Description
This Classic Christmas Cookies recipe offers soft, tender, and perfectly sweet treats ideal for holiday celebrations. Made with a blend of butter, cream cheese, and warm vanilla and almond extracts, these sugar cookies are delightfully soft with a hint of chewiness. Topped with festive red and green sanding sugar, they bring the spirit of Christmas to every bite. The dough is chilled for a couple of hours to enhance texture, then baked to a lightly undercooked, soft finish.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter, softened
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Topping
- Red & Green sanding sugar
Instructions
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, add softened butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture until it becomes light and fluffy, which should take about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, blend all ingredients until a soft dough forms and is well combined.
- Chill the Dough: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours to firm up and enhance texture.
- Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Sheet: Once the dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Shape Dough Balls: Scoop the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each to allow for spreading.
- Create Criss-Cross Pattern: Using a fork, gently press down on each dough ball to create a criss-cross pattern on the top.
- Add Festive Sugar: Sprinkle red and green sanding sugar onto each cookie dough ball to give them a festive holiday look.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 11 minutes. Do not overbake; the cookies should look slightly undercooked and not browned on the edges for soft, tender results.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Storage: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.
- Reheat: Microwave for 5-10 seconds if you prefer warm, soft cookies.
- Freeze: Store baked cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
- Make Ahead: Dough can be prepared 2-3 days in advance and kept refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.
- Tips: Soften butter and cream cheese fully before mixing to avoid lumps; remove cookies slightly underbaked as they firm up while cooling; use a cookie scoop for uniform sizes; line pans with parchment or silicone mats for easy cleanup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
