Christmas Cookies (One Dough, 4 Cookies)
Description
One simple, buttery cookie dough becomes four festive Christmas cookies: buttercream frosted cookies, jam thumbprints, red and green marbled cookies, and Christmas Snickerdoodles. Perfect for cookie trays, cookie swaps, and holiday gifting.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Buttercream for Frosted Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Holiday sprinkles
Jam for Thumbprint Cookies
- 1/2 cup any fruit flavor jam
Christmas Marbled Cookies
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon green food coloring
Christmas Snickerdoodles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix in. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the large bowl and mix just until the flour disappears. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the dough into 4 portions and continue with the directions for each cookie.
- Buttercream Frosted Cookies: Chill dough about an hour. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick, cut with a round cookie cutter, and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake about 8-10 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack. While the cookies bake, soften the butter with a mixer, then mix in the heavy cream, vanilla, and almond extract. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, then beat on medium for about 5 minutes until fluffy. Frost the cookies and top with holiday sprinkles.
- Thumbprint Cookies: Chill dough about an hour, then let sit about 5 minutes. Scoop into dough balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press each into a round disk, then press your thumb or a rounded tablespoon into the center to make a divot. Fill each with about a teaspoon of jam. Bake about 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown around the edge. Cool on a wire rack.
- Marbled Christmas Cookies: Divide dough in half. Knead red food coloring into one half and green into the other. Roll each into a rope about 10 inches long, twist the ropes together, and roll into a ball. Roll into a disk about an inch thick and chill about an hour. Cut into about 10 equal portions, roll into balls, and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press down slightly and bake about 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- Christmas Snickerdoodles: Whisk together the sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Scoop dough into balls, roll in the sugar mixture, and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press down slightly and bake about 8-10 minutes, until just golden around the edge. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Cookie dough can be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Store baked cookies in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator.
To make a whole batch of one cookie, skip dividing the dough and multiply that cookie’s extra ingredients by four.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 223
- Sugar: 19 g
- Sodium: 46.2 mg
- Fat: 9.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.4 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 35.6 mg
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