You will love these holiday sugar cookies! These festive sugar cookies are soft, flavorful, chewy and the perfect treat during the holiday season.
My Grandma always made the best sugar cookies ever and I’m trying my best to follow in her footsteps by baking these delicious holiday sugar cookies every holiday season. I don’t have the heart to use her exact recipe (hello, shortening!) but this recipe is pretty close. These cookies are soft, flavorful, chewy and make me miss my grandma more than ever! These cookies don’t need sprinkles, but I thought the hollies were cute and used these Wilton Holly Mix Sprinkles
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I made three batches of these sugar cookies as part of the 5th annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, which brings together food bloggers from around the world while partnering with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer. What could be better than collaborating with other bloggers over cookies and donating to a good cause?
An important Note on Baking these Holiday Sugar Cookies:
Do not over-bake! If you can see the bottom edges of the cookies start to brown, then they are likely done cooking and I would recommend taking them out immediately and baking the next tray for one minute less. The cookies seem like they are not done baking when they come out of the oven but as they sit for a few minutes in the baking pan they will set perfectly. After they have cooled for about five minutes then you can remove them from the baking sheet and move onto your cooling rack to finish cooling all the way before you frost them. The correct consistency for these cookies is soft and chewy… not so soft that they fall a part when you pick it up. Everyone’s ovens are slightly different so play around with the exact amount of minutes until you get your perfect cookie… you will know when you get it and it will be totally worth it!
Holiday Sugar Cookies
Holly Holiday Cookies
These festive sugar cookies are soft, flavorful, chewy and the perfect treat during the holiday season.
Ingredients
Instructions
Cookie Dough
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Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough 1/8' on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes of your liking (I used a mason jar lid to make circles). Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 6-8 minutes.*
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Let cookies sit on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
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Wait until cookies are cooled before frosting. While baking, whip up frosting.
Frosting
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With electric mixer combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, pinch of salt and up to 1/3 C of milk. Add milk slowly until the frosting reaches desired consistency.
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Frost cookies and add sprinkles if that's your thing!
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Oh my gosh this are so cute!! They look delicious!!
Thanks, Meg! Maybe next year they can be one of your monthly treats 😉
I’m still thinking about these cookies! They were SO good. Pinning this so I can attempt to make them half as good as you!
Aw thank you, Katie! The recipe is pretty fail-proof, the trick is to not over-bake! Enjoy 🙂
So cute! I’m getting ready to make and decorate some Christmas sugar cookies with our 3 and 5 year old this weekend – they are SO excited!
Have fun making cookies with your kids! This time of year is just so magical, enjoy.
You can never go wrong with a classic sugar cookie, I love the cute decorations on top 🙂
My thoughts exactly! Thanks, Sara.
I like the festive, seasonal holly sprinkles!
Thanks, Jameson!
Oh yum, these sound really easy and the look amazing!
Thanks, Marye! They are not very difficult but taste great!
I love the way you have decorated these cookies. I have been looking for some ideas. They look great! 🙂
Thanks, Christine!
What pretty cookies. I love the holly sprinkles.
Thanks, Christie! I think they are cute too and they have almost a lemony flavor that is great.
Sugar cookie decorating is the most favorite part of this time of the year, and i still haven’t settled on one recipe, so this is being added to another one I’m going to make this year! Thanks!
It’s one of my favorite parts, too! Hope you enjoy this recipe 🙂
What a great cause, my dad passed of cancer 7 years ago so I fully support any event that helps bring awareness and support for cancer.
Love these cookies. Wilton has such great products.
I’m sorry about your dad, Kim. I agree, any awareness and support is a good!
Thanks, Kim!
These cookies look so moist and perfect. I love how festive they are!
Thanks, Joanie!
I love to recreate my grandmother’s recipe as well! These look perfect for the holidays!
Grandma recipes are the best! Thanks, Vicky!
Such a simple and pretty cookie 😀 I’m usually horrible at cookie decorating but I think I could swing this!
These are definitely easy to decorate this way- no food coloring or piping! Enjoy, Chrisy 🙂
These look pretty simple yet elegant. Definitely going to give them a shot!
I hope you enjoy them, Melody!
What beautiful cookies! They look absolutely delicious, and perfect for Christmas!
Thanks, Marsha!
Perfect Christmas cookies! My kids would love these 🙂
They are great for kids! Thanks, Tara!
These cookies are absolutely stunning, and they look so scrumptious too!
Thanks, Marsha!
holy gorgeous – your website is so beautiful! these sugar cookies couldn’t be more darling and i look forward to following your blog more. happy holidays! xx, sylvie
Thanks, Sylvie! Happy Holidays!
Cute cookie and classic recipe. Thanks!
Thanks, Jennifer!
These cookies look so gorgeous and festive! I have the same thing with family old recipes, when it comes to shortening I’m like um, sorry, no 😀 I’m sure these cookies taste wonderful!
I know, I’ll eat recipes with shortening but I just don’t have the stomach to use it myself! Thanks, Shadi!
I agree! making cookies for a good cause is just so great! I’m impressed! and I love those holly candies!
Thanks, Diane!
These are so cute and festive! Those holly sprinkles are just adorable too!
Thanks, Annie!
These sugar cookies are so adorable. I know my kids and I will have fun making them. 🙂
Thanks, Ramona!
These remind me of the super sweet sugar cookies you see in the grocery store – but I bet yours are MUCH more delicious!!! I love the holly berries on top!
Those grocery store cookies are a guilty pleasure of mine! These ones do taste better and the ingredient list is far less scary 🙂 Thanks Kathryn.
Omg I love sugar cookies with frosting! And the decoration on them is so easy, too! Pinning for later 🙂
Thanks, Mary! I’m all about easy decorating so we can move on to the best part— eating!