30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (2024)

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (1)

One of the best things about the holiday season is all the sweet treats to bake and share with friends and family. We’re all about pies, cakes, candy, and bars, but the most quintessential Christmas dessert has got to be cookies. We’re big fans of sugar cookies in particular because they’re easy to bake, are super-versatile, and best of all, are fun to decorate. Bust out those cookie cutters and check out our top 30 holiday sugar cookie recipes for ideas—just don’t forget to bake enough to leave out for Santa too!

And don’t worry if you’re not the most confident baker. We’ve got all the tips you’ll need in our classic sugar cookie recipe (hint: chill that dough), as well as a few of our favorite frosting/icing recipes, like our royal icing, our cream cheese frosting, and our sugar cookie icing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of rolling and cutting out your dough, try adding different flavors to your cookies to jazz them up. Check out our brown sugar cookies, our chewy lemon sugar cookies, or our pumpkin sugar cookies for ideas—they’re still special for the holiday, but no cookie cutters needed. If all that STILL seems like too much, there’s no shade in using store-bought cookie dough and just doing your own decorating, like in our Rolo ornament cookies, our melted snowman cookies, or our sugar cookie trees. Bonus: These recipes are great for kids (and adults who feel like one this time of year).

If you are looking for more elaborate options, we’ve got ideas for you too. One way to take your sugar cookies to the next level is to change up the color of the dough, like in our checkerboard cookies, our Grinch cookies, our pinwheel cookies, or our candy cane cookies. If you’re confident in your decorating skills or want to try something new, take inspiration from our snowflake cookies, our Santa cookies, our ugly sweater cookies, or our Christmas tree cookies. You never know, you might end up finding a new cookie box favorite among them.

Though we do love sweets this time of year, one cannot survive on cookies alone. Check out our favorite Christmas appetizers, Christmas dinners, and Christmas brunch ideas too.

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1

Perfect Sugar Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (3)

This recipe is the only one you need. It embodies both form and function: Not only does it taste fantastically buttery with just the right amount of sweetness, it also holds its shape, is perfect for decorating, and will get you sharp, clean edges every time after baking.

Get the Perfect Sugar Cookies recipe.

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2

Christmas Tree Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (5)

It isn't Christmas without cookies, and this year, we're starting with these trees decorated with a super-simple marbling technique that's totally Tik Tok-worthy. It's perfect for getting kids involved or for using on other holiday cookie shapes, like candy canes done with a red and white marble or snowflake shapes done in blue and white. The possibilities are endless!

Get the Christmas Tree Cookies recipe.

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3

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (7)

These easy pinwheel cookies are beyond mesmerizing but also so easy to make. Make a batch of our easy sugar cookie dough, then dye one half red. Then simply roll them together to create the swirl. The sprinkles are optional, but they add so much extra fun!

Get the Christmas Pinwheel Cookies recipe.

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4

Santa Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (9)

Here's a crazy idea that just might be brilliant: This year, leave the plate of cookies for Santa in his own image. He'll love sliding down the chimney to see his portrait! (Just don't forget the carrots and celery for the reindeer.)

Get the Santa Cookies recipe.

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5

Stained Glass Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (11)

Love sugar cookies but hate decorating them? These are for you! Simply fill cookie cutouts with hard candies like Jolly Ranchers, then bake. The candies will melt, then turn soft and chewy after cooling, adding a bright pop of color to your holiday dessert table.

Get the Stained Glass Cookies recipe.

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6

Rolo Ornament Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (13)

These are the perfect cookie decorating project for kids (and adults who just feel like one this time of year!). All you've got to do is snag some Lofthouse cookies and candy from the store, then get creative with the ornament decorations.

Get the Rolo Ornament Cookies recipe.

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7

Ugly Sweater Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (15)

Looking to really wow people at the Christmas cookie swap this year? Look no further than these gorgeous cookies. We know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but these stunners truly redefine "ugly sweater."

Get the Ugly Sweater Cookies recipe.

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8

Candy Cane Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (17)

These cookies look so much more complicated than they are. They're actually just a simple sugar cookie where half of the dough gets dyed red and then twisted together. So simple!

Get the Candy Cane Cookies recipe.

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9

Snowflake Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (19)

These elegant snowflake cookies turn our best-ever sugar cookie dough into a magical work of art. Trust us: You don't need any special kind of decorating expertise to pull these off—just a snowflake cookie cutter and some decorating sugar pearls.

Get the Snowflake Cookies recipe.

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10

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

This recipe yields cookies that are soft and citrusy sweet with a perfect chewy center. They take very minimal effort, and the hardest part will be letting them chill in the fridge. Be patient! That rest time will be worth it for the crinkly texture it provides.

Get the Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies recipe.

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11

Melted Snowman Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (23)

Easy sugar cookies get turned into the cutest snowman cookies. Use our favorite sugar cookie icing and homemade or store-bought cookies to make these super-simple.

Get the Melted Snowman Cookies recipe.

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12

Checkerboard Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (25)

Checkerboard cookies are a classic vanilla and chocolate sugar cookie that look far more complicated to make than they actually are. The two colors are made from the same dough, with half getting some cocoa powder added to it. Feel free to add in a little food coloring to the doughs instead and make the checkerboard pattern any color you desire.

Get the Checkerboard Cookies recipe.

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13

Brown Sugar Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (27)

These brown sugar cookies are chewy, sweet, buttery, and caramelly. They're also big, which we firmly believe a cookie should be. They get baked until the edges are just set, and as they cool, they start to wrinkle and the centers will be chewy and soft with slightly crunchy edges. 😍

Get the Brown Sugar Cookies recipe.

