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One of the best parts of the holiday season is the delicious treats that are everywhere. This is especially true if you have young children because this is a prime time to make special memories in the kitchen with them that they won’t soon forget. One of our family’s favorite things each year is making cut out Christmas cookies.
If you are looking for a super easy recipe for cut out Christmas Cookies to make with your kids this Christmas that will turn out great and does not require any refrigeration time, this is your recipe! We have been making these for years and they come together in no time and hold their shape! I’ll also share a great royal icing recipe that actually tastes good and dries hard for stacking.
Let’s dive into what you’ll need to make these cookies, as well as to ice them.
Tools to Make Cut-Out Christmas Cookies
- Stand Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoons
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Rolling Pin
- Spatula
- Silicone Baking Mat (optional)
- Cookie Cutters
- Cookie Sheets
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients for Cut Out Christmas Cookies and Royal Icing
Cookies
- 2 Sticks Butter, Softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered confectioner’s sugar
- 1 egg
- 2-3 teaspoons of extract (use 2 tsp. if you are using almond extract; 3 tsp. if you are using vanilla) Note: Generally, when I make this recipe, I use vanilla, but it’s all about your taste preference.
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 3- 3.5 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
Cookies
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place flour and baking powder in mixing bowl and gently whisk together. Set aside.
- Use the paddle attachment for the stand mixer and thoroughly cream butter and confectioner’s sugar.
- Next, add in the egg and your preferred flavoring. Continue to mix until well combined.
- Using the spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Slowly, add the flour/baking powder mixture while mixing on low.
- Dough will begin to come together in a ball. The texture will be similar to play dough.
- Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface or silicone mat.
- Gather dough into a large ball, then roll the dough flat using the rolling pin. I prefer a thicker cookie, so I roll to a thickness of approximately a 1/4 inch. If you prefer a thinner cookie, you can adjust.
- Using cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible. Then, gather your dough back up into a ball and again cut as many cookies as you can. Continue this process until you have used all the dough.
- Bake for approximately 7 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet in the oven at about 3 1/2 minutes in.
- Move to a cooling rack immediately upon removing from oven.
Royal Icing
- In the bowl of your mixer, combine all ingredients. Start with 3 Tbsp milk and you can add milk or sugar to thicken or thin, depending on the consistency you prefer for your icing. You could always do a thicker icing to pipe borders and a thinner icing to fill.
- You can add food coloring at this point if you would like.
- Ice cooled cookies.
Decorating Your Cookies
Here’s the best part! Decorating the cookies! You have options here! You can choose to just add some sprinkles before you bake for an easy peasy, fun activity. You can mix up some colored icing and let the kids go to town or take your time and mama can make some beautiful cookies! You can do colors or I’ve also done just white icing and added sprinkles to keep it simpler if I didn’t have the time to spend.
Storage for Cut Out Christmas Cookies
If you are doing icing on your cookies, allow it to harden completely. You can then store them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Let Me Know What You Think
If you make these cookies, leave a comment below and let me know what you think!
Additional Christmas Recipes
Make These Easy Three Ingredient Oreo Balls – Life on Broomsage Hill
The Best Clean Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer – Life on Broomsage Hill
Pin It For Later
Easy Cut Out Christmas Cookies
These easy cut out Christmas cookies are perfect for littles helping in the kitchen. No refrigeration time- just make and bake them. They are delicious and hold their shape after baking. Also, included in this recipe is an easy royal icing recipe to decorate them!
Ingredients
- COOKIES
- 2 Sticks Butter, Softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered confectioner's sugar
- 1 egg
- 2-3 teaspoons of extract (use 2 tsp. if you are using almond extract; 3 tsp. if you are using vanilla) Note: Generally, when I make this recipe, I use vanilla, but it's all about your taste preference.
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
- ROYAL ICING
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 3- 3.5 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place flour and baking powder in mixing bowl and gently whisk together. Set aside.
- Use the paddle attachment for the stand mixer and thoroughly cream butter and confectioner's sugar.
- Next, add in the egg and your preferred flavoring. Continue to mix until well combined.
- Using the spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Slowly, add the flour/baking powder mixture while mixing on low.
- Dough will begin to come together in a ball. The texture will be similar to play dough.
- Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface or silicone mat.
- Gather dough into a large ball, then roll the dough flat using the rolling pin. I prefer a thicker cookie, so I roll to a thickness of approximately a 1/4 inch. If you prefer a thinner cookie, you can adjust.
- Using cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible. Then, gather your dough back up into a ball and again cut as many cookies as you can. Continue this process until you have used all the dough.
- Bake for approximately 7 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets in the oven at about 3 1/2 minutes in.
- Move to a cooling rack immediately upon removing from oven.
ICING
In the bowl of your mixer, combine all ingredients. Start with 3 Tbsp milk and you can add milk or sugar to thicken or thin, depending on the consistency you prefer for your icing. You could always do a thicker icing to pipe borders and a thinner icing to fill.
[…] Christmas cookies is one of the more common traditions that we do from year to year, but nonetheless, one that our […]