Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (1)

By: Becky Hardin

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Christmas Butter Cookies with Powdered Sugar Icing are a MUST for the holidays. Simple iced cookies are one of the best treats for Christmas, and this easy butter cookies recipe is my FAVORITE. Make your favorite shapes with cookie cutters, and decorate however you like using our powdered sugar icing recipe!

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2)

Table of Contents

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe

Christmas Butter Cookies are a staple for the holidays! You can make them into any shape you want with a cookie cutter, and the powdered sugar icing is soooo delicious. My mom’s iced cookies are the best!

With Christmas just a few days away, it’s time to go into full-on cookie mode. Baking is such a fun thing to do this time of year, and Christmas Cookies win out over everything else. My Christmas Sugar Cookies are always a favorite, and Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are a new addition to the lineup. But these Iced Christmas Butter Cookies will always be an absolute classic!

This is the best butter cookies recipe out there (amazing flavor and texture), matched with the most amazing powdered sugar icing recipe. I really love butter cookies because they are perfect for decorating. You can make them super fun and festive for Christmas, or for any other holiday. Choose your favorite cookie cutters to make fun shapes, and use any food coloring you like for the powdered sugar frosting.

I made snowflake cookies, but you could make Christmas tree cookies, snowman cookies, or simple round cookies. Make them with the family and let everyone choose their own shapes and decorations. It’s a great Christmas activity with a tasty treat to enjoy at the end!

Make the perfect Christmas Butter Cookies recipe along with the most amazing Powdered Sugar Icing. These iced cookies are a MUST for the holidays!

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (3)

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (4)

Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe

This powdered sugar icing recipe is my favorite kind of frosting to use for iced cookies. It’s the perfect complement to the butter cookies, it looks beautiful, and it tastes SO good. I chose to do a blue and white marbled look for my snowflake cookies, and that’s what I’m going to show you how to make. However, you can follow the basic icing recipe and make single-colored frosting to decorate your cookies.

How to Make Icing with Powdered Sugar

This is a variation of my favorite royal icing recipe. The marbled effect takes a bit more work, but the powdered sugar icing itself isn’t complicated.

  1. Place confectioner’s sugar into the mixing bowl of a standup mixer.
  2. Stir together corn syrup, water, & almond extract in a large measuring cup. Then pour it over the confectioner’s sugar, with the mixer running on low speed.
  3. Turn the mixer to medium-low speed, and continue mixing until the glaze becomes smooth and creamy.

At this point, you can just stir in your preferred food coloring to make a single-color frosting. Or pour the glaze into separate bowls, and add different colors to each one if you want to have options while decorating the cookies.

If you want to create the marbled icing that I used, check the recipe card for detailed instructions.

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (5)

How to Make Butter Cookies

This Christmas Butter Cookies recipe is so good. I just love the flavor and texture of these butter cookies!

  1. Beat butter and sugar together until light an fluffy, then add in egg, vanilla, and almond extract.
  2. Whisk together flour and salt in a separate bowl.
  3. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, and mix on low speed just until combined.
  4. Prepare the butter cookie dough (details in the recipe card), and then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  5. When ready to bake, cut the cookie dough into shapes, and places cookies on parchment liked cookie sheets.
  6. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F.

Once the butter cookies have cooled, you can move on to icing and decorating!

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (6)

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (7)

How to Decorate Christmas Butter Cookies

You can decorate your Christmas butter cookies however you like. You can order fun Christmas cookie cutters online, or find some at your local stores. Just cut the dough using any shapes before baking. Feel free to make as many different shapes as you want!

To glaze the cookies:

  1. Let the butter cookies cool completely before icing.
  2. Once you have your icing ready, pour half of into a bowl (bowl should be larger than your cookies, so you can dip them in). Cover the other half with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to use.
  3. Hold the cookies by the edges, upside down, and dip into the bowl of glaze. Lift it straight up, and let excess glaze drip off.

I really love the powdered sugar icing, but you can use other types of frosting if you prefer. Add some sprinkles for an extra flash of fun!

How to Store Butter Cookies

Iced butter cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Let the glaze dry completely before storing them; this could take 12-24 hours. To store them without icing, just make sure the cookies have cooled, and then they are ready to go.

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (8)

These Christmas Butter Cookies do take a little extra time, but it’s worth it! The iced cookies are so much fun for Christmas, especially with the delicious powdered sugar icing. Everyone will love making them just as much as eating them. Happy Holidays!

