How to make Christmas cookies: 10 best recipes and decorating instructions

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Bake gingerbread, apple-caramel, chocolate cookies of all shapes, decorate with icing, give to friends or hang on the tree. If, of course, you can resist and not eat everything at once.

How to make Christmas cookies

1. Cookies with chocolate icing

Ingredients

For cookies:

• 240 g butter;
• 150 g sugar;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 240 g flour;
• 40 g cocoa;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda;
• ¼ teaspoon of salt;
• 2 tablespoons of milk.

For glaze:

• 90 g butter;
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa;
• 2 tablespoons of milk;
• 250 g icing sugar;
• confectionery dressing - optional.

Preparation

Beat butter, sugar and vanillin with a mixer. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until smooth. Pour in milk and mix well again.

Roll out the dough and cut out circles or figures of the desired shape. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 13 minutes.

While the finished cookies are cooling, add the icing. To do this, put butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat, add powdered sugar and stir thoroughly.

Pour the chocolate icing over the cookies and garnish with confectionery sprinkles if desired. This should be done right away, because the glaze hardens quickly. If the frosting has thickened, simply heat it over the fire for 15–20 seconds, stirring constantly.

2. Sugar cookies with sour cream

Ingredients

• 180 g butter;
• 200 g sugar;
• 1 egg;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 320 g flour;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda;
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg;
• 140 ml sour cream.

Preparation

Whisk in the butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanillin and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and sour cream and knead the dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least a couple of hours.

Roll out the dough and cut out the figures. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 10-12 minutes. The cookies should be lightly browned. Let it cool before applying the frosting. You will find three glaze recipes at the end of the article.

3. Cookies "Caramel cane"

Ingredients

• 240 g butter;
• 200 g sugar;
• 60 g icing sugar;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract - optional;
• 1 egg;
• 300 g flour;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring.

Preparation

Beat butter, sugar, icing sugar, vanillin, mint extract and egg with a mixer. If you can't find the peppermint extract, replace it with a pinch of cinnamon. The cookies will have a different, but no less pleasant winter taste and aroma. Then add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.

Divide the dough into two equal portions. Add food coloring to one of them to make a bright red dough. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Then pinch off some of the dough from both sides. Roll them into thin sausages about 12 cm long with your hands. Roll them into a pigtail and form a "candy cane". Do the same for the rest of the test.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Decorate the finished cookies with powdered sugar.

4. Apple caramel cookies

Ingredients

• 240 g butter;
• 130 g sugar;
• 2 eggs;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• ½ teaspoon baking powder;
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda;
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon + a little more for garnish
• 360 g flour;
• ½ cup chopped walnuts + some more for decoration;
• ½ cup white chocolate chips + some more for garnish
• 1 large apple;
• ¼ cups of caramel sauce.

Preparation

Beat the butter and sugar with a mixer. Add eggs, vanillin, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir until smooth. Add flour gradually, stirring the dough constantly.

Add chopped nuts and chocolate chips to the dough. You can make it yourself: just chop the white chocolate finely. Peel the apple, core and cut into small cubes. Add the apple to the dough and stir.

Form the dough into small balls and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Slightly flatten the balls with your hand, make a small indentation in the middle of each and fill it with caramel. Sprinkle with nuts, chocolate chips and cinnamon. Flatten the cookies with a spatula.

Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 12 minutes, until the cookies are browned. Cool it completely before serving. By the way, the next day these cookies will be even tastier than immediately after cooking.

5. Cookies "Snowballs"

Ingredients

• 220 g butter;
• 5 tablespoons of sugar;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• ¼ teaspoon of salt;
• 240 g flour;
• 240 g chopped walnuts;
• 200 g icing sugar.

Preparation

Beat the butter and sugar with a mixer until creamy. Then add vanillin and salt. Add flour gradually, beating the dough constantly. Add nuts and mix thoroughly. Divide the dough in two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Using your hands, shape the chilled dough into small balls about 2.5 cm in diameter. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown. Do not bake for too long, or the balls will break.

Dip the biscuits in the icing sugar while they are still warm. Let it cool and roll in the powder again.

6. Italian Christmas cookies

Ingredients

For cookies:

• 300 g flour;
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• 250 g sugar;
• 120 g butter;
• 100 g ricotta;
• 2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
• 2 eggs;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife.

For glaze:

• 280 g icing sugar;
• 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Preparation

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, use a mixer to beat the sugar, softened butter, ricotta and lemon zest. While beating, add the eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture and vanillin and stir until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

Form the chilled dough into balls with a diameter of about 2.5 cm. Place the balls on baking sheets lined with parchment, slightly flattening them from the bottom. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 9-11 minutes, until lightly browned.

