Description
These Santa Clause Cookies are delightful holiday treats featuring tender buttery sugar cookies decorated with vanilla frosting, buttercream, and sprinkles to resemble festive Christmas shapes like stars, snowflakes, and Christmas trees. The dough is easy to prepare with a subtle hint of hazelnut liquor for extra depth, and the frosting options allow for beautiful, creative decorating perfect for holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon hazelnut liquor (optional)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus an additional 2-4 tablespoons if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Vanilla Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Assorted sprinkles, vanilla sugar, and/or sanding sugar, for decorating
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Mix the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add hazelnut liquor (if using) and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Gradually add flour, baking soda, and kosher salt and beat until dough forms a ball. If dough feels too wet for rolling, add 2-4 tablespoons more flour.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Divide the dough in half. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll out one half of the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness using sufficient flour to prevent sticking. Use cookie cutters (snowflakes, stars, Christmas trees, or other festive shapes) to cut shapes. Use a floured spatula to carefully transfer cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and freeze cookies until firm, about 20-30 minutes. Repeat rolling and cutting with leftover dough scraps.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the frozen cookies on the middle rack for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly golden around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Vanilla Frosting: In a medium bowl, beat together powdered sugar, hazelnut liquor (if using), vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon water until smooth and drizzly. Add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time if needed to achieve drizzly consistency suitable for glazing.
- Make Vanilla Buttercream: In a bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract; continue beating for an additional 2 minutes until whipped and creamy.
- Decorate Cookies: Using a piping bag or a small Ziploc bag with the tip snipped off, pipe vanilla frosting onto cookies. For Santa cookies, outline and fill a star-shaped cookie leaving one triangle unfilled for the face. Sprinkle red sanding sugar or sprinkles for the body and hat. Press mini chocolate chips for eyes and pipe buttercream for the beard. Add a red sprinkle for the nose. For snowflakes, pipe lines and dots to enhance shape and sprinkle with vanilla sugar if desired. For Christmas trees, fill the cookie with vanilla frosting then sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Allow frosting to set about an hour before serving.
Notes
- To pipe frosting, use a small sandwich-size Ziploc bag or a piping bag; snip a tiny bit off the corner for controlled piping.
- Vanilla sugar can be made by mixing 1/4 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or seeds from half a vanilla bean.
- If the dough is sticky, add additional flour gradually to achieve a manageable texture for rolling.
- Freezing cookies before baking helps them retain their shape and bake evenly.
- Buttercream frosting is optional but adds great texture and flavor contrast to the vanilla glaze.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