See the recipe card below for details on how to make Butter Cookies & Powdered Sugar Icing. Enjoy!

If you like these Christmas Butter Cookies, you’ll love all of our other easy Christmas cookie recipes:

  • Christmas Sugar Cookies
  • Splatter Paint Christmas Cookies
  • Chocolate Butter Cookies
  • Chocolate Mint Cookies
  • Soft Gingerbread Cookies
  • Chocolate Spritz Cookies
  • Nutella Snowball Cookies
  • Chocolate Peppermint Milano Cookies
  • Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (2 Flavors)

Recipe

Christmas Butter Cookies with Powdered Sugar Icing

4.57 from 51 votes

Author: Becky Hardin

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 10 minutes minutes

Total: 20 minutes minutes

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (9)

Serves24 cookies

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Christmas Butter Cookies with Powdered Sugar Icing are a MUST for the holidays. Simple iced cookies are one of the best treats for Christmas, and this easy butter cookies recipe is my FAVORITE. Make your favorite shapes with cookie cutters, and decorate however you like using our powdered sugar icing recipe!

Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (10)

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Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams, room temperature
  • cup granulated sugar 135 grams
  • 1 large egg 50 grams, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract 1 gram
  • 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest 2 grams, optional
  • cups all-purpose flour 295 grams
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Icing

  • 4 cups powdered sugar 452 grams
  • 6 tablespoons white corn syrup 117 grams, divided
  • ½ cup water 114 grams, divided
  • ¾ teaspoon almond extract 3 grams, divided
  • Food Coloring Soft Gel Paste food color works best

Recommended Equipment

Instructions

For the Cookies

  • Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until lighter in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

    1 cup unsalted butter, ⅔ cup granulated sugar

  • Beat in the egg, vanilla, almond, and lemon/orange zest (if using) until well blended.

    1 large egg, 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract

  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

    2¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture all at one time and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

  • Lay out a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper and sprinkle a little flour on top.

  • Divide the dough equally into 2 portions (more if you have doubled the recipe).

  • Using lightly floured hands, hold 1 portion of dough and gently shape it into a disc.

  • Place the disc on the floured paper roll gently into a ¼-inch high oval or rectangle.

  • Lift the paper and place it on a cookie sheet.

  • Repeat the process until all the dough is used.

  • Tightly cover the pan of all the layers of dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

  • Once the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350°F.

  • When ready to bake, take out one sheet of dough at a time and cut into the desired cookie-cutter shapes.

  • Place the cut-out dough on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn.

  • Take out of the oven, remove from the baking pan and cool on a cooling rack.

  • Once completely cooled, the decorating fun can begin.

For the Icing (SEE NOTE)

  • Place the powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and turn the hand mixer to the lowest speed.

    4 cups powdered sugar

  • In a large measuring cup, stir together the corn syrup, water, and almond extract.

    ½ cup water, 6 tablespoons white corn syrup, ¾ teaspoon almond extract

  • With the mixer running, slowly drizzle ½ cup of the corn syrup mixture over the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides as needed. The glaze’s consistency should be similar to sweetened condensed milk. (Set the reserved corn syrup mixture aside to use only if needed.)

  • Turn the mixer to medium-low and mix until the glaze is smooth and creamy. If the glaze is too thick, stir in reserved corn syrup mixture, 1 teaspoon-at-a-time, until it is the correct consistency. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time.

  • Pour half of the glaze into a small shallow bowl – be sure the diameter of the bowl is larger than the largest cookie. Cover the remaining half with plastic wrap to avoid a hard shell forming on top.

  • Air bubbles will form in the glaze, but just take a small spoon and stir it slowly through the glaze to get rid of them.

  • Get a drop of food coloring on a toothpick and swirl it through the glaze. Begin with a tiny amount (gel food coloring is potent) and be sure not to mix the glaze too much or the glaze could turn into a solid color.

    Food Coloring

  • To glaze a cookie, have a second bowl sitting next to the bowl with the glaze.

  • Hold onto the cookie by the edges and turn it upside down. Dip the top of the cookie into the glaze being sure the glaze covers the entire surface of the cookie. Lift the cookie straight up out of the glaze and hold it above the second bowl. Allow the excess glaze to drip off (about 5-10 seconds). Once the glaze stops dripping, flip the cookie over and place it on a cooling rack.

