This sugar cookie recipe gives you beautiful, golden sugar cookies, that can be soft and chewy or crispy, depending on how long you cook them.
I particularly like this recipe for Christmas because they’re simple drop cookies. My other Christmas dessert recipes are a bit more time consuming, so this one is a nice break. And since I already have rolled out and shaped gingerbread cookies, the round cookies actually add variety!
Simple, easy, delicious!
If you’re looking for cut-out cookies to cut into fun Christmas shapes, try this easy sugar cookie recipe.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Preparation Time: 15m Cooking Time: 10m Total Time: 25m
Servings
Yields 30 cookies.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it’s smooth and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until it’s well blended.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until you have a smooth dough.
- Drop tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough onto an ungreased baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart (the cookies will spread a lot).
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges turn a light golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Tips
- Be sure that the butter is nice and soft. The softer it is, the easier the dough will be to work with.
- When you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, be sure to add them gradually: add a bit, mix until smooth, then add a bit more.
- If you want soft cookies, they’ll have to be very soft when they come out of the oven — but don’t worry, they harden a bit as they cool.
- Feel like decorating your Christmas sugar cookies? Here are a few ideas for the best sugar cookies:
- I always drizzle mine with a bit of chocolate after they cool. I use the leftover chocolate from coating truffles, so it’s super convenient.
- You can roll the cookies in a bit of colored sugar before baking them. Red and green sugar can make it extra festive. Or you can roll them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture for extra flavor.
- If you flatten the cookies a bit before baking them, you can press little candies on the top, or miniature chocolate chips.
- Want to make these easy sugar cookies ahead of time? Here are some tips.
- The dough freezes nicely. You can shape the dough into little balls and freeze them. When you’re ready for the cookies, just thaw the dough a few hours and then bake as directed. Cookies in no time!
- These Christmas sugar cookies stay good for a few days, but after a week or so they’ll start to harden, even if you keep them in an airtight container. That’s why I usually freeze or refrigerate the dough, or I just make them last of all my Christmas desserts. They’re so easy to make that it’s no trouble.