• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

  • My RecipeTin
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Vegetables
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cake recipes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
  • ✨Iconic Dishes✨
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • eBooks
      • The Food Photography Book
      • Chicken Wings Cookbook
    • Food Bloggers Central
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Baking Recipes

Christmas Cookies! (Vanilla Biscuits/Sugar Cookies)

By:Nagi
Published:22 Dec '19Updated:11 Jan '20
94 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Take a break from the Christmas madness to make Christmas Cookies! These sugar cookies are classic vanilla biscuits that are made for cutting out shapes because they hold their shape perfectly when baked.

NO CHILL time, make them soft OR crispy. Ice them my EASY way, dip in chocolate, dust with icing sugar or serve them plain!

Close up of colourful Christmas Cookies

 Christmas Cookies

What I call “Christmas Cookies” are simply vanilla biscuits cut out in Christmas shapes and iced with colourful festive frosting. They taste like shortbread cookies, but not quite as buttery or crumbly. They are as classic as vanilla biscuits can be.

This particular biscuit recipe is made for cutting out shapes – in this case, Christmas shapes. Most cookies spread snd puff up so they bear little resemblance to the shape you expected!

But these hold their shape perfectly – as you can see by the sharp ridges and corners in the photo below.

Photo of plain sugar cookies with no frosting

What you need for Christmas Cookies

The nice thing about these Christmas Cookies is that they’re made with pantry staples – so there’s no need to add to your ever growing Christmas grocery shopping list!!!

What you need for Christmas Cookies

How to make Christmas Cookies

The nice thing about this recipe is that there’s no chill time required. Ain’t nobody got time for chilling during Christmas madness – right??!

The dough is easy to handle and can be scrunched up and rolled up again over and over until you’ve used up every scrap.

How to make Christmas Cookies - Cut out Sugar Cookies

Because these are sweet vanilla biscuits, they are flavoured enough and sweet enough to serve plain. But if you are inclined to ice them, pop over to my Icing for Christmas Cookies (PS I also share my quick ‘n easy way to ice them!)

Photo of tray filled with Christmas sugar cookies

So. Many. Cookies.

A sight that will catapult anyone into serious Christmas spirit!!

Make these for Santa, your family, or (if you’re really feeling the holiday spirit) maybe even to gift to someone.

And don’t worry. This is a big batch recipe. Nibble away, no one will miss one or two or five!! 😉 – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Close up of colourful Christmas Cookies

Christmas Cookies (Vanilla Biscuits / Sugar Cookies)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Sweet Baking
Western
4.96 from 22 votes
Servings40 cookies
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. These cookies are made for cutting out into shapes because they hold their shape when baking! They are plain, sweet vanilla biscuits that are perfect for icing and decorating as you please - and wonderful served plain too. NO CHILL!

Ingredients

  • 225g / 1 cup unsalted butter , softened (or use salted, skip salt)
  • 1 cup (220g) white sugar , preferably caster / superfine
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg (55-60g / 1.9-2oz)
  • 3 cups (450g) flour , plain / all purpose
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt

Icing for Sugar Cookies

  • Icing for Sugar Cookies

Instructions

  • Preheat Oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy (1 minute on speed 5)
  • Add egg and vanilla, beat until completely combined.
  • Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Start mixing slowly, then beat until the flour is incorporated - it will be clumpy.
  • Dust work surface with flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Pat together then cut in half, then shape into 2 discs.
  • Roll out to 0.3cm / 1/8" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or 0.6cm / 1/4" (for thicker, softer cookies), sprinkling with flour under and over the dough so it doesn't stick.
  • Use cookie cutters to press out shapes and use a knife or spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets. (Keep dough that doesn't fit in the oven in the fridge).
  • Bake for 10 minutes, swapping trays halfway (Note 2), until the surface is pale golden and the edges are just beginning to turn light golden.
  • Allow cookies to cool completely on trays (they will finish cooking on the trays).

Decorating options:

  • Icing - see Icing for Christmas Cookies recipe.
  • Melt chocolate then dip the surface into chocolate.
  • Dot with icing sugar and decorated with silver balls
  • Dust with icing sugar
  • Serve plain! They are sweet vanilla biscuits so they are wonderful eaten just as they are!

Recipe Notes:

1. Number of cookies will depend on cut out size and how thick you roll your dough. It fills 3 baking trays.
2. Swapping trays halfway - this means that you put both trays in the oven with one in the middle of the oven and the other underneath. Halfway through the bake time, switch them around so the one underneath moves to the top shelf, and the tray on top moves to the shelf underneath. This ensures they both bake evenly because the top shelf bakes faster than the shelf underneath.
3. Source - adapted from this Sugar Cookies recipe by Sugar, Spun, Run. 
4. Storage - Keeps in an airtight container for a week. After this, they are still edible and totally delicious but they do start to dry out a touch (I think….I may be a bit too picky when I'm estimating shelf life of food for recipes I share!!). I would never describe them as stale, but they are better in Week 1.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 96cal (5%)Carbohydrates: 12g (4%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 5g (8%)Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)Cholesterol: 16mg (5%)Sodium: 46mg (2%)Potassium: 20mg (1%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 147IU (3%)Calcium: 7mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: christmas biscuits, christmas cookies, vanilla biscuits
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Life of Dozer

When Dozer got his very own personalised Christmas cookie!!

