Frosted Christmas Cookies

Create a batch of our quick and easy Frosted Christmas Cookies with a few everyday ingredients. They’re the perfect addition to your holiday baking. So soft, chewy, and full of flavor.

Who loves a good sugar cookie? They are a favorite in this house – which means we make them a lot.

While I like to enjoy them without any decorations – the family likes to have them iced or frosted. I’m not always in the mood for icing, which is where these Frosted Christmas Cookies come in. The frosting is easy to make and add to the cookies – a win-win!

What I love about these cookies is that they are so tasty – even without the frosting. But the frosting is so simple and so delicious.

Plus it spreads on fast – making it a great option for a cookie decorating party or just keeping it quick when you need a plate of cookies at the last minute.

I know you’ll love these as much as we do!

frosted sugar cookies recipe

Here are some commonly asked questions

What is the best way to store Frosted Christmas cookies?

I like to place mine in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also use a zip-top bag but I find they get jostled a bit too much with this and then you have broken cookies.

Keep in mind that even though the frosting will set and form a sort of crust – they will still get dented if you stack them or let them shift around in a bag. I like to keep them in a single layer as much as possible.

Why do my cookies go flat?

Cookies typically go flat when the dough isn’t the right temperature at the time of baking OR when they are missing the right ingredients that help them to rise- such as eggs, baking soda, and baking powder.

Please make sure you are measuring those ingredients correctly and that they are at room temperature when you start the mixing.

Also – something to keep in mind- make sure you are placing the dough on a cool baking sheet. The cookies will bake differently if you are placing the dough on the hot baking sheet you just removed from the oven.

Make sure you have a rotation of baking sheets so you can always place the unbaked dough on a cool tray.

Christmas Cookie Icing

Why do the ingredients need to be at room temperature?

Room temperature ingredients help to ensure that everything blends together perfectly. You don’t want any pockets of unblended butter. You want everything evenly disbursed for the perfect texture.

When your dairy products are at room temperature, they can create an emulsion. It’s essential to have an emulsion because air gets trapped, so the baked goods expand and get fluffy as it bakes.

Can the dough be frozen for later?

Yes – this dough can be frozen and baked later. If you would like to roll the dough prior to freezing, make sure to freeze the dough balls in a single flat layer. Once frozen they can be transferred to a zip-top bag for space-saving.

To bake – increase the baking time by 1 minute – no need to thaw the dough before baking.

I like to roll the dough between my hands to soften the outside of the dough before baking – this helps the cookies have the freshest texture once they are baked.

best frosted sugar cookies

Ingredients for Frosted Christmas Cookies

Cookies

• granulated sugar
• butter – softened
• confectioner’s sugar
• vanilla
• eggs – room temperature
• cream cheese
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• baking powder

Buttercream frosting

• butter – softened
• confectioner’s sugar
• vanilla
• whipping cream

Decorations

• Sprinkles
• Food coloring of your choice

Can these cookies be made ahead of time?

You bet. This cookie dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days prior to baking.

Make sure to cover tightly with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. You do not need to let it sit out at room temperature before rolling and baking. Just proceed with the recipe as written when you are ready to bake.

Christmas Cookie Frosting Recipe

How to Make Frosted Christmas Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, mix the butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy.
3. Little by little add in the confectioner’s sugar. Mix until combined.
4. Add the vanilla, and one egg at a time.
5. Add the cream cheese and mix until combined.
6. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until everything comes together. Do not over mix.
8. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least an hour so it is easier to handle.
9. With a small cookie scoop, scoop round balls onto the prepared baking sheet. Place them on the baking pan around 2 inches apart. They really do expand, so keep that in mind.
10. Bake for 12 minutes or until they are starting to brown.
11. Allow to cool completely before removing.

Can these baked cookies be frozen?

