Traditional Christmas Cookies

Nothing is more fun at the holidays than baking up a batch of Traditional Christmas Cookies! The sugar cookie dough is flavored with vanilla and almond and topped with a creamy frosting you can color for a more Christmas-y look!

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cut out cookies, cut out cookies, sugar cut-out cookies, traditional christmas cookies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Additional Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Servings cookies

Calories 364kcal

Author Jennifer

Ingredients

COOKIES:

1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup unsalted butter, softened 2 sticks
2 ½ cups self rising flour

FROSTING:

6 cups powdered sugar
1 cup shortening butter flavor
8 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
food coloring

Instructions

MAKE COOKIE DOUGH

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat powdered sugar, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and softened butter on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes.
Add flour and mix until just combined.
Divide dough into 2 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten the dough out to make it easier to roll out the dough once it's chilled. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick.
Using a cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes.
Place cookie shapes onto prepared baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before icing and decorating.

MAKE COOKIE FROSTING

Using a hand or stand mixer, beat powdered sugar, shortening, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt for about 2 minutes or until smooth.
Scoop small amounts of frosting into several small bowls, use food coloring to make frosting different colors or just keep the frosting white. Frost cookies and add sprinkles on top.
Place frosted cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes if you want the frosting to harden so that the cookies don't stick together when placing the cookies into a plastic container or cookie tin.

Notes

Make-Ahead. I always like making the dough one day and then baking and decorating another day. Just make the dough, divide it in half, form it into disks, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Freezing the Dough. You can also freeze the dough. Just place the wrapped disk in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 1 month. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, roll it out, and bake.
Freezing the Cookies. You can freeze them with or without frosting. If you frost the cookies, let the frosting set before freezing. Store in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag (with parchment paper between the layers if they are frosted). The cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Store. Cut-out cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about five days before they start losing their freshness. Cookies should be stored in single layers, or with parchment paper or waxed paper between the layers if you have to stack them.

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