Molly's Holiday Treats: Christmas Cookie Recipes - Molly Sims (2024)

One of my fav, fav, fav things about the holidays is the festive baking, and now that we have little Brooksie, it’s even more fun. I always love trying new recipes during this time of year, but nothing is quite as fun as traditional holiday sweets. With that said, no Christmas would be complete without some AH-mazing Christmas cookies. So I went a little crazy this year and had a bit of a cookie decorating extravaganza. These sugar cookies were so, so, so yummy, and I had the best time decorating them with Brooks by my side. The recipe was pretty simple, and with the right tools and sprinkle selection, the decorating was easy-peasy.

*Baking tip: When putting the cookies on a baking sheet, it’s super important to spray the wax paper so the cookies don’t stick and break when you try to get them off. But be careful! Too much oil or butter can burn the bottom of your cookies.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Colored Icing, recipe follows

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time to make a stiff dough. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out a portion of cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheets. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minute, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Cool completely on pans about 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.

While sugar cookies are my favorite type of cookie to bake for Christmas, there are tons of other DE-lish holiday cookies you can make if sugar cookies aren’t your thing. Two other types of cookies that I love, love, love are chocolate-peppermint and gingerbead. I’ve made these in the past and I was OB-sessed. Even though they’re not as easy to decorate, they’re still so, so, so yummy.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla. On a low speed, beat in the flour mixture a little at a time. Gently mix in chocolate chips.

On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop teaspoons of the batter about 2 inches apart. Bake until just cracked on top, about 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. Cool completely.

Gingerbread Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting

Cooking Directions:

In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for “buttons”.

Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.