These easy Christmas butter cookies are perfect for the holiday season! Ready in only 20 minutes and made with 6 ingredients! Dipped in chocolate and decorated with Christmas sprinkles!
These Christmas butter cookies are not only easy to make, they only take 20 minutes and call for just 6 ingredients for the cookie!
These are no chill cookies so you can bake them in the oven right away. They bake up in 10 minutes and are ready for decorating with Christmas sprinkles and chocolate once cooled. Simple, easy, and delicious!
Why this recipe works
The flavor and texture of these Christmas cookies is amazing! This recipe is based on my classic butter cookie recipe which recommends European butter and cake flour for this cookie.
Don't worry if you don't have European butter or cake flour, you can substitute regular butter and all purpose flour in this recipe and it will still turn out delicious! I've done this many times and was happy with the results!
To create these beautiful shapes, you'll need to use a piping bag with a pastry tip and coupler. The dough is sticky and needs to be piped to make their signature shapes. I linked the equipment I recommend in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Cake flour - creates a delicate texture and even crumb in this cookie. It also has less gluten than all purpose flour which prevents this cookie from getting tough and chewy. All purpose flour can be substituted.
- European style butter is recommended because it has less water and higher dairy fat compared to regular butter. The higher fat content adds richness and less water means that less gluten gets activated while mixing the dough. Regular unsalted butter can be substituted.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Chocolate Ganache
- Christmas sprinkles
How to Make Easy Christmas Butter Cookies
- Make sure your butter is softened before you begin. I like to leave it out at room temperature or you can cut it into small pieces and microwave it for 5 seconds at a time. Be careful not to melt it.
- Using a hand mixer or whisk, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. Make sure the sugar granules have dissolved completely. Then the egg and vanilla extract and beat it together.
- Sift in the cake flour and slowly mix together until it's combined, being careful not to over mix the dough. The dough will get sticky at this point.
- Transfer the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large closed star tip and fastened with a coupler. Pipe out different shapes onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Have fun and try out different shapes! Make sure they are roughly the same size so they can finish baking at the same time.
- Bake at 375 degree F for 10 minutes or until the edges turn a golden brown color.
- Let the cookies cool completely before dipping them into the chocolate ganache. Lay the cookies flat on parchment paper after dipping.
- Add the Christmas sprinkles before the chocolate sets.
- Let the chocolate harden completely before serving. Makes about 40 cookies.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- European butter gives the best results because of its higher dairy fat and lower water content.
- Add the holiday sprinkles while the chocolate ganache is still wet.
- Try dipping into melted white chocolate for variation.
- Use cake flour. Cake flour has less gluten than all purpose flour, so these cookies come out delicate with a softer texture.
- Try decorating these with icing or frosting!
- Don't over mix the dough. Over mixing the dough creates gluten, which results in a tough, chewy cookie. These should be delicate and soft, but still have a slight crisp when bitten into.
Frequently Asked Questions
Butter cookies, shortbread cookies, and sugar cookies are different because of the different amounts of butter, sugar, and flour.
Shortbread cookies have the highest ratio of butter to flour ratio which makes them the most crumbly in texture and most brittle.
In comparison, butter cookies are sturdier and don't break apart as easily compared to shortbread cookies. This makes them perfect for packaging up as gifts!
Sugar cookies have the lowest butter to flour ratio which also make them great for packing up as gifts. Sugar cookies are typically rolled flat and used with cookie cutter cut outs to make various shapes. They're great for decorating with icing for the holidays!
They taste best up to a week when stored in an airtight container. Wait for them to cool completely before placing them in the container to avoid any trapped humidity.
Serve these with this amazing creamy hot chocolate recipe and enjoy the holiday season!
More holiday recipes to try:
- Easy Christmas Sugar Cookies with Icing
- 5 Minute Chocolate Ganache for Cakes, Glazes, Dips
- Christmas Yule Log Cake – Buche de Noel
- Rich & Creamy Homemade Hot Chocolate
- Giant Flourless Chocolate Cookies
- Butter Cookies – Easy 6 Ingredient Recipe!
