Description
These Santa Clause Cookies are festive and delicious sugar cookies perfect for the holiday season. Soft and buttery with a hint of hazelnut, they are decorated with smooth vanilla frosting, rich buttercream, and colorful sprinkles to resemble Santas, snowflakes, and Christmas trees. Easy to roll, freeze, and bake, these charming cookies are a delightful treat for celebrations or gift-giving.
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
- Prepare the Cookie Dough: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the hazelnut liquor (if using) and vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Mix in the egg completely. Add the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt and beat until the mixture forms a dough ball. If the dough is too wet, gradually add 2 to 4 tablespoons more flour to make it easier to roll.
- Roll and Freeze the Dough: Divide the dough in half. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll out each half to about 1/4 inch thickness, using enough flour to prevent sticking. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes like snowflakes, stars, and Christmas trees. Carefully transfer the cut cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet using a floured spatula to avoid distortions. Cover the sheet and freeze the cookies until firm, about 20-30 minutes. Re-roll any leftover dough scraps and repeat the cutting process.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the frozen cookies on the middle oven rack for 8-10 minutes or until they are just lightly golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the Vanilla Frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the powdered sugar, hazelnut liquor (if using), vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of water until smooth and drizzly. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to reach a drizzling consistency.
- Make the Vanilla Buttercream: In a separate bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating until the frosting is well combined and whipped, approximately 2 more minutes.
- Decorate the Cookies: Using the frostings and sprinkles, decorate each cookie to resemble Santas, snowflakes, or Christmas trees. For Santas, outline a star cookie with vanilla frosting, fill in all but one triangle for the face, add red sprinkles for the body and hat, attach mini chocolate chips for eyes, apply buttercream for the beard, and add a red sprinkle for the nose. For snowflakes, pipe lines and dots of vanilla frosting to enhance the design and optionally sprinkle with vanilla sugar. For Christmas trees, fill in each tree with vanilla frosting and sprinkle vanilla sugar on top. Let the decorated cookies set for about an hour before serving.
Notes
- To pipe frosting onto cookies, put the frosting in a small sandwich size Ziploc bag or piping bag and snip a small corner to make a piping tip.
- Vanilla Sugar: Mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or scrape seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean and mix it in thoroughly for homemade vanilla sugar.
- If you don’t have hazelnut liquor, the cookies and frosting will still be delicious without it.
- Use a floured spatula to transfer cut cookies to baking sheets to prevent stretching or breaking.
- Let decorated cookies set for about an hour so the frosting firms up for easier handling and serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 12g
- 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
