Christmas Butter Cookies
We’ve taken a classic Holiday cookie up a level by adding some traditional Christmas colors. These pretty and oh so delicious Christmas Butter Cookies will be a big hit at your Christmas gathering this year!
Butter Cookies are a Christmas classic but guess what? They don’t have to be beige. We’ve taken our delicious Butter Cookie recipe and upped the holiday quotient by 1000 to make these super pretty (and oh so yummy) Christmas Butter Cookies. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Ingredients you will need
- Butter: Since these are “butter” cookies a good quality butter is super important. We use Sweet Cream Salted Butter that has been softened to room temperature.
- Food Coloring: You can use any food coloring that you have on hand. We think Wilton Color Right Food Coloring gives you a pretty Christmas Red and Green.
- Sparkling Sugar: This is optional but it adds a little Christmas sparkle to the cookie which is a must in our family. We have used Sparkling Sugar Sprinkles as well as course sugar … both are perfect!
How to make the Cookie Dough
Step 1: Butter Cookies could not be easier to make. Start with the butter and powder sugar in the mixer and cream until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and continue mixing.
Step 2: Finally, add the flour one cup at a time and mix until combined. Easy peasy.
How to Color the Cookie Dough
Step 3: Separate the cookie dough into three equal portions. We used a food scale to weigh the dough but you can eyeball it if you don’t have a food scale.
Step 4: Use Food Coloring to tint one portion Christmas Green (4 drops of Yellow and 2 drops of Blue), one portion Christmas Red (3 drops of Crimson and 3 drops of Red) and leave the third portion the way it is.
Layering the Cookie Dough
Step 5: You want to press down the dough into rectangle layers. To get them all the same size I drew an 8×6″ rectangle on a piece of parchment paper, flipped the paper over, and then used that as a guide for my layers. I did not use a rolling pin, I just pressed the dough down with my fingers. Do this with all three of the cookie dough portions.
Step 6: Layer the dough – Red on the bottom, white in the middle and green on the top. Slice the layers in half lengthwise and double stack the cookie dough layers so you have six layers.
Step 7: Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and then refrigerate it for at least one hour.
Step 8: Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Allow it to warm up for approximately 15 minutes and then cut slices (ours were approximately 3/8″ wide.) Then we cut each slice in half so that you get two cookies from each slice.
Baking Instructions
Step 9: Place the cookie dough slices on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and then sprinkle the cookies with sparkling sugar. The sparkling sugar is optional but it makes the cookies sparkle which is a nice touch for the Holidays.
Step 10: Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until set. Allow the cookies to cool before you store them.
Butter Cookies are a Christmastime Classic and with a little food coloring you can take them to the next level. These yummy butter cookies are going to look great on your Christmas Cookie platter!
Expert Tips and FAQ’s
We like the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring. You don’t have to use a lot of food coloring to get bright, rich colors. We used a combination of Crimson and Red food coloring for the Red dough and Yellow and Blue food coloring for the Green dough. We have a whole post filled with tips on how to get the brightest and best Christmas Colors, you can find it here.
You don’t want to over bake these cookies. If they start browning around the edges you have baked them too long and the cookies will taste dry. The cookies should be firm to the touch but not browned around the edges. Watch them closely for the last few minutes of baking time.
Yes! They freeze up great. Store them in an air-tight container or wrap them tightly in two layers of aluminum foil. They will be good in the freezer up to 3 months.
Other Christmas Desserts you will love
Did you Make This Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
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Christmas Butter Cookies
We've taken a classic Holiday cookie up a level by adding some traditional Christmas colors. These oh so delicious Christmas Butter Cookies will be a big hit at your Christmas gathering this year!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Butter (softened)
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- Wilton Color Right Food Coloring
- Sparkling Sugar
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar.
- Add vanilla and continue to mix.
- Add flour one cup at a time and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Split dough into three portions.
- Color one portion Red and one portion Green.
- Press down Red, Green and White dough into separate layers approximately 8x6".
- Layer Red, Green and White dough layers. Cut in half. Double the stack of dough.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate or at least one hour.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
- Cut a 3/8" slice of dough. Cut that piece in half so you have two cookies from each slice.
- Sprinkle with Sparkling Sugar.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until set. Do not over bake.
Notes
Food Coloring
We like the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring. You don't have to use a lot of food coloring to get bright, rich colors. We used a combination of Crimson and Red food coloring for the Red dough and Yellow and Blue food coloring for the Green dough. We have a whole post filled with tips on how to get the brightest and best Christmas Colors, you can find it here.
Baking Tips
You don't want to over bake these cookies. If they start browning around the edges you have baked them too long and the cookies will taste dry. The cookies should be firm to the touch but not browned around the edges. Watch them closely for the last few minutes of baking time.
Storing/Freezing
Yes! They freeze up great. Store them in an air-tight container or wrap them tightly in two layers of aluminum foil. They will be good in the freezer up to 3 months.
Ingredient Notes
Butter: Since these are "butter" cookies a good quality butter is super important. We use Sweet Cream Salted Butter that has been softened to room temperature.
Food Coloring: You can use any food coloring that you have on hand. We think Wilton Color Right Food Coloring gives you a pretty Christmas Red and Green.
Sparkling Sugar: This is optional but it adds a little Christmas sparkle to the cookie which is a must in our family. We have used Sparkling Sugar Sprinkles as well as course sugar ... both are perfect!
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
