently and roll again.
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Bake until the edges look set
Bake 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges look set and the tops look dry. The cookies should stay pale with barely any color on the bottom. A batch that browns has baked too long and will taste dry. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool fully before decorating.
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Decorate with royal icing and sprinkles
Whisk the powdered sugar, meringue powder and water until smooth and glossy, adding water a teaspoon at a time until the icing ribbons off the whisk. Pipe outlines and flood the centers, then add sprinkles while the icing is wet. Let the cookies dry uncovered at room temperature for at least 4 hours so the icing sets hard.
Notes
- Chill the dough the full hour. Warm dough spreads in the oven and your trees turn into blobs, no matter how sharp the cutter.
- Roll between two sheets of parchment if the dough sticks to your counter. It peels off cleanly and you skip the extra flour that can toughen the cookies.
- Decorate on completely cool cookies. Even slightly warm cookies melt the royal icing and the designs slide right off.
- If the icing is too thick to pipe, whisk in water half a teaspoon at a time. If it is too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar a spoonful at a time.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Meringue powder
- Use 2 pasteurized egg whites instead of the powder and water. The icing sets a little softer and glossier, and it still works for simple designs.
- Vanilla extract
- Swap in 1 teaspoon of almond extract for a bakery style flavor. Almond extract is stronger, so keep it to 1 teaspoon and keep the vanilla too.
- Holiday sprinkles
- Use colored sanding sugar, mini nonpareils or a simple dusting of powdered sugar. Each gives a different look, and all of them stick to wet royal icing.
Storage and make-ahead
Store undecorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Once decorated, let the icing dry fully, then layer the cookies between parchment in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freeze undecorated baked cookies for up to 3 months, and decorate after thawing.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my xmas cookies spread and lose their shape?
Warm dough is the usual cause. Chill the dough the full hour, work quickly when cutting, and if the kitchen is warm, chill the cut shapes on the pan for 10 minutes before baking.
How thick should I roll xmas cookies?
Roll to 1/4 inch thick. Thinner cookies bake crisper but crack under icing, and thicker cookies spread more and lose their sharp edges.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes. The dough keeps wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
How long does royal icing take to dry?
Plan on at least 4 hours at room temperature, and overnight is safest before stacking. Humidity slows drying, so do not stack cookies that still feel tacky.
Can kids help decorate these xmas cookies?
Absolutely, these are built for it. Let kids spread the flood icing with the back of a spoon and shake on the sprinkles while you handle the piping bag for outlines.
