Classic Christmas Sugar Cookies

Used the star technique to decorate stocking cookies. They turned out really cute! ---Janeen on Pinterest

This is how I've always decorated cookies, too. Faster than spreading on frosting and cleaner! Yummy recipe with the addition of almond extract, thank you! ---Dana on FB

Tips for Decorating Christmas Sugar Cookies

• Use Basic Piping Tips. You only need three types of piping tips for these cookies: a small round tip, a star tip, and a large round tip. I use #5 or #7 for small details, #21 for stars, and #1A for covering larger areas. The #5 and #7 tips are very similar, so use whichever you have available.
• Buy More Than One of Each Tip. If you're decorating with several colors of frosting, I recommend having two of each type of piping tip. This makes it much easier to switch between frosting colors without having to wash and refill the same piping bag.
• Use Firm Pressure With Round Tips. For smooth lines and filled areas, hold the piping tip close to the cookie and apply steady, firm pressure as you pipe.
• Use Short Bursts With Star Tips. When using a star tip, don't pipe one long line. Instead, use short bursts of frosting to create individual stars. Covering a cookie with little frosting stars is one of the easiest decorating techniques, and kids can do it with a little practice.

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

• Butter and Shortening: I use a combination of butter and shortening for the best texture and flavor. If you don't want to use shortening you can use all butter, but I highly recommend trying the recipe as written first.
• Sugar: There are only two types of cookies that I don't use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar for: sugar cookies and snickerdoodles. White sugar is best for sugar cookies. It gives them great flavor and texture.
• Egg: For richness and texture.
• Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract: Extracts are where you can get creative when making cookies. Vanilla and almond are my favorites to use and are a wonderful flavor combination.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is a great option for baking cookies.
• Cornstarch: This recipe requires a substantial amount of cornstarch. Trust me, it makes a soft and tender cookie.
• Baking powder: Baking powder gives sugar cookies life and a light texture.

Easy Buttercream Frosting

• Butter: For the best flavor and texture, always use butter in your frosting.
• Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar gives the frosting a fluffy and smooth texture.
• Milk or Heavy Cream: A bit of milk or cream helps thin the frosting out to a spreadable consistency.
• Vanilla: For flavoring.

Supplies

• Food coloring: This is my favorite food coloring right now. It makes such bright and pretty colors!
• Cookie cutters: You can use any cookie cutters but here are the ones that I used for the cookies in this post. 3 pack: Sweater, Christmas Light and Truck, Gnome, Llama, Tree, Stocking.
• Disposable Frosting Bags: a disposable piping bag is convenient to have and you can just toss it after using.
• Couplers: couplers attach to the frosting bag and make it easy to switch out the frosting tip that you are using. With a coupler, you can switch from a round tip to a star without filling a new bag with frosting! Check out the coupler video tutorial in the FAQ section of the post.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Christmas Sugar Cookies

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer*), combine butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy.

Step 2: Turn the electric mixer to a low speed and add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Stir in the flour and cornstarch, and mix until a soft dough forms.

* I make these using my KitchenAid mixer and keep it on the entire time (on the 2nd to lowest setting). If you don't have a stand mixer, just make sure to beat everything until fluffy before adding the flour.

Step 3: Lightly flour your working surface and shape dough into a large ball.

Step 4: Roll the dough out to the desired thickness using a rolling pin (I usually do ¼- ⅜") and cut into shapes.  Add flour to the dough if it feels too sticky, but a nice, soft dough is what you want.

Step 5: Carefully transfer cut out cookie shapes with a spatula to a baking sheet.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Cookies will be soft. Let sit on baking sheet for 5  minutes before carefully moving to a cooling rack.

Step 6: Beat frosting ingredients together. Divide into bowls and color as desired. Fill piping bags with frosting tips and frosting.

How To Decorate Christmas Sugar Cookies

Llama Cookies

1. Cover the entire cookie with "stars" of frosting.
2. Use the small round tip to cover the feet, ears, and to make a small "face".
3. Use the small round tip to add a scarf.
4. Decorate with sprinkles for eyes and other details!

Ugly Sweater Cookies

1. Cover the entire cookie with "stars" of frosting.
2. Use a round tip to add any other details you'd like like a Grinch or a Christmas tree in the center.
3. Decorate with sprinkles!

Gnome Sugar Cookies

1. Outline the hat with a small round tip.
2. Fill in hat area with small round tip.
3. Cover beard area with star tip.
4. Add a candy nose.

Tree Sugar Cookies

1. Use a round tip to cover the trunk.
2. Use a round tip to make zig zags of frosting starting at the bottom and layering each row on top of that.
3. Add sprinkle "ornaments".

Christmas Light Cookies

1. Use a small round tip to cover the base of the bulb.
2. Use the large 1A round tip to cover the bulb. To use a 1A tip, hold the tip CLOSE to the cookie (¼" away). Squeeze the frosting and drag it across the cookie for a smooth application.

Stocking Sugar Cookies

1. Outline the stocking area with a round tip.
2. Fill in the stocking area with a round tip.
3. Cover the heal, toe and cuff with stars using a star tip.

The Easiest Way to Decorate Sugar Cookies

The best part about this decorating method is that you don't have to be an expert cookie decorator.

Instead of trying to pipe intricate designs or work with royal icing, you're essentially covering the cookies with frosting using simple shapes. The star tip does most of the work!

Watch the video in this post to see exactly how I use the piping tips. Once you've mastered the technique, you can use it to decorate just about any Christmas cookie shape.

Christmas Sugar Cookie FAQs

More Holiday Cookies To Make

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