Dozer personalised Christmas Cookie

Previous Post
Icing for Biscuits (Royal Icing)
Next Post
Cauliflower Rice

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




94 Comments

  1. Yana says

    April 8, 2021 at 7:55 am

    5 stars
    New favourite cookie recipe. I bake sugar cookies every Christmas and these ones just replaced the one I’ve been using for the last 4 years! Super easy to put together, no chilling and easy to roll. Basically fool proof! Just made them for my niece’s first birthday ‘1’ cookies! Thanks again Nagi 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kemi says

    March 30, 2021 at 9:29 am

    I would like to bake your recipe. The AP flour, is it bleached or unbleached? And for other recipes on your page, are they bleached all purpose flour? Thank you

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 31, 2021 at 7:26 am

      Hi Kemi, unbleached flour here 🙂 N x

      Reply
  3. Julie says

    February 18, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    Hi, These look delicious. Just wondering if you can add some cocoa to make them choc biscuits? Would you swap out the same amount of flour, or just simply add cocoa?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 18, 2021 at 5:01 pm

      Hi Julie, cocoa would change the texture – it would be something I’d need to test sorry! N x

      Reply
  4. Rachael Sutton says

    January 2, 2021 at 11:31 am

    Made these for Xmas and they were very popular, thank you!! What is the serving size for the nutrition info, is it one cookie? Terrible question really as I understand it’s tricky to know because of different cookie cutter sizes. My cookies were about 7 x 5cm. Thank you 😊

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 12, 2021 at 10:16 am

      Hi Rachael, nutrition is per cookie based on the fact that 40 cookies are made 🙂 N x

      Reply
  5. Amnah Anwar says

    December 28, 2020 at 8:12 am

    Loved making these with kids!! They turned out so good. My first time making cookies from scratch. Made the icing too and had so much fun icing cookies with kids. Ours were not as good looking as yours but tasted yummy!! Can I use cookie stamps for this dough?? I want try that next time

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 12, 2021 at 10:17 am

      Hi Amnah, the taste is ALL that matters – I’m so glad you loved them !!! You can definitely use a cookie stamp for these 🙂 N x

      Reply
  6. Elise Murphy says

    December 25, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    5 stars
    I made these cookies as Christmas gifts for my clients this year and WOW were they a hit! They held together perfectly and tasted delicious! Thank you for this wonderful recipe from Australia 🙂 xx

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 12, 2021 at 11:01 am

      I’m so glad you loved them Elise!! N x

      Reply
  7. Aisha says

    December 25, 2020 at 10:09 am

    Very tasty cookies. However, you absolutely need to chill these. Otherwise they will break apart on you and stick to the counter.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 12, 2021 at 11:02 am

      Hi Aisha, unless you’re in a super hot climate, you definitely shouldn’t need to chill the dough. Did your dough resemble the texture shown in the video? Could you have perhaps mismeasured something? N x

      Reply
  8. Nadine - Adirondack Mountains says

    December 25, 2020 at 9:44 am

    5 stars
    Merry Christmas Nagi and Dozer! And, also the Christmas cookie recipe is the best I’ve ever made! You are so right, they are delicious and hold their shape versus the kind that puff up and spread out losing their shapes! Couldn’t make the royal icing as I didn’t have corn syrup — but next time! Hope Santa brings you both everything you want and more!

    Reply
  9. Lillian Oen says

    December 24, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    4 stars
    Very good,But the dough is really sticky

    Reply
  10. Daniella Granda says

    December 24, 2020 at 2:45 am

    Hi!! Can i switch the all purpose flour to protein or almond flour?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 24, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      No sorry, they will crumble and won’t work at all unfortunately. N x

      Reply
  11. Jenny says

    December 22, 2020 at 10:46 am

    5 stars
    These are awesome and came out perfectly! In my oven they took just less than 9 minutes so just keep a eye on them 🙂

    Reply
  12. Lee Toniolo says

    December 22, 2020 at 7:19 am

    I made the no chill sugar cookies. The dough was so crumbly it would not hold together. I did exact measurements. What can I do next time when this happens

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 22, 2020 at 10:18 am

      Hi Lee, sorry you have issues here, sounds like they were dry – did you possibly mis measure with too much flour? N x

      Reply
  13. Paulina Dederichs says

    December 22, 2020 at 7:18 am

    5 stars
    very yummy, thanks you for the recipe !

    Reply
  14. Gitaben Kumar says

    December 21, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    Do u do eggless cake and cookies etc

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 22, 2020 at 10:37 am

      Hi Gitaben, generally speaking – no I don’t, sorry I haven’t really tried with egg substitutes either! N x

      Reply
      • Mandy says

        December 23, 2020 at 5:23 am

        Hi! Can I freeze half the dough for later use?

        Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2021 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top