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Home » Xmas » Easy Christmas Cookies

Easy Christmas Cookies

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This Christmas Cookies recipe is delicious and such fun. Make them yourself or with your children for festive fabulousness. I usually make half the batch myself and then leave the other for my children to cut out and decorate with as much Christmas bling as they can shake a candy cane at.

christmas cookie christmas trees

Christmas Tree Cookies

I have fallen completely in love with these cuties and I'm not the only one.  These Christmas Cookies have gone down an absolute storm.

They are from the same shortbread recipe as my Easy Shortbread Cookies and they are seriously good. Crisp, buttery and short they are divine and horribly moreish.

I obviously colour them green here and cut them out into christmas tree shapes before baking them and finally decorating in a classic tinsel and baubles vibe. It really is an easy recipe and you can ramp up the technical level of decorating to suit how clever or useless you are.

I am particularly ham fisted so have kept it simple here even using pre made shop bought writing icing for the tinsel and picking out the red balls from a christmas sprinkles set. No fancy pants decorating here. I really am rubbish.

Christmas Cookies Recipe

STEP 1 - Mixing the Christmas Cookies dough.

The ingredients are incredibly simple. Just flour, sugar, butter and green food gel. Mix the lot together and it really is as simple as that.

I usually use my free standing mixer but a large food processor works well too.

butter, flour and sugar in a bowl

Shortbread Ingredients

Whack the lot in there and keep mixing until the dough starts to clump together.

Keep going for about 10 seconds after that. After mixing it becomes a green dough.

Add more green gel to achieve the right colour. I do recommend the gel colouring. it is much more powerful.

green christmas cookie dough

STEP 2 -Rolling and cutting out the dough. 

I use a bit of icing sugar on the work surface to stop the dough sticking when I roll it out.

I roll it out to about 0.75 cm thickness all over. I then cut out the christmas tree shapes.

christmas shortbread dough

I put them on a lined flat baking sheet. I use a reusable silicon liner.

I chill in the fridge for half an hour.

christmas cookies christmas trees on baking tray

These make about 30 cookies.

I sometimes make half of the batch and freeze the other if I feel that I would struggle to munch my way through so many.

Or of course you could just halve the ingredients.

STEP 3 - Baking the cookies.

Have the oven preheated to 190 C/375 F/Gas Mark 5 and bake thhe cookies for about 10/12 minutes.

You are looking for crisp edges and a small amount of colouring.

Too much and the trees lose their green colour and not enough and the cookies will be too soft.

baked christmas trees

Move to a wire rack after 5 minutes to completely cool.

STEP 5 - Decorating the Christmas Cookies

I used shop bought pre mixed writing icing from my supermarket. The kind that you can just squeeze straight from the packet. They come with little screw on plastic nozzles.

Make sure they are warm enough, room temperature at least.

If you want to make your own then here is a homemade icing recipe. I would use half of the recipe.

I pipe on tinsel and then gently press in red baubles and a little star on the top. I use christmas sprinkles for this again bought from my local supermarket.

Let the kids fill their christmas decorating boots.

Christmas Cookie Tips

  • To make the cookies gluten free simply substitute the plain flour for gluten free . Ensure your sprinkles and icing  are gluten free too.
  • Freeze the cookies cut out but raw. I freeze them for an hour singularly before placing them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen for an extra 5 minutes or so. A great idea to get ahead.
  • Don't let the butter be too warm when mixing otherwise the dough will lose it's shape when baked. You don't want the butter to be too soft.
  • Make sure the edges are slightly crisp to get the perfect texture for your cookie.
  • If the cookies spread a little then use a knife to carefully sharpen up the edges.
  • If you want to make your own icing see here.
  • Store in a airtight container for up to 5 days.