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14

Copycat Crumbl Chilled Sugar Cookie

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (29)

Crumbl’s chilled sugar cookie may no longer be on their permanent menu, but now you can make it at home to have any time you want. Their signature giant cookie is an almond sugar cookie with a pretty pink frosting. It doesn't traditionally have sprinkles, but we think they're fun!

Get the Copycat Crumbl Chilled Sugar Cookie recipe.

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15

Grinch Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (31)

Not everyone's all about the Christmas cheer, and that's okay! These adorable sugar cookies will warm hearts even if they're 10 sizes too small this holiday season.

Get the Grinch Cookies recipe.

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16

Creme Brûlée Sugar Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (33)

Caramelized sugar is our new favorite frosting sub (though don't worry, there's a little cream cheese frosting under there too). Don't have a kitchen torch? Try sticking these under the broiler.

Get the Creme Brûlée Sugar Cookies recipe.

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17

Royal Icing

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (35)

Have you ever wondered how the icing on store-bought sugar cookies has that perfectly smooth, flat, matte look? The answer is royal icing! Follow our tips and you too can decorate sugar cookies like a pro.

Get the Royal Icing recipe.

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18

Leg Lamp Cookies

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (37)

We know you'll be whipping up Christmas cookies this holiday season, and there's no better way to stand out from the crowd of classic chocolate chip and basic sugar cookies than with a platter of these gams, which fans of the movie A Christmas Story might deem hotter than "electric sex" and "indescribably beautiful." 😉

Get the Leg Lamp Cookies recipe.

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19

Holiday Cookie Pops

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (39)

Everyone decorates Christmas sugar cookies with icing, and we think not enough people roll them in sugar and turn them into pops. Pro tip: Dunk ’em in your hot cocoa.

Get the Holiday Cookie Pops recipe.

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20

Cream Cheese Frosting

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (41)

The Delish team's love for cream cheese is no secret, and this recipe showcases exactly why. Buttercream is great and all, but cream cheese frosting is arguably the most delicious option for topping all sorts of desserts, especially sugar cookies.

Get the Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.

30 Sugar Cookie Recipes To Make Your Christmas Extra Sweet (2024)

FAQs

How do you increase the sweetness of cookie dough? ›

Add brown sugar.

If you don't want to mess with the measurements, simply sprinkle some brown sugar on top of the dough before you bake! As it bakes, the brown sugar will caramelize and add more dimensions of sweetness.

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

What can I add to cookie dough to make it sweeter? ›

Add brown sugar

Adding it to the pre-made dough will give it more sweetness, a chewier texture, moisture and that homemade flavor you're craving. You can also melt butter with brown sugar and incorporate it into the dough for extra tender, chewier cookies.

How to jazz up sugar cookies? ›

Take plain sugar cookies up a notch with exciting mix-ins like chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, toasted chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit or M&M's. Add these after blending your butter and egg into the sugar cookie mix.

How to make cookies sweeter? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

What to do if cookies are not sweet? ›

Salt enhances the sweetness of sugar

Salt gradually infuses cold food like chilled dough, so adding an extra sprinkle at the end enhances the flavors already inside the cookies, working your taste buds from all angles. That's not to say salt should only be used post-dough.

Who makes best Christmas cookies? ›

Christmas Cookies Gifts & Mail Order Cookies for You & Yours
  • Elle's Belles Bakery's Snowman & Snowflake Christmas Sugar Cookies. ...
  • Shortbread Society's Holiday Shortbread. ...
  • The Cookie Joint's Christmas Cookie Fries Gift Basket. ...
  • Big Fat Cookie's Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies.
Nov 24, 2023

What is the most popular cookie in December? ›

What are the most popular Christmas cookies? Our survey found frosted sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies to be the most popular Christmas cookies in the country. They were the fan favorites in 39 states.

What happens if I forgot brown sugar in my cookies? ›

What happens when you bake without brown sugar? To be succinct, the resulting baked good could be slightly drier or more crisp. Without the excess moisture from the molasses in the brown sugar, the final cookie won't be as chewy and the final bread might be drier.

Can you over mix sugar cookie dough? ›

Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer.

Why do my sugar cookies taste so bland? ›

If the baked cookies taste a bit bland (and if the dough is fairly soft and receptive to additions), add salt and/or spices to the remaining dough before baking. If, on the other hand, they're a bit salty for your taste, try rolling the dough balls in sugar before baking.

Can you roll out store-bought sugar cookie dough? ›

Roll on floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2 1/2-inch cutter. Bake 8 to 11 minutes.

What happens when you add extra sugar to cookies? ›

Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown. Adding too little sugar can affect the taste and texture of cookies. Adding too much can cause them to be brittle. Take your time creaming the sugar and butter together at the beginning.

What happens if you add more sugar to dough? ›

A dough that has a high percentage of sugar (10% or more) will need more yeast than a bread made without sugar and will take a longer time to rise. A dough with more than 5% sugar (to flour weight) will brown on the surface earlier in the baking time than a dough with no added sugar or with less than 5%.

What makes cookie dough taste better? ›

You can upgrade your cookie dough by adding spices to it, said Tracy Wilk, lead chef at the Institute of Culinary Education. This can lead to a warm, spicy cookie. To do so, combine ground cinnamon, ginger, and sugar, and then roll your balls of cookie dough in the mix before baking.

How do you balance sweetness in baking? ›

Balance Out the Flavors

If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.

What does adding more brown sugar to cookies do? ›

Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more. With less moisture escaping via steam, they also stay moist and chewy.

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