Christmas Sugar Cookies That Hold Their Shape: 15 Cut-Out Doughs and Easy Icings Even Beginners Can Decorate

Christmas sugar cookies are the one bake every family seems to share, from Grandma’s floury kitchen table to the kids’ first wobbly stars covered in sprinkles. The trouble is that so many batches puff up, lose their points and turn every snowflake into a blob. This gallery fixes that, one step at a time. We start with doughs that hold their shape, including a no-spread classic, soft frosted rounds, brown butter, cream cheese, chocolate and almond versions. Then we move on to the icings that make them shine, from true royal icing and an easy glaze to piped frosting, followed by simple decorating tricks like wet-on-wet ornaments and stained glass windows. We finish with no-roll cookie bars and the smart way to freeze dough now and decorate later..

Christmas Sugar Cookies Start With a No-Spread Cut-Out Dough

Every great tray of decorated cookies begins with a dough that stays put in the oven. The secret is simple: no baking powder or soda, softened butter that is not overly creamed, and a good chill after rolling. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment, chill the slab, then cut your shapes and chill again for ten minutes. Sharp corners stay sharp. If you want a tested base to compare with, this tested cut-out sugar cookie recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction uses the same roll first, chill second method..

You will need: 1 cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional), 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar until just smooth, about 1 minute. 2. Beat in egg, vanilla and almond extract. 3. Mix in flour and salt until a soft dough forms. 4. Roll between parchment to 1/4 inch and chill 1 hour. 5. Cut shapes, chill 10 minutes and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are barely golden.

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies, Bakery Style

These are the pillowy, cake-like rounds with thick pink frosting that every grocery bakery sells by the dozen. The homemade version is softer and far less sweet. Sour cream and a little baking powder give the dough its tender crumb, so these are the only Christmas sugar cookies here where a bit of rise is welcome. Scoop and flatten the dough instead of rolling it, bake just until set, and let the cookies cool completely before spreading on fluffy buttercream and a shower of sprinkles.

You will need: 1/2 cup soft butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 3/4 cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Frosting: 1/2 cup butter, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, pink food coloring, sprinkles.

How to make it: 1. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla. 2. Mix in the dry ingredients and chill 1 hour. 3. Scoop 2-tablespoon balls, flatten to 1/2 inch and bake at 375°F for 8 to 9 minutes. 4. Beat the frosting ingredients until fluffy, tint pink, spread on cooled cookies and add sprinkles.

Brown Butter Cut-Outs With Crisp Edges

Browning the butter adds a toasty, nutty flavor that makes plain cut-outs taste like something special. Because browning cooks off water, the butter must be chilled back to a soft solid before mixing, or the dough will be greasy and spread. A spoonful of milk replaces the lost moisture. The result bakes up with deep golden, crisp edges and a slightly chewy middle, and it holds detailed shapes very well. These are delicious plain, or with just a thin brush of simple glaze.

You will need: 1 cup butter (browned and chilled), 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

How to make it: 1. Brown the butter in a light pan until it smells nutty and the bits turn amber, then chill until soft and spreadable, about 1 hour. 2. Beat with sugar, then add egg, milk and vanilla. 3. Mix in flour and salt. 4. Roll, chill, cut and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cream Cheese Christmas Sugar Cookies That Stay Tender

Swapping a few ounces of butter for cream cheese gives you cookies that stay soft and tender for days, which is perfect when you bake well ahead of the holidays. The tang is gentle, almost like a vanilla cheesecake, and the dough is wonderfully easy to roll without cracking. These Christmas sugar cookies brown less than butter-only dough, so pull them while they still look pale on top. They pair beautifully with a thin layer of icing or the piped frosting further down this list.

You will need: 4 ounces cream cheese (softened), 1/2 cup butter (softened), 1 cup sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

How to make it: 1. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth. 2. Add egg yolk and vanilla. 3. Mix in flour and salt, then divide into two discs and chill 2 hours. 4. Roll to 1/4 inch, cut shapes and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes, until set but still pale.

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies for Bold Contrast

A tray of only pale Christmas sugar cookies can look a little sleepy, so add a batch of deep cocoa shapes for drama. Dutch-process cocoa gives the darkest color and smoothest flavor. Since cocoa is drying, this dough uses a touch more butter and a tablespoon of milk. Simple white icing lines pop against the dark cookie, which means even beginners get a striking result with just a few piped details. Dust your board with cocoa instead of flour so the cookies stay a rich, even brown.

