Showstopper Christmas Cookies: 14 Too-Pretty-to-Eat Treats, From Snow Globes With 47,000 Likes to Stained Glass Stars

Showstopper Christmas cookies are having their biggest moment yet, and one tray of tiny snow globes just proved it. A home baker posted sugar cookies topped with clear sugar domes, each hiding a little iced tree in a drift of sparkling snow, and the post passed 47,000 likes in a matter of days. The comments all said the same thing: these look too pretty to eat. That is the magic of a showpiece cookie. The dough is simple, but one clever trick, like melted candy windows, a marshmallow snowman or a sweater pattern in icing, turns a plain cookie into the thing everyone photographs before they take a bite. Here are 14 decorated cookies that bring that wow to your holiday tray, with easy ingredient lists and step by step directions for each one..

Snow Globe Cookies Are the Showstopper Christmas Cookies Everyone Wants

Snow globe cookies are the showstopper this season, and the snow globe cookie post that hit 47,000 likes explains why. Each round sugar cookie gets a puddle of white icing snow, a tiny iced tree and a dome of clear cooked sugar on top, so it really looks like a glass globe you could shake. Kids press their noses to the tray and adults ask how it was done. The secret is a simple sugar glass poured into a round silicone mold, cooled, then set on with a dab of icing. It takes patience, not special skills, and the result is pure December magic..

You will need: 1 batch vanilla sugar cookie dough cut into 3 inch rounds, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup water, small half sphere silicone mold, white royal icing, green icing or mini tree sprinkles, white sanding sugar and nonpareils.

How to make it: 1. Bake the round cookies at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes and cool completely. 2. Boil sugar, corn syrup and water without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees F, then cool for 1 minute. 3. Spoon the hot syrup into the half sphere mold, swirl to coat, and let it harden for 30 minutes. 4. Flood each cookie with white icing and sprinkle with sanding sugar. 5. Pipe a small green tree in the center and add a pinch of nonpareils. 6. Unmold the domes and set each one over a tree with a thin line of icing around the rim.

Stained Glass Window Cookies, the Original Showstopper Christmas Cookies

Stained glass cookies are the oldest trick among showstopper Christmas cookies, and they still stop people in their tracks. You cut a shape from butter cookie dough, cut a smaller window out of the middle, then fill that window with crushed hard candy. In the oven the candy melts into a clear, jewel colored pane that glows when you hold the cookie up to a window. Red and green stars look classic, while holly leaves piped with green icing make the plate look like a winter garden. Hang a few on ribbon for a treat that doubles as a tree ornament.

You will need: 1 batch rolled butter cookie dough, about 20 red and green hard candies, star and holly cookie cutters, a smaller star cutter for the windows, green royal icing, parchment paper.

How to make it: 1. Crush the candies by color in zip bags with a rolling pin. 2. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut stars and holly leaves. 3. Move the cookies to a parchment lined sheet and cut a small window from each star. 4. Fill each window level with crushed candy. 5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes until the candy melts and the edges are just golden. 6. Cool completely on the sheet before moving, then pipe green outlines on the holly leaves.

Ugly Sweater Cookies With Zigzags, Trees and Pom-Poms

Nothing gets a laugh at a holiday party like ugly sweater cookies, the funniest showstopper Christmas cookies of all. Each one is cut in the shape of a chunky knit sweater, flooded with a bold base color, then covered in piped zigzags, tiny trees, snowflakes and polka dots. White nonpareils pressed into wet icing at the collar and cuffs look just like fuzzy trim. The best part is that there is no wrong way to decorate them, so they are a perfect project for kids and grandparents to do together. Lay them out in rows and let guests pick the ugliest one.

You will need: 1 batch sugar cookie dough, sweater shaped cookie cutter, royal icing tinted red, green, white and light blue, piping bags with small round tips, white nonpareils, mini sprinkles.

How to make it: 1. Roll and cut the sweater shapes and bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. 2. Outline each cookie with thick icing and flood the inside with thinner icing in one base color. 3. Let the base set for 1 hour. 4. Pipe stripes, zigzags, trees and snowflakes across the chest and sleeves. 5. Pipe the collar and cuffs with white icing and press on nonpareils while wet. 6. Dry overnight before stacking.

No-Bake Cornflake Wreath Cookies With Candy Holly Berries

These cornflake wreaths have been showstopper Christmas cookies on church bake sale tables since the 1960s, and they still sell out first. Cornflakes get tossed in bright green melted marshmallow, shaped into little rings with buttered hands and dotted with red candies for holly berries. There is no oven, no rolling pin and no cutters, which makes them the fastest showpiece on this list. The glossy green color and crunchy texture look surprisingly elegant on a white platter. Make them on a busy weeknight and they will be ready to share in under 30 minutes.

You will need: 1/2 cup butter, 1 bag (10 ounces) mini marshmallows, 1 1/2 teaspoons green food coloring, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 5 cups cornflakes, red cinnamon candies or red mini candies, parchment paper.

