Soft Frosted Christmas Cookies
Soft Frosted Christmas Cookies are the ultimate holiday treat. Soft and sweet with a perfect frosting, These easy Christmas cookies are the ideal addition to your festive dessert table and are perfect for a Christmas cookie exchange.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tarter
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 4 tablespoons cold water (as needed)
- Gel food coloring (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
Prep
- Soften the butter and whisk the dry ingredients together.
Soft Christmas Cookie Dough
- In a large mixing bowl cream, the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs and extracts.
- Gradually beat the dried ingredients into the wet ingredients until a soft dough forms.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Using a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop or teaspoon, scoop out dough balls onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake all of the cookies and allow them to cool before frosting and decorating them.
Make the frosting
- In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and almond extract together until fluffy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar to the bowl and beat until combined with the butter. When the frosting starts to get too thick as you are adding the powdered sugar to the bowl beat in one tablespoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- If coloring the frosting divide the frosting between 3 small bowls. Add a few drops of green food coloring to one bowl and a few drops of red coloring to one bowl and stir the food coloring into the frosting until no streaks are visible. Leave one bowl uncolored so you have a white frosting.
Frosting the Christmas Cookies
- Spread the frosting over the top of each cookie with a small spatula or knife. Sprinkle the colored jimmies over the top of the unset frosting so they adhere to the frosting.
- Allow the frosting to set up on the top of the cookies before storing in an airtight container.
- This recipe will make 38 frosted and decorated 2 ½ inch Christmas cookies.
- Store the cookies in a single layer or separate the layers with a piece of parchment paper.
Recipe Expert Tips
- For best results use room temperature butter and eggs.
- Parchment lined baking sheets help prevent burning and sticking.
- To achieve perfectly shaped cookies, chill the dough for at least 1 hour before scooping and baking.
- If the dough becomes too soft, chill it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before continuing with the recipe.
- If you don't have a cookie scoop, you can use a spoon to measure out equal amounts of dough.
- Cookie size: a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop makes 2 ½ inch round cookies, a 2 inch cookie scoop makes 3 inch round cookies and so on.
- Beating frosting: add a cup of powdered sugar to the butter mixture at a time. Toward the end when the frosting seem to be getting too stiff add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to thin the frosting to a creamy and spreadable consistency.
- Coloring the frosting: I recommend a gel food coloring because a gel will not effect the consistency of the butter cream frosting when you color it.
Nutrition
Serving: 2CookiesCalories: 134kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 35mgPotassium: 13mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 201IUCalcium: 4mgIron: 0.4mg
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