cookie recipes

These buttery classic Christmas sugar cookies are the perfect roll out cookies for the holiday season. They bake up nice and tall with defined edges and a soft interior. Decorate with fluffy buttercream frosting or royal icing and lots of sprinkles. If you are serious about your cut out cookies, this recipe is for you!

Along with my easy rum balls recipe, the one Christmas classic that can’t be left out are sugar cookies. They are almost everyone’s favorite and decorating them is something everyone can take part in – whether you have lots of skill or not much at all, it doesn’t matter.

Perfect roll out sugar cookies

This is by far the most tested recipe on my blog. It’s been years in the making. The goal with this recipe was a sugar cookie that did not spread, held its shape perfectly with no “cookie bloat”, baked up nice and tall with golden edges, and also tasted good.

One would assume this is an easy task, but I’m here to tell you that it isn’t quite as straightforward as one might think. If you’ve ever been disappointed with your cookies for any reason, that’s about to end.

There are some tips and tricks to getting the perfect classic Christmas sugar cookies, so let’s get to it.

Classic Christmas cookies recipe

This recipe for cut out Christmas cookies is a combination of the bakery-style sugar cookies and the type of roll out sugar cookies we all grew up eating.

The texture, or crumb, of these cookies is a bit more refined, but the flavor is exactly what you’d expect and want from this type of cookie.

Ingredients

To make classic Christmas sugar cookies, you’ll need the following 9 ingredients: all purpose flour, cake flour, unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder and milk or cream.

I used half and half for my cookies and it worked really well. I would not recommend low-fat milk. For the best results, use whole milk, half and half or cream.

What makes this recipe different from all the others?

This recipe is not like all of the other sugar cookie recipes out there. The biggest difference is the addition of cake flour. It gives the cookies a delicate, soft and crumbly texture that just can’t be beat.

I’ve adjusted the sugar and butter several times, baked with and without baking powder, with and without cream, without cake flour and with it – trust me when I tell you that this recipe works, and it will work for you.

The other big difference is freezing the dough, not just chilling it. I’ve tested this recipe more times than I can count to get it just perfect, and freezing the dough is key to getting nice, sharp, golden brown edges with no cookie bloat.

You can see on the sides of the cookie, they are nice and straight, not rounded. There is a defined line, or edge, on top – which is what you’d expect from a bakery cookie.

Dough for cut out Christmas sugar cookies

The first step is creaming the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. This takes a few minutes, don’t rush it. If the color of your mixture has not lightened, you’re not done yet.

Next, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add in the eggs and beat until they are well incorporated.

Combine all of the dry ingredients, and add in two batches, alternating with the cream. Lastly, roll out the dough to 1/4″ thickness between two sheets of parchment paper, then chill or freeze the dough until it is firm enough to cleanly cut out shapes.

Tips and tricks for perfect classic Christmas sugar cookies

Follow these tips for perfect Christmas cut out cookies:

1. Chill the dough before cutting out cookie shapes – if the dough is slack (too soft), you won’t get nice edges.
2. Dip cookie cutter in flour before cutting dough – keeps the dough from sticking when you release the dough from the cutter.
3. Place cut out cookie dough shapes on baking mat (or parchment paper) on sheet pan, then place in freezer.
4. Bake cookies straight from the freezer.

My last tip is to make your own sanding sugar mix. You can get very creative for a fraction of the price of one small bottle at the store.

Tools, equipment and fun extras

You’ll need a few things to make this classic Christmas sugar cookies recipe, but the one item (aside from the mixer), that is imperative, is the scale. The luster dust is just for fun, but I really hope you get it, because it’s gorgeous.

• Food scale – An absolute must for bakers. Weighing ingredients is far more accurate than measuring with cups and spoons, and I cannot recommend owning a scale strongly enough.
• Silicone baking mat – This yielded the best results. I preferred baking on this over baking on parchment paper.
• Classic Christmas cookie cutter set – metal cutters with comfort grip, 8 different shapes.
• Gel food color – This is the brand that I have. Avoid liquid food coloring, it won’t give you the same results and it will make the icing runny.
• Luster dust is an edible food color that comes in powdered form. By mixing it with a drop or two of vodka, it becomes a “paint” to color the frosting or the cookie itself. It comes in every imaginable color and looks beautiful on iced cookies. It can deepen the colors of the frosting or just add a little shine or sparkle to give them an extra special look. 
• Stand mixer – This is the mixer that I’ve had for almost 10 years. It gets a TON of use and is worth every penny.
• Sheet pans – Invest in heavy duty, commercial baking sheets. They aren’t pretty, but they don’t warp and they last a lifetime.

More holiday treats

• Lemon ricotta cookies
• Citrus biscotti
• Gingerbread biscotti
• Gingerbread cake
• Peppermint rum balls
• Red velvet crinkles

Please share

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!

I hope you love these classic Christmas sugar cookies as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting.

Your shares help this site to grow and I appreciate it so much. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.