How to make it: 1. Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. 2. Add the marshmallows and stir until smooth, then stir in the food coloring and vanilla. 3. Fold in the cornflakes until evenly green. 4. With buttered hands, drop heaping spoonfuls on parchment and shape into small rings. 5. Press three red candies onto each wreath while warm. 6. Let them set for 1 hour at room temperature.

Melted Snowman Showstopper Christmas Cookies for Every Cookie Swap

Melted snowman cookies are the cute side of showstopper Christmas cookies, and they always get the biggest smile at a cookie swap. A puddle of white icing spreads over a soft sugar cookie like a snowman melting in the sun, and a marshmallow head tips over the edge. Tiny piped eyes, an orange carrot nose and stick arms bring each one to life, and no two ever look the same. They are forgiving to decorate because the icing is supposed to look drippy. Set them on a board dusted with powdered sugar for a snowy scene.

You will need: 1 batch soft sugar cookies, 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 to 4 tablespoons milk, 12 large marshmallows, orange, black and brown decorating icing, mini candy coated chocolates, red and green icing for scarves.

How to make it: 1. Bake and cool the cookies. 2. Whisk powdered sugar and milk into a thick but pourable glaze. 3. Spoon a puddle onto each cookie and let it run unevenly over one edge. 4. Set a marshmallow near the edge while the glaze is wet. 5. Pipe eyes, a smile, a carrot nose and stick arms. 6. Add candy buttons and a thin icing scarf, then let set for 1 hour.

Snowflake Ornament Cookies You Can Hang on the Tree

Ornament cookies take showstopper Christmas cookies one step further, because they leave the plate and go straight onto the tree. Poke a hole near the top before baking, decorate with crisp white and red royal icing, and thread a ribbon through once they are dry. A teal snowflake piped with a lacy pattern looks like it came from a craft market. They make a lovely gift tag on a wrapped present, too. Use a sturdy rolled dough so the cookies do not snap when they hang, and keep them away from warm lights so the icing stays sharp.

You will need: 1 batch firm rolled sugar cookie or gingerbread dough, snowflake cutter, a drinking straw, royal icing in teal, white and red, thin ribbon or baker’s twine.

How to make it: 1. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut snowflakes. 2. Use a straw to punch a hole near one point of each cookie. 3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes and redo the hole while warm if it closed. 4. Flood with teal icing and let set for 2 hours. 5. Pipe white lace lines and red dots on top. 6. Dry overnight, then thread ribbon through the hole.

Reindeer Face Cookies: Showstopper Christmas Cookies in a Gift Box

A box of decorated cookies is one of the most loved gifts of the season, and reindeer faces are always the first to disappear. The cookie is a simple round or bulb shape flooded with brown icing, with piped antlers, rosy cheeks and a bright red nose. Tuck them into a box lined with crinkle paper next to snowflakes, trees and candy canes and the whole box looks like it came from a bakery window. These showstopper Christmas cookies travel well once the icing has dried hard overnight, so you can mail them to family.

You will need: 1 batch sugar cookie dough, round or ornament cutter, royal icing in light brown, dark brown, white, black and red, pink petal dust or pink icing for cheeks, gift box and crinkle paper.

How to make it: 1. Bake round cookies and cool completely. 2. Flood each one with light brown icing and let it set for 1 hour. 3. Pipe two dark brown antlers at the top. 4. Add white eyes with black centers. 5. Pipe a round red nose and brush on pink cheeks. 6. Dry overnight, then pack in a lined box with other shapes.

Santa Belly Showstopper Christmas Cookies With a Gold Buckle

Santa belly cookies are a clever bit of design: no face, no beard, just his famous red suit, black belt and gold buckle on a round cookie. Up close they are simple, but a tray of them lined up in rows looks bold and graphic, almost like a pop art print. A strip of white icing and sanding sugar along the bottom stands in for fluffy fur trim. They are a great first project for anyone new to royal icing because every shape is a straight line or a square. Kids love being in charge of the buckles.

You will need: 1 batch sugar cookie dough cut in 3 inch rounds, royal icing in red, black, white and yellow, white sanding sugar, gold or yellow sprinkles optional.

How to make it: 1. Bake the rounds and cool completely. 2. Flood each cookie with red icing and let it set for 1 hour. 3. Pipe a thick black band across the middle. 4. Pipe a small yellow square buckle in the center of the belt. 5. Pipe a white band along the bottom edge and cover it with sanding sugar. 6. Dry for 4 hours before serving.

Sparkling Sanding Sugar Cut-Outs for a Whole Cookie Party

If you want showstopper Christmas cookies that sparkle from across the room, reach for sanding sugar. Coarse colored sugar sprinkled on wet icing catches the light like glitter, and it hides small decorating mistakes. Bake a big batch of cut-outs in every shape you own, set up bowls of gold, red, green and white sugar, and invite friends to a decorating afternoon. The cooling rack ends up covered in trees, candy canes, penguins and stars that all shimmer together. Turn to our guide to Christmas sugar cookies that hold their shape if you need a dough that keeps sharp edges.

You will need: 1 batch no-spread sugar cookie dough, assorted Christmas cutters, royal icing in several colors, coarse sanding sugar in gold, red, green and white, small spoons, a wire rack set over a sheet pan.