If you like this Christmas recipe then you may like these

Sticky Ginger Cake

Christmas Pavlova Wreath

Cinnamon Bundt Cake

Cinnamon Rolls

Puff Pastry Chocolate Christmas Tree

Easy Christmas Cake

whole christmas cake with pine cones and a red velvet ribbon next to it

christmas cookies christmas trees

Easy Christmas Cookies

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This very simple recipe for Christmas Cookies is delicious as well as lots of fun. Great for getting the kids involved and perfect for Christmas Fairs.
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Decorating Time 15 mins
Total Time 37 mins
Course Biscuits, Cookies
Cuisine English
Servings 30
Calories 138 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 250 grams unsalted butter room temperature
  • 150 grams caster sugar
  • 350 grams plain flour
  • 1 tsp green gel food colour may be less or more

Icing

  • 280 grams white icing I use 2 x 140 grams Dr.Oetker packets
  • christmas sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Place all the shortbread ingredients into the mixer or food processor and mix until the dough starts to clump together. Carry on for another 10 seconds and turn out onto a work surface.
  • Using your hands knead the dough to bring together unto a smooth dough. Dust the work surface with icing sugar as well as the rolling pin and roll out the dough into a roughly shaped rectangle about 0.75 cm thickness.
  • Use your christmas tree cut out to press out your shapes and place onto a lined large flat baking tray. You will need two of these or cut out 15 at a time and place the other half of the dough covered back in the fridge. This dough will keep for a week covered in the fridge.
  • Chill for 30 minutes before baking for 10/12 minutes. You are wanting crisp edges and some slight darkening. It is important to bake them enough to have some crispness to them.
  • Leave them on the baking tray for a few minutes before carefully moving to a wire rack to fully cool.
  • To ice them pipe around the tree leaving out the bottom square. Then pipe across the middle of the tree in a zig zag fashion. Press the baubles into the icing and put a star on the very top. See photos.
  • Apply to Deceitful Face

Nutrition

Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 208IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.

Keyword Christmas Biscuits, Christmas Cookies, easy shortbread cookies
Tried this recipe?Take a pic and tag @applytofaceblog on Instagram. I would so love to see them!

Do let me know how you got on in the comments below. I do love a good old hairy chin wag.

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Comments

  1. Michelle

    December 07, 2019 at 6:42 am

    They are really cute cookies! I bet your kids have a lot of fun making them with you.

    Reply
  2. Michelle Rolfe

    December 08, 2019 at 8:16 pm

    How cute! My girls are getting older but I still love the idea of baking Christmas cookies with them every year!:-) Thanks for sharing. #CookBlogShare. Michelle

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 09, 2019 at 6:58 pm

      Such a lovely thing to do!

      Reply
  3. Jacqui Bellefontaine

    December 09, 2019 at 4:09 pm

    5 stars
    Because its not Christmas without Cookie! Love these they are such fun. Thanks for linking them to #CookBlogShare Jenny.

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 09, 2019 at 6:57 pm

      They are aren't they!

      Reply
  4. Cat | Curly's Cooking

    December 09, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    5 stars
    These look so pretty and festive! The perfect Christmas cookie!

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 09, 2019 at 6:55 pm

      Thanks Cat!

      Reply
  5. Lou | Crumbs and Corkscrews

    December 10, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    5 stars
    Aww Jenny these are so cute and so much fun! My nephew was asking if we could make Christmas biscuits, I think we've found the perfect recipe. He'll absolutely love making these. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 10, 2019 at 7:41 pm

      Fabulous, my kids fought like hell but still loved making them this year. I’m still finding sprinkles!!!

      Reply
  6. Angie | Fiesta Friday

    December 12, 2019 at 10:53 pm

    5 stars
    Oooh... so pretty and festive. I'll take the cookies anytime, but not the elf, please. Thank goodness I don't have to do elf on the shelf!! I won't survive even a week!

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 17, 2019 at 7:28 am

      I am so with you! How foolish could I be?!x

      Reply
  7. louise Gunstone

    December 13, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    5 stars
    I love these and I know they will be a big it with the family, young and old. Thanks for linking them to #CookBlogShare

    Reply
    • applytofaceblog

      December 17, 2019 at 7:26 am

      Thank you! I think so too x

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Jenny Walters. A mother of two and passionate filler of bellies with stress free, simple and delicious recipes that gladden the soul. I am at heart a home cook.

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