While the cookies are cooling, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. If the icing is too thick, add a little more lemon juice. Pour ½ teaspoon of icing over each cookie. If you wish, you can decorate the cookies with pastry sprinkles.

7. Cookies "Christmas wreaths"

Ingredients

• 120 g butter;
• 30 large marshmallows (can be replaced with soft marshmallows);
• 1 ½ teaspoon green food coloring
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 350 g corn flakes;
• some vegetable oil;
• red dragees - for decoration.

Preparation

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir until dissolved. If you are using marshmallows, cut them into small pieces and add a little water to the pot.

Remove the pan from heat, add food coloring, vanillin, and cornflakes. Mix everything thoroughly. Place a tablespoon of this mixture on parchment oiled with vegetable oil. While the mixture is warm, use your hands to form New Year's wreaths from it and decorate with dragees. Leave the cookies to cool on the parchment at room temperature.

And this video clearly shows the process of preparing these "wreaths":

8. Coffee sandwich cookie

Ingredients

For cookies:

• 240 g butter;
• 200 g sugar;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon of salt;
• 1 egg;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 270 g flour;
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar.

For filling:

• 250 g icing sugar;
• 30 g butter;
• 2 teaspoons of ground coffee;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• some milk.

Preparation

Make the dough first. Mix the butter, sugar, baking powder and salt with a mixer. Add egg and vanillin until smooth. Gradually add flour and knead the dough. Divide the dough into two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into thin layers. Cut out figurines from the dough, place them on baking sheets lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 190 ° C for 8-10 minutes.

Mix the filling ingredients, adding milk as needed. You should have a thick cream. Place a teaspoon of coffee filling over one cookie and cover with the other. Combine the cocoa and icing sugar and sprinkle on the sandwiches.

9. Sugar cookies with cream cheese

Ingredients

• 200 g sugar;
• 240 g butter;
• 80 g cream cheese;
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 1 egg;
• 270 g flour.

Preparation

Combine sugar, softened butter, cream cheese, salt, vanillin and egg yolk until smooth. Add flour gradually, stirring the dough constantly. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Place the chilled dough on a floured table and roll out into a thin layer. You should not roll it too thin, otherwise the cookies will turn out tough. If there is too much dough, just put the excess in the refrigerator until next time.

Cut figurines out of the dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake the cookies in an oven preheated to 190 ° C for 7-10 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Cool the cookies before decorating.

10. Traditional cookies "Ginger Men"

Ingredients

• 120 g butter;
• 150 g sugar;
• 100 g honey;
• 1 large egg;
• 2 tablespoons of water;
• 320 g flour;
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda;
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon;
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg;
• ½ teaspoon of ground cloves.

Preparation

Beat the butter and sugar with a mixer. Add honey, egg and water and stir. In another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and gradually add them to the dough, stirring constantly. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

Roll out the dough into a thin layer on a floured surface. Cut out figurines from the dough and place them on baking sheets greased with vegetable oil or lined with parchment. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are browned.

How to decorate Christmas cookies

Now that you've baked some delicious flavored cookies, it's time to make them a real festive table decoration. With a variety of molds, delicious glazes, food colors and a cooking syringe, you can create real works of art. Here are some ideas for inspiration:

readersdigest.ca

1. Classic glaze

Ingredients

• 250 g icing sugar;
• 4 tablespoons of milk;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife.

Preparation

Beat all ingredients with a mixer until smooth. The frosting should not flow, but at the same time, you should be comfortable decorating the cookies.

If the icing is too thick, add a little more milk. Please note that it will increase in volume even more. You can then add food coloring if desired.

This glaze dries for several hours. But if you want to decorate the cookies with some kind of confectionery dressing, then it is better to do this immediately after applying the icing. This will help the jewelry adhere better.

There are many original designs for Christmas cookies:

2. Protein glaze

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites;
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 330 g icing sugar.

Preparation

Beat the egg whites and lemon juice with a mixer. Add the sifted icing sugar and beat until smooth. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, and if it's too thick, add a little more water.

Here are some ideas for decorating cookies with protein icing:

3. Oil glaze

Ingredients

• 75 g melted butter;
• 500 g icing sugar;
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
• 5 tablespoons of milk.

Preparation

Beat all ingredients with a mixer until creamy. If the icing is too runny, add a little milk.

Check out how easy it is to decorate with butter frosting:

You can decorate a New Year tree with such beautiful cookies. To do this, you need to make holes in the cookies before baking, and then insert thin ribbons there. It can also be an unusual gift.