How to make it: 1. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick, cut shapes and chill for 10 minutes. 2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes and cool. 3. Outline and flood one section of a cookie at a time. 4. While the icing is wet, spoon sanding sugar over it above the rack. 5. Tap off the extra sugar and let it set before adding the next color. 6. Dry for several hours before stacking.

Linzer Star Cookies With Jam Windows and Powdered Sugar Snow

Linzer cookies come from Austria, where bakers have sandwiched nutty dough around red jam for generations. The top cookie gets a small cut-out window in the shape of a star, heart or flower, so the jam shines through like a jewel. A heavy dusting of powdered sugar makes these showstopper Christmas cookies look freshly snowed on. They taste even better on day two, once the jam softens the cookie slightly. Mix different shapes on one plate for a display that looks elegant without any piping at all, and save the leftover tiny cut-outs to bake as bite sized treats.

You will need: 1 cup butter, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup finely ground almonds or hazelnuts, 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup raspberry or red currant jam, powdered sugar.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar, then add yolk, vanilla, nuts, flour and cinnamon. 2. Chill the dough for 1 hour. 3. Roll 1/8 inch thick and cut equal numbers of tops and bottoms. 4. Cut a small window in each top. 5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes and cool. 6. Dust tops with powdered sugar, spread jam on bottoms and sandwich together.

Candy Cane Twist Cookies Rolled by Hand

Candy cane cookies are showstopper Christmas cookies from grandma’s era that never stopped being charming. Two ropes of almond scented dough, one plain and one tinted red, are twisted together and bent into a hook. Some bakers brush them with a sparkly glaze or press on sprinkles, but even plain they look like they were pulled from a candy shop window. Kids can help roll the ropes, and wonky canes are part of the fun. Lay them in alternating directions on the platter for a striped pattern that looks great in photos.

You will need: 1 cup butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red gel food coloring, crushed peppermint or white sprinkles optional.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar, then add egg, extracts, flour and salt. 2. Divide the dough in half and tint one half red. 3. Roll a teaspoon of each color into 4 inch ropes. 4. Lay the ropes side by side and twist gently. 5. Bend the top into a hook and place on a lined sheet. 6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 9 minutes and sprinkle with crushed peppermint while warm.

Icy Blue Snowflakes, the Easiest Showstopper Christmas Cookies

Icy blue snowflakes are the quiet stars among showstopper Christmas cookies, and the technique is easier than it looks. Flood each snowflake with sky blue icing, let it dry until smooth and glossy, then pipe crisp white lines down every arm and finish with tiny white dots. Laid out on a cooling rack, a dozen of them look like frost on a winter window. For a marbled look, drop white dots onto the wet blue base and drag a toothpick through them. Every cookie turns out a little different, which is exactly what makes them feel handmade.

You will need: 1 batch sugar cookie dough, snowflake cutters, royal icing in sky blue and white, piping bags with small round tips, toothpicks or a scribe tool, white nonpareils.

How to make it: 1. Bake the snowflakes at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes and cool. 2. Outline each cookie with blue icing. 3. Flood the center with thinner blue icing and pop any bubbles with a toothpick. 4. For marbling, drop white dots on the wet base and drag a toothpick through them. 5. Let set for at least 2 hours. 6. Pipe white lines down each arm and add small dots or nonpareils.

Finnish Christmas Star Pinwheels With Plum Jam

In Finland no Christmas table is complete without joulutorttu, flaky star shaped pastries with a dollop of thick plum jam in the center. Squares of puff pastry are slit at the corners and folded into pinwheels, so they puff up in the oven into dramatic golden stars. A snowfall of powdered sugar finishes them. They look far more complicated than they are, and with store bought puff pastry you can have a plate of them in 30 minutes. They are a fun way to add a buttery, flaky texture to a tray that is mostly crisp cookies.

You will need: 1 sheet (about 1 pound) puff pastry, thawed, 1/2 cup thick plum or prune jam, 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, powdered sugar for dusting.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a sheet pan. 2. Roll the pastry slightly and cut into 3 inch squares. 3. Cut from each corner toward the center, stopping 1/2 inch short. 4. Spoon jam into the center. 5. Fold every other corner tip into the middle and press to seal, then brush with egg wash. 6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and golden, cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Iced Gingerbread Stars for a Cozy Finish

Iced gingerbread stars are showstopper Christmas cookies that bring the warm spice of molasses, ginger and cinnamon to a tray full of colorful sugar cookies. They do not need much decoration to look special: a simple piped outline and a few swirls of white icing make the dark cookie pop. Stack them in a bowl with fresh pine and pinecones and they look like a page from a holiday magazine. Gingerbread also keeps beautifully for up to two weeks in a tin, so you can bake these first and decorate the fancier showpieces later in the week.

You will need: 3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup molasses, white royal icing.

How to make it: 1. Whisk the flour, spices and baking soda. 2. Beat butter and brown sugar, then add the egg and molasses. 3. Mix in the dry ingredients and chill for 2 hours. 4. Roll 1/4 inch thick and cut stars of different sizes. 5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. 6. Cool, then pipe white outlines and simple swirls.