Easy Christmas Sugar Cookies (Print Version)
Soft, buttery sugar cookies with crisp edges—ready for decorating with vibrant icings and festive sprinkles.
# Ingredients:
→ Sugar Cookie Icing Ingredients
01 -
3 tablespoons meringue powder
02 -
4 cups powdered sugar
03 -
5 tablespoons warm water
→ Roll Out Sugar Cookie Ingredients
04 -
1 cup granulated sugar
05 -
1 cup butter, softened
06 -
1 egg
07 -
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
08 -
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
09 -
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon salt
→ Decorating Ingredients
12 -
Brown gel food coloring
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Lemon yellow gel food coloring
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Kelly green gel food coloring
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Red-red gel food coloring
16 -
Christmas red gel food coloring
17 -
Black gel food coloring
18 -
White nonpareils
19 -
Holiday sprinkles
# Steps:
01 -
Preheat oven to 350°F.
02 -
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric or hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
03 -
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing in between each addition.
04 -
Divide the batter into two balls and set on a floured surface. Roll out each ball with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Dip cookie cutter in flour before cutting out shapes.
05 -
Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a cooling rack.
06 -
Beat meringue powder, powdered sugar, and water together until the icing is thick, shiny, and smooth. This takes 5-8 minutes with a heavy-duty mixer or 8-10 minutes with a handheld mixer.
07 -
Tint the icing using gel food coloring: Combine colors to achieve desired shades (e.g., brown, red, green, black). Reserve some white icing.
08 -
Thin black, green, brown, red, and 1/2 cup of white icing to a count of 20 for flooding. Reserve full-strength white icing for detailed work.
09 -
Use decorating bags with tip 3 to outline and flood cookies as described. Allow cookies to dry (4-8 hours or overnight) depending on the design.
10 -
After initial drying, use reserved icing to add finishing details to the cookies as specified.
# Helpful Notes:
01 -
Allow the cookies sufficient drying time for the icing to set completely before serving.