- Bakery Swiss Roll Cake Recipe
- Custard Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
- Creamy Panna Cotta Recipe with Cranberry Sauce
Easy Christmas Butter Cookies - Ready in 20 Minutes!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cup cake flour (200g)
- ½ cup white sugar (100g)
- pinch of salt (2g)
Wet Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter (140g) - ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons, softened at room temperature
- 1 large egg (60g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (1g)
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate bar
- ½ cup heavy cream - Optional: additional 1 – 3 teaspoons depending on desired thinness
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, add the softened butter, sugar, and salt. Cream everything together until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is light yellow and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. You can use a hand mixer on high speed or use a whisk by hand.
- Next, add the egg and vanilla into the bowl and beat it together until it's fully incorporated. About 1 minute.
- Sift in the cake flour in three parts and mix together on medium speed until the flour is fully incorporated. The dough will be thick and sticky. Be careful not to over mix the dough as you want to minimize gluten development.
- Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip. I use Ateco piping tips. I recommend Ateco 846 or Ateco 844. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Pipe rosettes, straight lines, or any other shape you want.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Let them completely cool before dipping in chocolate.
- When the cookies are completely cool, make the ganache. Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and add them to a medium microwave safe bowl with the heavy cream. Microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring after each time. When the chocolate pieces start to melt, keep stirring until you have a silky, smooth chocolate ganache. Makes ¾ cup of chocolate ganache.
- Dip each cookie into the ganache and lay it flat on parchment paper. Add sprinkles before the chocolate sets. Makes about 40 cookies.
Notes
- Storage - wait for the cookies to cool completely then store them in an airtight container. They stay fresh for up to 7 days.
- Edible gifts - these cookies are sturdy and package well for edible gifts. When the cookies and ganache have completely set and cooled, add them to goodie bags and seal them tightly. If the cookies are still warm, it will cause condensation inside the package.
- Use cake flour for a softer, more uniform crumb. Cake flour has less gluten than all purpose flour, so these cookies come out delicate with a finer texture.
- Don't over mix the dough. They shouldn't be chewy at all, so the less gluten that gets created, the better. Butter cookies should be soft, yet have a subtle crisp when bitten into.
- European butter gives the best results because of its higher dairy fat and lower water content.
- Freeze - You can definitely freeze these cookies but I would recommend freezing them without the chocolate. Let the cookies cool completely and then wrap them in parchment paper in a single layer. Store them in an airtight plastic bag or freezer safe container. They should be good for up to a month.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Jeannine
This recipe is great, quick and easy also. Don't make only 1 batch, you'll be sorry, they get eaten up in a snap. Definitely on my list of best cookies. Thanks for sharing
Jamie
Thanks Jeannine! I'm so happy these made your list of best cookies! They're on my list too! 🙂
Tara
Such beautiful cookies for the holidays! I love the piping and the festive touch from the sprinkles. Yum!
Brittany
I made these tonight and they were delicious! I used a plastic bag to pipe them since I didn't have the pastry tips and they still turned out great!
Jamie
Thanks Brittany! Yes you can totally use a ziplock bag to pipe them. So happy you enjoyed them!
Vicky
Really really good! These taste just like the cookies I used get at Italian bakeries back where I grew up. The Christmas decorations were so easy to do too!
Jamie
Thanks Vicky! The decorations are so simple aren't they? So glad you liked them!
Andrea Metlika
These are such a classic Christmas cookie. I had no idea they are this easy to make. Adding them in my baking this year!
Jamie
Thanks Andrea! Yes, they're so quick and easy to make! So happy you're adding them to your Christmas baking this year!
cyndy
I am so happy to have found these cookies - my kids love these cookies and we are baking this whole week. Excited to put these on the list!
Jamie
Thank you Cyndy! So happy your kids love them!
Cbflyer79
Question-the summary shows 12 servings. How many cookies are in each serving? The recipe details shows it makes 40 cookies. If I select the ingredients for 1x or 2x, it shows 40 cookies for both. Please confirm so I know to double or not. Looking forward to baking these today for our cookie exchange.
Jamie
This recipe makes about 40 cookies when using the ingredients for 1x. If you choose 2x, it will make approximately 80 cookies, depending on how big you make them. Hope that helps! 🙂
Angela
One of my favorite Christmas cookies ever! I love how beautifully this comes together. So perfect for the holidays. YUM!
Beth
Yum! These are so delicious and scrumptious! I can't wait to make this recipe again soon!
Mahy
Fantastic-looking cookies! I was wondering what was missing on my Christmas menu this year... well, that's what! 🙂