Description
This Christmas Sugar Cookie recipe delivers soft, sweet, and festive cookies perfect for holiday celebrations. Featuring a tender dough enriched with vanilla and almond extracts, these cookies are rolled in vibrant red and green sanding sugar to add a colorful, sparkling finish. Simple to prepare and bake, they make a delightful treat for cookie exchanges, gift-giving, or enjoying with family by the fire.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 ½ cups (297g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp almond extract
Toppings
- Red sanding sugar
- Green sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Dry Mixture: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using an electric mixer, beat the room temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar together for about 1 minute until light and fluffy. This step incorporates air to create a tender cookie.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Add the large egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat again for 30 seconds until fully combined. The extracts add fragrant flavor to the cookies.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed or folding gently by hand with a spatula just until combined. Avoid overmixing to keep cookies tender.
- Shape and Roll Cookies: Place about ¼ cup of red sanding sugar in one bowl and ¼ cup of green sanding sugar in another. Use a cookie scoop or spoon to form dough balls (approximately 3 heaping tablespoons for larger cookies). Roll each ball thoroughly in your choice of colored sanding sugar.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the coated dough balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper, allowing room for cookies to spread during baking.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and centers are set but still soft. For smaller cookies, reduce baking time accordingly to prevent over baking.
- Cool: Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- The cookie dough balls in the photos are about 3 heaping tablespoons each, resulting in large cookies baked for 12-14 minutes.
- If you prefer smaller cookies, reduce baking time by a few minutes to avoid over-drying.
- Using a silicone baking mat or parchment paper helps prevent sticking and promotes even baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
