Imagine it: The warm smell of freshly baked cookies wafts through your home, past a crackling fire and a Christmas movie playing on the TV. Is there any better Yuletide scene? Baking Christmas cookies is a quintessential holiday activity for families around the globe, and those sweet treats are meant to be shared!
Whether you’re learning how to make Christmas cookies or looking for new ways to share recipes with loved ones, our little blog elves are here to help!
How to Make Christmas Cookies: Our Simple Guide
Wondering how to make Christmas cookies? The first step is to gather up the baking tools you’ll need. Here are the essentials:
- A mixing bowl
- A whisk, wooden spoon, and/or electric mixer
- A cookie sheet
- Festive cookie cutters (optional, but so much fun!)
- An oven
Next up, pick a recipe! We’d recommend starting with one of the classics listed below.
Sugar Plum Cookie Recipe
We’ve all heard or seen the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, a classic from The Nutcracker. But, it’s more than just a holiday dance or tune – it’s a classic sweet treat you can whip up in your kitchen. The ingredients typically include:
- Granulated sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
- Baking powder or baking soda
- Cinnamon or other Christmastime spices
- Fruits, like plums, dates, or prunes
Peanut Butter Cookies Sealed with a Kiss Recipe
Also known as peanut butter blossoms or hugs and kisses cookies, these treats strike the perfect balance between salty and sweet. While they’re not exclusively for the holiday season, these cute peanut butter cookies tend to come around at Christmastime. Here are the usual ingredients:
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
- Baking powder or baking soda
- Creamy peanut butter
- Milk chocolate kisses
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
A timeless classic! Chocolate chip cookies are a year-round indulgence, but their comforting, delightful flavor makes an ideal holiday cookie. If you’re unsure of how to make Christmas cookies, chocolate chip cookies are a great place to start.
Many families have their own chocolate chip cookie recipe, perhaps with a secret ingredient (or two). Nonetheless, here are the usual suspects:
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
- Baking powder or baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Milk chocolate chips
- Nuts are an optional (and often controversial) addition.
Sugar Cookie Recipe
They may be simple, but they’re an undeniable Christmas favorite. Sugar cookies can be cut out into all types of holiday shapes, from snowflakes to trees to ornaments and beyond! Plus, once they’re baked and cooled, you and the kiddos can decorate them with colored frosting and sprinkles.
The ingredients you’ll generally find in sugar cookies include:
- Granulated sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
- Baking powder or baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla or almond extract
Marzipan
Marzipan is a traditional Christmas sweet with roots in multiple areas of the world, including Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. It’s an almond confection that can be shaped and used to decorate other treats, including cookies and cakes. Marzipan is usually made with almond meal and granulated sugar, although other flavorings can be added to it.
Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread men have been around since the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Now, they’re synonymous with the Christmas season, containing festive spices and adorable decorations. Enlist the kids’ help to frost on red or green bowties and sweet white detailing.
The typical ingredients in gingerbread men include:
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
- Salt
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract
Candy Cane Cookies
Who doesn’t love a candy cane around the holiday season? These red and white swirled candies date back to 1670 Germany. Now, they’re a staple goodie all December long.
Candy cane cookies mimic the appearance of this classic Christmas treat, with peppermint extract for a festive flavor. To make them, you’ll halve the dough, color one half with red food coloring, and twist strips of each half together to make them look like candy canes.
The usual ingredients in candy cane cookies include:
- Granulated sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- Eggs
- Baking powder or baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Liquid red food coloring
- Peppermint extract
More Tips for Baking Delectable Christmas Cookies
Ready to make delicious Christmas cookies for your loved ones? Here are a few more tips to make sure they bake off without a hitch:
- Don’t over-mix your dough, as it could lead to tough cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop to create a uniform batch of cookies.
- Substitute ingredients carefully! As an example, brown and granulated sugar can’t be substituted with exact amounts.
- Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Leave plenty of space in between each cookie so they don’t meld together in the baking process.
- Prevent overbaking (and achieve delightfully chewy cookies!) by checking them a few minutes before the recommended bake time.
Share a Cookie Recipe in This Year’s Christmas Card
Why not add your favorite holiday cookie recipe to this year’s Christmas card? It’s your chance to send along sweet sentiments and even sweeter treats! Especially if you have loved ones living across the country (or even across oceans), sending a recipe with your holiday card will give them a hug through the mail.
The holidays are notoriously hectic. We understand if you don’t have time to make copies of your go-to Christmas cookie recipe, place them in cards, address them, stamp them, and send them off. But, that shouldn’t deter you from spreading joy with your recipe this festive season!
At Postable, we’ll take care of the logistics for you. All you need to do is select a card design, add your content (including that special recipe), and type in the addresses. We’ll do all the printing, packing, stamping, and sending for you.
Our card collection includes cookie-themed holiday cards to make the exchange even sweeter! Browse our festive designs online today.