You will need: 1 cup soft butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups flour, 2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, white royal icing for piping.

How to make it: 1. Cream butter and sugar, then add egg, milk and vanilla. 2. Mix in flour, cocoa and salt. 3. Roll between parchment, chill 1 hour, then cut shapes and chill again. 4. Bake at 350°F for 9 to 10 minutes. 5. Cool, then pipe thin white lines, dots and swirls.

Almond Sugar Cookies With a Sparkly Glaze

Many old family recipes hide a little almond extract in the dough, and it is the flavor people remember without being able to name it. Use a light hand, because almond is strong. Finely ground almond flour swapped in for part of the flour makes the cookies extra tender and buttery. Cover them with a thin almond glaze, then sprinkle coarse sanding sugar on while the glaze is wet. Angels, bells and stars look especially pretty in soft white and pale pink.

You will need: 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, sanding sugar.

How to make it: 1. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in egg and extracts. 2. Mix in both flours and salt and chill 1 hour. 3. Roll, cut and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes. 4. Stir the glaze until thick but pourable, spread it on cooled cookies and add sanding sugar right away.

Royal Icing for Christmas Sugar Cookies: Outline and Flood

Royal icing dries hard and glossy, which is why it is the go-to icing for stacking and gifting. The trick is using two thicknesses from the same batch. Stiffer outline icing, about like toothpaste, pipes a border around the edge. Thinner flood icing, which smooths out in about 15 seconds, fills the inside. Use a toothpick to pop air bubbles and nudge icing into corners. Let Christmas sugar cookies decorated this way dry uncovered for 8 hours or overnight before stacking.

You will need: 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or clear extract, 9 to 10 tablespoons warm water, gel food coloring, piping bags with small round tips, toothpicks.

How to make it: 1. Beat meringue powder, powdered sugar, extract and 9 tablespoons water on medium for 5 minutes until stiff and glossy. 2. Tint as you like. 3. Thin part of each color with water, a few drops at a time, until a ribbon disappears in about 15 seconds. 4. Pipe the outline with stiff icing, then flood the center.

Easy 3-Ingredient Icing That Sets Without Meringue Powder

If you have no meringue powder, this glaze is your best friend. Powdered sugar, milk and a spoonful of light corn syrup make a smooth icing that sets firm enough to stack after a few hours, with a soft shine. It is the icing to use for Christmas sugar cookies made with kids, because you can simply dip the tops of the cookies or spread it with a butter knife. Add sprinkles or colored sugar right away, while the glaze is still wet, so everything sticks.

You will need: 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 to 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, pinch of salt, gel food coloring, sprinkles and colored sugar.

How to make it: 1. Whisk powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk, the corn syrup, vanilla and salt. 2. Add more milk a few drops at a time until thick but spreadable. 3. Tint with gel color. 4. Dip or spread on cooled cookies, add sprinkles at once, and let set 4 hours before stacking.

Cream Cheese Frosting Piped With a Star Tip

Not everyone loves crunchy icing, and a swirl of soft frosting turns a simple round cutter into a mini cake. A sturdy cream cheese frosting with extra powdered sugar holds a crisp star shape. Start in the middle of each cookie and pipe a tight spiral outward to make a rosette, then top with a few sugar pearls. Because cream cheese frosting is soft, keep these cookies chilled in a single layer and set them out about 20 minutes before serving.

You will need: 4 ounces cold cream cheese, 1/4 cup soft butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch of salt, gel coloring, a large open star piping tip (such as 1M), sugar pearls.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter until smooth, then add cold cream cheese and beat just to combine. 2. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and salt, beating until thick. 3. Tint and spoon into a bag with the star tip. 4. Pipe a rosette from the center outward on each cooled cookie, add sugar pearls and chill to set.

Wet-on-Wet Ornament Christmas Sugar Cookies

Wet-on-wet is the easiest way to make Christmas sugar cookies look professional. Flood a round cookie with one color, then immediately pipe dots or lines of another color onto the wet surface. The second color sinks in and dries perfectly flat. Drag a toothpick through dots to make tiny hearts, or pull it back and forth across lines for a marbled feather pattern. Work on one cookie at a time so the base stays wet, and add a little piped cap to finish each ornament.

You will need: Round cookies, flood-consistency royal icing in red, green and white, stiff white or gold icing for the caps, piping bags, toothpicks or a scribe tool.

How to make it: 1. Outline and flood a cookie with the base color. 2. Right away, pipe dots or lines of a second color on top. 3. Drag a toothpick through the dots or across the lines to form hearts, swirls or feathers. 4. Let the flood set 1 hour, then pipe a small ornament cap and loop and dry overnight.

