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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 the oven to 375 degrees F.
Make Butter Cookie Dough
- Cream butter and sugar: Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until light and fluffy and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Next, add the egg and vanilla and beat together until incorporated, about 1 minute.½ cup white sugar, pinch of salt, 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add flour: Next, sift the cake flour and add it in three parts, mixing after each time until it's fully incorporated. The dough will be thick and sticky. Be careful not to over-mix the dough as you want to minimize gluten development. Note: if the dough feels too thick to pipe, add in a few drops of milk.1 ⅔ cup cake flour
Pipe Cookie Shapes
- Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip for easier piping. 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 2-inch cookies in rosettes, straight lines, or any preferred shape. Note: If you have difficulty piping, gently knead the dough in the piping bag with your hands to soften and warm it up.
Bake
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Let them completely cool before dipping in chocolate.
Decorate
- Make the ganache: Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and add them to a microwave-safe bowl with the heavy cream. Microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring after each time. When the chocolate pieces are mostly melted, keep stirring until you have a silky, smooth chocolate ganache. Makes ¾ cup of chocolate ganache.4 oz bittersweet chocolate bar, ½ cup heavy cream
- Dip each cookie into the ganache and lay it flat on parchment paper. Add sprinkles before the chocolate sets. Otherwise, decorate with Christmas cookie icing. Enjoy!Christmas sprinkles
Notes
- Makes about 30 to 40 cookies based on 2 inch length cookies.
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I won a baking competition that my friends and I have every year using this cookie recipe – it is so good! It is my best kept secret 😉
It is absolutely faultless! Produces the most delicious festive cookies!
Thank you so much Sarah! That makes me so happy to hear! They’re certainly festive and perfect for the holidays! 🙂
I gave this a try for some early holiday baking and it was incredibly easy and so tasty! These butter cookies are going to be fantastic for Christmas!
Thank you Sara! We make them all month long in December. It’s a favorite at our house. 🙂
These are the most perfect Christmas butter cookies I have ever seen! They are so perfect I can’t wait to make them again.
My kids had so much fun decorating these butter cookies with Christmas sprinkles! They taste great too!
So delicious and super easy to make! These cookies taste just like those Danish butter cookies I used to have growing up but even better! It’s such a great idea decorating them with chocolate and sprinkles for Christmas! They look so festive and colorful! A question, how long can I store these for?
Thanks Natalie! I agree, these are so much better when homemade. You can store them in an airtight container for up to a week. Be sure they are completely cooled and the chocolate has set before storing them. I’m so glad you loved them! 🙂
Christmas cookies done in 20-minutes? Yes, please! The decorations are gorgeous too!
Such pretty and festive cookies with just 6 ingredients ? Cant wait to make this for my lil one. Thanks for sharing.
These butter cookies are so flavorful and delicious. Love the addition of chocolate with sprinkles on top, makes them perfect to share as gifts for Christmas!
Thank you LaKita! Aren’t Christmas sprinkles the best? It’s such an easy way to decorate these cookies.
Best time of the year to give this cookie recipe a try. They are so cute and look moist and buttery too. Lovely presentation. v
Thanks Veena! They’re super easy Christmas cookies that make great gifts as well!
Such a classic holiday cookie, especially dipped in chocolate.
Oh my gosh, I have to try these! Giving me serious nostalgia from when I was growing up!
Please do! I remember having these as a kid too during Christmas!
My kids and I had so much fun baking these cookies!! It was a great way to make things festive and fun before the holidays!
Thank you Anjali! So great to hear your kids had fun making these holiday cookies!
Can I freeze these? If so, for how long?
Hi Courtney! You can definitely freeze these cookies but I would recommend freezing them without the decorations. 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. Hope that helps!
WOW, these butter cookies look so professional and amazing! I have been making cookies for Christmas every year and these are the best butter cookies I’ve tried! They were so perfect and delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you Ramona! So glad you enjoy them!
The cookies are beautiful and the instructions are great! I love to add new cookie recipes each year for the holidays and these chocolate dipped butter cookies sound fantastic for Christmas!
Thanks Paula! Hope you enjoy these for the holidays!
These Christmas butter cookies are lovely and so delicate looking. In fact, I gave them a dry run this and it was so delicious! This recipe is going in my Christmas cookie recipe box.
Thank you Marisa! So happy you’ll be making these cookies for Christmas!
Wow drooling over here. These cookies look just perfect. Love the holiday sprinkles. Can’t wait to try them.
Thanks Sam! Hope you give these Christmas cookies a try!
Your Christmas butter cookies just made me so happy, I love the way they look and I bet they taste fantastic. I am going to make them this week for pretend Christmas 🙂
Thanks Jenny! Hope you give it a try for the holidays! They make great edible gifts too! 🙂
These cookies were buttery flakey deliciousness! My kids especially loved dipping the cookies in the chocolate. Your step by step instruction and photos were super helpful as well!
We made this for our Christmas in July celebration and they were amazing! We had so much fun decorating them in fun and festive designs. I am so glad I came across your recipe so I can make them for Christmas in December! Thanks! Kim
Hi Kim! So glad you enjoyed these holiday cookies! Christmas in July sounds like so much fun!