Imagine showing up at the Christmas party and having all these different Christmas cookies to choose from?
I have a vague memory as a kid going through that at someone’s wedding. It reminds me of that old 1930’s animation “Somewhere in Dreamland” where the poor orphan kids dream about candy. But those cookies were really good. And I was 7.
Once upon a time, I couldn’t wait to have kids to bake Christmas cookies with so they can taste the best nostalgia from my childhood, but then I had kids. And now it’s more like, “Ugh.” Because I know I’m about to sprinkle my entire house with flour and sugar sprinkles. Plus they get bored after they decorate a dozen. Like just a dozen?
So I definitely did not want to spread cookie baking beyond a day. But I wanted lots of different flavors, so I found some ways to re-purpose sugar cookie dough into “other” Christmas cookies.
Remember, National Cookie Day is December 4. Cookie Monster’s Favorite Day of the year!
Old Fashioned Cookie Dough Recipe
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie
I love this recipe because of its use of sour cream. I got this recipe from some packaging from something I bought over a decade ago. I don't know. It was a green cardboard box. I cut it out. Saved it. And lost it.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in one bowl.
- In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar. Blend in sour cream. If desired, add a tsp of vanilla or almond extract.
- Add dry ingredients.
- The dough will be very messy. That’s normal. Don’t freak out.
- Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters.
- Tip: Use parchment paper to roll on and on the cookie sheets to
bake on. Baking on the parchment paper makes the cookies stick
less once baked. - Bake at 350 Degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 211Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 26mgSodium 165mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 13gProtein 2g
Sweeter Christmas Cookies Recipe
The best sugar cookies are my mom’s. She uses a cookie recipe from her very old, circa 1950’s, Good Housekeeping Cookbook. It actually has 2 sugar cookie recipes, but she uses the one labeled “Valentine’s Day Cookies” for her Christmas Cookies.
I cannot find that recipe anywhere but her cookbook, which is now in pieces. But Good Housekeeping has a sugar cookie recipe similar to it on the web. It makes 5 dozen.
A few of these ideas below lean Almond Extract for flavor while most were made with Vanilla Extract. You may want to make several batches of dough.
Regular Sugar Christmas Cookies, but Fun Decorations!
I really just thought it was fun to incorporate chocolate and marshmallows.
- Cut cookies out of dough in round shape. You can use a cup.
- Bake.
- Melt some chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir. Melt for 30 more seconds. Stir. Repeat until all chips are melted and consistency is smooth.
- Dip half the cookie in chocolate and place on parchment paper.
- Sprinkle white decorating sugar on it. Let harden.
- With blue sugar cookie frosting (the kind that hardens), line the outer rim of the top going around over the chocolate. Fill with stripes, wait a second for it flatten, and fill any gaps.
- Place two marshmallows (small ones) on cookie like in picture.
- Sprinkle white decorating sugar on it.
- Wait to harden.
- You can add clouds with white icing, and sprinkle a little more sugar on it.
- Use icing to make eyes and nose.
Gummy Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Gummy Snacks
Process
With a small cookie cutter, cut out two of the same shape, and stack them. You can crisscross or stack exact.
Push in the center with your thumb or finger and make a dent as deep as about halfway down the cookie. OR you can cut a small hole out of the center of the top layer.
Put a gummy snack in the dent. You know, like a Welch’s Fruit Snack. If you’re like me, you might have lost packs floating around the depths of your cabinets.
Bake as directed for sugar cookies.
Cinnamon Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Cinnamon Discs (like the office candy)
- Icing
- Cinnamon Hot Dots (Red Hots)
Process
Cut out sugar cookies with a big circle.
Cut out a smaller circle in the center.
In the cookies above, I used a drinking glass for the big circle, and a shot glass for the smaller one.
If you have two cookie cutters of the same shape in bigger and smaller that might work,
go for it.
Place the inner cookie back into the dough pile, or bake it separately as a normal sugar cookie.
Place the outer cookie onto baking sheet. You want these lined with Parchment paper.
Place cinnamon disc in center.
Bake as directed.
