Some of the greatest holiday memories are made in the kitchen. A place where the scents of the season are brought to life in the form of delicious treats. The kitchen brings the magic, the conversation, and the cookies! And the best Christmas cookies are the ones you can decorate together. Today I share my soft sugar cookies and buttercream frosting recipe in hopes that you can enjoy the same magic that has brought my family so many smiles!
Every Christmas growing up, my siblings and I looked forward to our annual cookie decorating contest. From rolling the cookie dough to cutting the shapes and bringing them to life with frosting and candies. We had so much fun sneaking pinches of dough and competing for the title of best Christmas cookie! And even if we didn’t win, the real fun was in eating them. They were always so soft, buttery, and topped with a delicious and fluffy buttercream frosting.
That’s what a Christmas cookie should be, right? Soft, buttery, delicious… and of course festive! More than just a dessert, Christmas cookies and the process of making them are a treat of an experience. My soft sugar cookies and buttercream frosting recipe is the perfect marriage of fun and delicious.
Cutting the Cookie Shapes
We’ve all been there – we shape the perfect slab of cookie dough and toss it in the oven only to find it a shapeless blob 10 minutes later. We can’t understand how our perfectly proportioned gingerbread man turned out looking like a lumpy oval! There are a few reasons this fail occurs, but with a good recipe (see below), the most likely culprit comes down to temperature. In order to avoid this problem in your cookies, here are some tips!
- Use softened – not melted – butter!
- Knead your dough before chilling.
- roll and chill for at least 2 hours (here are the rollers I love)
- Cut at a thickness of 1/4″ – 1/2″
These tips will help you to achieve the temperature and texture needed for perfect cookie shaping with a fluffy moist finish! In fact, my sugar cookie recipe is so soft and tasty that it can be enjoyed without any frosting or toppings at all!
Decorating the Cookies
…AKA, the main event! This is the fun part and should be two things: easy and delicious. I love a royal icing recipe that yields beautiful detailed cookie art, but I wouldn’t say this is the best way to decorate with the family. I like to use buttercream frosting with my kids and on my cookies for a few reasons.
- Easy to make (consisting of only 4 simple ingredients you likely already have at home)
- Easy to use (no precision work needed, use a knife, spoon, or your fingers to frost)
- Delicious (everyone knows a fluffy buttercream frosting just tastes better)!
On top of that (literally and figuratively), sprinkles and candies stick much better and make for more fun in the decorating process!
Soft Sugar Cookies and Buttercream Frosting
My cookie recipe is simple, quick, and contains just 7 simple ingredients. Here is the recipe (in pinnable form below)!
Soft Sugar Cookies and Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Roller, Cookies cutters
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1/2 C butter unsalted & softened
- 2 eggs large
- 1 1/4 C sugar
- 2 1/4 C flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Buttercream Frosting
- 2 C powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp butter softened
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Cookie Instructions
- Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Stir in eggs to combine.
- Fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Use an electric mixer to fully incorporate.
- Prepare a cookie sheet or flat surface for kneading by sprinkling with a few Tbsp flour. Knead and roll the dough into a ball, sprinkle with flour, and repeat a few times until it is malleable.
- Roll into a ball and cover with plastic wrap (or place in a gallon bag) to chill in the fridge for 2+ hours.
- Once chilled, roll out the dough on wax paper to 1/4" - 1/2" thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters (the thicker the cookie the better the texture and the longer it will last). May need to sprinkle wax paper with a bit more flour!
- Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake at 350 for 9 minutes. (thinner cuts will require less time, thicker will require more).
- Store cookies in a bag or airtight container for up to 4 days for optimal texture and flavor!
Frosting Instructions
- Reserve 1/2 C powdered sugar. Mix all other ingredients together by hand (fold carefully until sugar combines with wet ingredients to form a paste).
- Slowly stir in the remaining 1/2 C powdered sugar to reach desired fluffy consistency! Add more if needed!
- Frost at room temperature. If storing for later, store in fridge and set out to return to room temperature before using.
Nutrition
I hope you’ll bring the magic of Christmas to your kitchen with this simple and delicious recipe! And if you’re looking for more festive treats, check out my other original Holiday favorites: Dark Double Chocolate and Cinnamon Cheesecake, Nana’s Old Fashioned Fudge, Easy Homemade English Toffee, and my 4-ingredient clean peanut butter cups!
Merry Christmas to you and yours! 🙂
Love, Kelsie
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