  • Allow the glaze to dry completely before storing the cookies in an airtight container. It is best to let the cookies dry 12-24 hours before storing.

Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!

Becky’s tips

  • NOTE: These are instructions for making the marble technique pictured above. You can also simply make the icing and stir in whichever colors you like, then decorate. Enjoy!

Storage:Store Christmas butter cookies with powdered sugar icing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cookie Calories: 229kcal (11%) Carbohydrates: 39g (13%) Protein: 2g (4%) Fat: 8g (12%) Saturated Fat: 5g (31%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 28mg (9%) Sodium: 57mg (2%) Potassium: 19mg (1%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 29g (32%) Vitamin A: 248IU (5%) Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) Calcium: 6mg (1%) Iron: 1mg (6%)

Did You Make This?I want to see! Be sure to upload an image below & tag @thecookierookie on social media!

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Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (12)

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Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe with Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

How to get powdered sugar to stick to cookies? ›

Place the cookies on wire racks to cool completely. The confectioners' sugar will melt a bit and get sticky; that's ok. Once the cookies have completely cooled, roll in confectioners' sugar again. This is when the sugar will really stick.

What happens if you use melted butter instead of softened for cookies? ›

Cookies made with melted butter often deflate and become denser when they cool, resulting in a perfectly cooked fudgy center — a similar textural result to brownies that get rapped (aka banged against an oven rack mid-bake to deflate them) or Sarah Kieffer's iconic pan-banging cookies that turn out pleasantly compact.

Should sugar cookies cool before frosting? ›

If the cookies aren't completely cooled when you start decorating, the icing will melt once it hits the warm cookie. Follow this tip: Don't rush the cooling process. The first step to making beautifully decorated cookies is making sure the cookies are completely cooled when you begin adding the icing.

What is the 2nd most popular cookie? ›

Nabisco Oreo was the second ranked cookie brand of the United States with about 674.2 million U.S. dollars worth of sales in 2017. Cookies are part of the snack food category and defined as small, thin, baked treats in the United States.

What is the #1 cookie in the United States? ›

The chocolate chip cookie is far and away America's favorite cookie This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys the tasty treat. More than 53% of American adults prefer the cookies over the next most popular kind, peanut butter.

What happens if you use powdered sugar instead of granulated in cookies? ›

All levels of powdered sugar grind can be used interchangeably with each other in cookie recipes. But take note: powdered sugar is not to be substituted for granulated sugar or brown sugar, since the added cornstarch in powdered sugar changes cookie chemistry and texture.

What does powdered sugar do in baking cookies? ›

Powdered sugar can be used for several purposes in baked goods: Sweetener: provides a sweet flavor. Tenderizer: interferes with gluten formation, protein coagulation and starch gelatinization. Shelf life improvement: reduces the amount of water available for microbial deterioration.

When to sprinkle icing sugar on cookies? ›

If the cookies are going to be frosted you put them on after they're baked & frosted. If you're don't plan on frosting them you can apply small Nonpareils or colored sugar crystals before you bake them.

Should you refrigerate cookie dough before baking? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

What is the secret to making soft cookies? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

What's the difference between frosting and icing on cookies? ›

Frosting is the thickest of these confections and is ideal for spreading or piping on cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Icing is a little thinner than frosting and is often poured or piped over coffee cakes, pound cakes, doughnuts and cookies—and it usually hardens when it dries.

How far in advance can you make Christmas cookies? ›

You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December. (Consult this handy how-to guide to the matter.) Generally, most recipes will be best if baked and then frozen.

How long to let cookies sit before icing? ›

Many bakers like to let bake their cookies at least a day before decorating to prevent oil spots. Sometimes when using two different icing colors the colors will bleed, especially with black.

What is America's favorite holiday cookie? ›

Among those who can make a single choice, frosted sugar cookies lead the list (32%), with gingerbread (12%) and chocolate chip (11%) rounding out the top three. Snickerdoodles (6%) come in fourth place, followed by butter (4%), peanut butter (4%), and chocolate (4%) tying for fifth.

What is the number one selling cookie? ›

Oreo is the world's best-selling cookie and has been a favorite for over 100 years. Its popularity can be attributed to its unique sandwich cookie design and creamy filling.

What is Santa Claus's favorite cookie? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

What is the most loved cookie? ›

Chocolate chip cookies

What is the most popular type of cookie? It might just be this one.

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