Soft Christmas Sugar Cookies
User Reviews
4.9
Soft Christmas Sugar Cookies
Description
The cookie dough combines cold unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and salt to form a rich, pliable dough rolled out to about 3/8-inch thickness. Careful rolling using chopsticks as guides helps achieve uniform thickness. After cutting into shapes, the cookies bake at 350°F. The dough’s cold butter and moderate mixing prevent toughness, resulting in soft cookies with a tender crumb.
The accompanying frosting is made from softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and optional food coloring and sprinkles. It is thicker than some frostings and pipeable with a piping bag, but can be thinned with a bit of milk if needed. The frosting’s consistency depends on the butter and powdered sugar density, and can be chilled to thicken or whipped again before use after refrigeration.
This recipe yields about 18 four-inch cookies or 24 three-inch cookies, making it suitable for holiday gatherings or gift-giving. The frosting’s thickness and festive decorations create a visually appealing finish aligned with the season.
Ingredients
For The Cookies
- 1 cup butter unsalted, cold
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large egg cold
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour plus more for dusting, use all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
For The Frosting
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Food Coloring
- Sprinkles
Instructions
Making The Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lay parchment paper on your cookie sheets and clean off a big area of counter space to roll out the cookie dough.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes with a stand mixer on low-medium.
- In a small bowl crack the eggs and beat with a fork or a whisk. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture, then mix until well blended.
- To your wet mixture add the flour and scatter the salt around the bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients well for a few minutes with a strong wooden spoon or a stand mixer on low and then medium until a dough forms. (Don’t try mixing this part of the dough with a hand mixer—the dough is very thick and may break your mixer!)
- Lightly flour the counter and a rolling pin, keeping a small pile of flour at the edge of your workspace. Roll out your dough to a thickness of about ⅜ of an inch adding dustings of flour as needed. Use holiday cookie cutters between 3-4 inches and cut out your favorite shapes like circles, Santa, reindeer, stars, or trees.
- Place all cookies on baking sheets and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Making The Frosting
- Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Cream butter on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Add vanilla and salt, then mix for one more minute until fully mixed.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing first on low speed, then on medium until well mixed. Scraping down the sides of the bowl each time before you add more sugar until a creamy frosting forms.
- Split the frosting into smaller bowls, then mix in food coloring until you get your desired color. The frosting can also be left white if you prefer. You can then spread this frosting with a knife, or place it in a piping bag to frost the cookies and top with sprinkles. Enjoy!
Notes
- The recipe yields about 18 four-inch or 24 three-inch cookies.
- Rolling twice with chopsticks on either side helps achieve an even thickness of about 3/8 inch.
- The buttercream frosting is thick and suitable for piping; thin with milk if needed for spreading.
- Frosting thickness varies with butter quality and powdered sugar packing; adjust by adding sugar or milk as needed.
- Refrigerate frosting to thicken but re-whip before use to return spreadable consistency.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 24Cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 308 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 308kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 40g | 13% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 16g | 25% |
| Saturated Fat | 10g | 50% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 54mg | 18% |
| Sodium | 105mg | 4% |
| Potassium | 27mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 0.4g | 2% |
| Sugar | 28g | 56% |
| Vitamin A | 493IU | 10% |
| Calcium | 9mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
You'll Also Love