Decorate with frosting and Cinnamon hot dots (Red Hots).
Butter Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Werther’s Original
- Frosting – Buttercream
Process
Cut out sugar cookies, and then cut out a center of the cookie.
Here I used a cup and then a small star cookie cutter.
Actually, I used the small stars I cut out from here to make the Gummy Cookies.
Place the outer cookie onto baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Put a Werther’s Original in the center of the cut out piece.
Bake as directed by cookie dough.
Decorate as you wish. Suggested: Butter Cream Icing.
Caramel Apple Cookies
This one is a bit extra, but worth it.
Ingredients
Cookie
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Really small apple chunks
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
Gooey Center (per dozen ish)
- 1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Butter
- 1/8 Cup Milk
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Process
Mash Sugar Cookie dough with apple chunks.
Sprinkle some Cinnamon and Nutmeg, and mash some more.
Fold and mash. Fold and mash. Repeat until ingredients are equally distributed through the dough.
Roll into ball.
Flatten onto cookie sheet lined with Parchment Paper.
Make a dent in the center with thumb or finger, about halfway into the cookie.
Bake as directed by cookie dough.
In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil.
Let boil for one minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Stir in Vanilla.
When cookies are done, fill the center with caramel mixture.
Smear some around the edges a little with the spoon.
Candied Caramel Christmas Cookies
What you need
- Caramel Creams
- White cookie icing
Process
Basically, you take dough and you can use just sugar cookie dough, or you can use the dough with the apples and spices mentioned above, and you mash it around a caramel cream.
Bake as normally directed for the cookie.
Decorate with icing.
Mistletoe Cookies
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Chocolate Kisses
- Red Sugar (or sugar mixed with red food coloring)
Process
Wrap sugar cookie dough around a Chocolate Kiss and shape into a ball.
Roll ball into red sugar.
Place on Cookie Sheet lined with Parchment Paper.
Bake as directed by cookie dough.
White Chocolate Cranberry Granola Cookies
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Dried Cranberries
- Granola
- White Chocolate Chips
Process
Mash the top ingredients together. Fold and mash. Fold and mash.
Repeat until ingredients are equally distributed through the dough.
Roll into balls and flatten.
Bake as directed by cookie dough
Use some cranberries to make a decorative top by smashing it into the warm cookie fresh from the oven.
Weddingish Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Almond Extract
- Ground Almonds
- Powdered Sugar
Process
Mash sugar cookie dough with almond extract, aim for a teaspoon of the almond extract per batch of the cookie dough. I did this by folding and mashing. Folding and mashing. Folding and mashing.
Repeat until you can take a bite randomly and taste the almond extract. Add more if necessary.
If you wanted, you can make one batch of the sugar cookie dough with adding almond extract before it becomes dough. They do make good regular cookies.
Add some ground almonds, and smash into cookie dough. Folding and mashing. Folding and mashing. Repeat until almonds are equally distributed.
Mold into little balls, about 1 inch to 2 inches thick.
Place powdered sugar in a bowl (or bag), and cover the exterior with powdered sugar.
Place on cookie sheet, and flatten a little.
Bake as directed by cookie dough.
Mascarpone Cheese Frosted Almond Cookie
Ingredients
Cookie
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Almond Extract
Frosting
- 8 oz Mascarpone Cheese
- 1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- Almond Slices and Extra Powdered Sugar to Decorate (optional)
Process
Mash sugar cookie dough with almond extract, aim for a teaspoon of the almond extract per batch of the cookie dough. I did this by folding and mashing. Folding and mashing. Folding and mashing.
Repeat until you can take a bite randomly and taste the almond extract. Add more if necessary.
If you wanted, you can make one batch of the sugar cookie dough with adding almond extract before it becomes dough.
For frosting, you can use any frosting out there, but this is amazing frosting. It also goes well on Vanilla Cake made with normal vanilla cake mix add almond extract.
Mix frosting ingredients in a mixer. A mixer is a thousand times easier as you will need to stir until the Whipping Cream forms peaks like Whipped Cream.
Blend frosting on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Garnish with almond slices and powdered sugar.