Yield: 30 - 3 inch cookies

Classic Christmas sugar cookies

Print

The perfect recipe for soft and buttery classic Christmas sugar cookies.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 18 minutes

Ingredients

Cut out sugar cookies

• 3 cups all- purpose flour (13.25 ounces)
• 2 cups cake flour (8 ounces)
• 2 tsp. sea salt/kosher salt
• 3 1/2 tsps. baking powder
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (11 ounces)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole milk, half and half or heavy cream (2 ounces)

Royal icing

• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tbsps. meringue powder

Instructions

1. Whisk all purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and light in color, about 5 minutes. (If using a hand mixer about 7 - 8 minutes.)
3. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until incorporated, then add the vanilla and beat until mixture is uniform.
4. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the cream, and mix until just combined.
5. Divide the dough into thirds and roll out to 1/4" thickness between 2 sheets of parchment paper. (You'll have 3 pieces of dough, you'll need 6 sheets of parchment)
6. Put the sheets of dough (and the paper!) on a sheet pan to keep them flat, then freeze for an hour until dough is very firm.
7. Dip cookie cutter in flour, then cut out shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Freeze the dough for a minimum of 2 hours. (I wrapped my sheet pans up and froze overnight).
8. Preheat oven to 325°F with convection or 350°F without convection.
9. Remove sheet pan from freezer and bake for 18 minutes. (This is for 3 inch cookies. If your cookies are smaller or larger, adjust the time by a minute or two)
10. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to rack to cool completely.

Royal Icing

1. Combine powdered sugar, meringue powder and water in a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer.

2. Beat on high for 2 - 3 minutes, until completely smooth.  

3. Use assorted food coloring to dye the frosting. Place in piping bag with tip to decorate.

Add sprinkles or sanding sugar to your cookies immediately after frosting. Use luster dust after royal icing has set completely.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

30

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 247Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 231mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information calculated by a third-party company as a courtesy. It is intended as a guideline only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂

Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos or recipe without prior written permission. Thank you!

Originally published 12/7/11, most recent update 11/30/21.

How to make pumpkin cookies that practically melt in your mouth! Pillowy soft and filled with warm, seasonal spices.

Soft pumpkin cookies frosted with a buttery cinnamon icing are a perfect fall treat. Make a batch of these melt in your mouth cookies for Halloween and top with fun sprinkles. Try these Day of the Dead cupcakes for another delicious sweet.

Pumpkin lovers could also try this easy shortcut recipe for pumpkin empanadas made with store-bought empanada dough.

How to make soft pumpkin cookies

I’ve been making these delicious cookies for almost 10 years, my apologies that it’s taken me so long to put the recipe here.

A very long time ago, I had a booth at our local farmer’s market and I used to sell these. They were the size of my palm when I made them for the market.

These are two to three bite size, which is a normal size for a cookie. If you want to make them bigger, just increase your baking time by a few minutes.

These are always a hit when I make them. They are super soft, cakey and honestly almost melt in your mouth.

The pumpkin cookies themselves aren’t terribly sweet, which is why I like them so much, but the frosting gives them just enough extra sweetness to take care of that sweet tooth craving.

They are very easy to make: Dry ingredients are whisked together in one bowl, butter and sugar are beaten together in another bowl. The rest of the wet ingredients are added to the butter mixture and mixed until incorporated.

Dry ingredients are added to wet and it gets a final mixing before being scooped and baked. I use a size 40 scoop for these cookies – it holds 1.5 tbsp.

I recommend baking them on pans lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for best results.

Spiced pumpkin cookies with frosting

Once the cookies have completely cooled, spread a layer of frosting on them (I use an offset spatula) and top with these adorable sprinkles.

They are perfect for Halloween! They have a mix of sugar pumpkins, bats and ghosts, along with jimmies, nonpareils and sugar pearls.

You’ll have a little pumpkin leftover from your can, so if you have a furry member of the family, show them some love with homemade oatmeal pumpkin dog treats!

How to store cookies

These cookies are best the day they are made. They are good the next day, but by the third day, they start to dry out a little.

Freeze unfrosted cookies in an airtight container with layers of parchment between them, then remove a few cookies at a time to thaw and frost when the craving strikes.

Please share

Your shares help this site to grow and I appreciate it so much. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting. I love hearing from you!

Did you make this recipe? Tag me on instagram @pookspantry or share it in the Fabulous Foodie Friends Facebook group!

Yield: 40 cookies

How to make pumpkin cookies

Print

How to make pumpkin cookies that practically melt in your mouth.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Cooling Time 30 minutes

Total Time 57 minutes

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 2 cups all purpose flour (9.4 oz)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

For the frosting

• 2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp. whole milk
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C/Gas Mark 4
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 - 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin. Beat for an additional 2 minutes. (don't worry if it looks curdled, it's fine)
5. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat until combined, but do not over-mix.
6. Using a small cookie scoop (1 1/2 tbsp.) drop dough 2 inches apart onto lined cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 12 minutes or until tops are set. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
8. While cookies are cooling, make frosting: With electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until light and fluffy.
9. Spread frosting on cooled cookies and top with sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

*Everyone's oven is slightly different, so keep an eye on your first batch of cookies for timing. My cookies needed 12 minutes, but yours may need more or less time, depending on your oven.

To make large cookies, use a 3.25 ounce scoop - yield will be approximately 20 - 22 cookies.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Small cookie scoop - 1 1/2 tbsp.
• 
  Large cookie scoop - 3.25 oz.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

40

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 88mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information calculated by a third-party company as a courtesy. It is intended as a guideline only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos or recipe without prior written permission. Thank you!