Yes – the baked cookies will keep when frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap each cookie individually with plastic wrap and then place them all in an airtight container before freezing.

sugar frosted cookies

How to Make Frosting for Christmas Cookies

1. Beat the butter with a stand mixer, until light and fluffy.
2. Add the sugar little by little until fully combined.
3. Add the vanilla and whipping cream. Mix until combined.
4. Spread some of the buttercream frosting with a spatula over each cookie and top with sprinkles. Let the frosting firm up before serving.

Can I use a gluten-free flour?

I’m not sure just yet. I have been meaning to give this a try but haven’t had a chance. If you do try this, I would recommend using a 1:1 flour like this one as I don’t believe it would require additional ingredients that are typically called for when trying to make baked recipes in a gluten-free version. Please come back & tell me how it turned out.

frosted cookies

How do I properly measure the flour?

The official way is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup & level off. This makes sure the flour isn’t packed tightly into your measuring cup, adding more than you need, as that will make your recipe too dry.

However – if you fluff your flour with a spoon, then gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup, taking care to not pack the flour – that should work for this recipe.

Can this recipe be made without a stand mixer?

I think you could possibly get away with using a hand mixer if you have firm beaters. But I must warn you, this dough is very thick and it will be quite an arm workout.

I don’t recommend using a whisk or even the whisk attachment on a stand mixer for this dough as a whisk isn’t strong enough for this dough.

recipe for frosting for sugar cookies

Should I use salted or unsalted butter?

When making a sugar cookies recipe like this one, I like to keep the butter unsalted.

Can I use a different extract?

Yes, I do it often. You can use almond extract if you want a more traditional sugar cookie flavor. Sometimes I like to do 1/2 a teaspoon of each to balance out the flavors a bit.

Christmas Frosted Sugar Cookies

Do I really need to chill the dough?

Yes, Yes, Yes! Chilling the dough is important for a couple of reasons. First – while the dough is chilling the ingredients are coming together. It gives a better overall flavor to the cookie.

The second and probably even more important than the first – is that chilling helps the dough hold together during the baking process.

Without chilling, the dough would not only be too sticky to really roll it into balls. But it would also spread way too much while baking – leaving flat and not very appealing cookies in the end. Please don’t skip the chilling process.

Can I roll these out and cut out shapes?

Unfortunately, this dough isn’t for rolling. But I do have a very good rolled sugar cookie recipe that is perfect for that.

What type of sprinkles do you recommend?

Now I know that when you go to the store there are things like sanding sugar that is labeled as sprinkles. Those are not sprinkles.

Please make sure to use nonpareils as they hold their color better and their shape and won’t soak into the dough as easily. Or you can use jimmies – which are really great at holding their color and shape.

Christmas Cookie Frosting

What do you mean by soft butter?

You will need to take your butter out of the fridge about an hour before you would like to make the recipe for the butter to soften but not get too soft.

How to soften the butter to room temperature?

First

There are a couple of ways to do this. The first being that you can take the butter (& any other ingredients that need to be at room temperature) out, leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prep for baking.

I usually start with all my chilled ingredients and pull everything I need out onto the counter before getting started – so I know for sure I have everything before I’m mid-way through I realize I’m out of something.

But sometimes it’s winter and that isn’t enough time to get the ingredients warmed up – OR – I’m just not that organized to plan ahead. It happens. So I have another couple of tricks.

Second

I place the butter in the microwave – wrapped in the paper. (don’t do this if it is wrapped in foil) Then I microwave for 2 seconds – flip – go another 2 seconds – flip again – and continue for 2 seconds on each side.

This is usually enough to get it perfect – sometimes stopping before if it feels soft enough. Take care when doing this method – overly softened butter from the microwave WILL ALTER the end result of the recipe. Don’t over-do it.

Third

My third method is to place the wrapped butter sticks in a zip-top bag and place it in a bowl of warm water. I do this with the eggs too. If the water isn’t too hot it can be THE PERFECT way to get “room-temperature” ingredients.

recipe for Christmas sugar cookies

If you love this Frosted Christmas Cookie recipe, you’re going to love these other treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

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