Sprinkles and Sanding Sugar Before Baking

Short on time? Skip icing altogether. Brush the cut shapes with a thin wash of egg white or milk, then press on sanding sugar, nonpareils or snowflake sprinkles before the tray goes into the oven. The sugar bakes into a sparkly crust that will not smudge, so these Christmas sugar cookies are perfect for packing and mailing. Use coarse sanding sugar rather than fine colored sugar, since it holds its color in the heat. Little helpers love this job, and there is nothing to wait for.

You will need: Chilled cut-out cookie shapes (unbaked), 1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water, coarse sanding sugar in red, green and white, nonpareils, snowflake sprinkles, a small pastry brush.

How to make it: 1. Place chilled cut shapes on a lined baking sheet. 2. Brush the tops lightly with the egg white wash. 3. Press on sanding sugar and sprinkles, tapping off extra. 4. Bake as usual, then cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving so the sugar crust does not crack.

Stained Glass Window Cookies

These look like little church windows when the light shines through them, and they are much easier than they appear. Cut a large shape, then remove a small window from the middle and fill the hole with crushed hard candy. As the cookies bake, the candy melts into a clear, glossy pane. Always bake them on parchment or a silicone mat, never directly on the pan, and let them cool completely before peeling them off so the candy can harden.

You will need: No-spread sugar cookie dough (chilled), clear hard candies in red, green and yellow, sorted by color and crushed, large and small cookie cutters, parchment paper.

How to make it: 1. Roll dough to 1/4 inch and cut large shapes, then cut a small window from each center. 2. Move to a parchment-lined sheet and chill 10 minutes. 3. Fill each window to the top with crushed candy. 4. Bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes until the candy melts, then cool fully on the sheet.

Piped Royal Icing Snowflakes

A snowflake cutter plus two colors of icing is all you need for some of the prettiest Christmas sugar cookies on the platter. Flood each snowflake in pale or bright blue and let it crust over for about an hour. Then, with stiff white icing in a small round tip, pipe a straight line down the center of every arm, add a small V near the tip, and finish with dots. Keeping the piping bag slightly above the surface lets lines fall straight instead of wobbling.

You will need: Snowflake cookie cutter, baked and cooled cookies, flood-consistency blue royal icing, stiff white royal icing, a #2 round piping tip, white nonpareils or sugar pearls (optional).

How to make it: 1. Outline and flood each snowflake in blue and let it set 1 hour. 2. Fit a bag of stiff white icing with a #2 tip. 3. Pipe a center line on each arm, then small V shapes and dots. 4. Add pearls while the white is wet and dry the cookies overnight.

Sugar Cookie Bars for When You Skip the Rolling Pin

No time to roll, chill and cut? Press the dough into a sheet pan and bake it as one giant soft cookie. Once cooled, cover it in fluffy buttercream and holiday sprinkles, then slice into neat squares. A whole pan feeds a crowd at the office party or school bake sale, and the bars stay soft for three days in an airtight box. If you are building a mixed tray, they look lovely beside the cookies from our Christmas cookie box that travels well.

You will need: 1 cup soft butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Frosting: 1 cup butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pink coloring, sprinkles.

How to make it: 1. Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. 2. Mix in the dry ingredients. 3. Press into a greased 13 x 18 inch sheet pan and bake at 375°F for 15 to 18 minutes until just set. 4. Cool completely, spread with the whipped frosting, add sprinkles and cut into squares.

Make-Ahead Christmas Sugar Cookies: Freezing and Storing

The calmest way to bake for the holidays is to split the work. Roll the dough between parchment right after mixing, stack the sheets on a tray and freeze them. On baking day, cut shapes straight from the frozen slab, and they hold their edges even better. Baked plain cookies freeze for three months. Once the royal icing is fully dry, decorated Christmas sugar cookies keep for up to two weeks in an airtight tin, or can be frozen in a single layer and thawed with the lid on.

You will need: Rolled sheets of cookie dough between parchment, a baking sheet or tray, freezer bags or airtight containers, extra parchment for layering, labels.

How to make it: 1. Roll fresh dough to 1/4 inch between parchment and freeze flat until firm, then wrap well for up to 3 months. 2. Cut shapes while frozen and bake 1 to 2 minutes longer. 3. Freeze baked, undecorated cookies in layers with parchment. 4. Thaw decorated cookies in a closed container so condensation forms outside, not on the icing.